The Ivory Coast

Let's imagine that you have just won a traveling package to one of the most exotic place in Africa, on the west coast to be more precise. You will be staying and visiting the main big cities of the country as well as discovering the culture trough food, places, beaches...I will give you some advice about the activities that you can do while being there so that you can enjoy your stay.
The Ivory Coast is located on the west coast of Africa, between Liberia and Ghana. There are two big cities that are well known because they comprise the main business center of the country. Those two cities are Abidjan and Yamoussoukro, which the Capital of the country.
Abidjan is not a touristic city because there are no monuments to visits or places that depict a particular story about the Ivory Coast. But it is a great to place to have some great fun. There are many restaurants that served the country main dishes, the best restaurant of all is called "AKWABA", which means in a local tongue from the country welcome. The special dish that all tourists should taste before they leave the Ivory Coast is called "sauce graine avec du foutou banane". This is a sauce made with palm accompanied with mashed banana plantains, very delicious. But I forgot to mention about the place where you should stay, before you can think of food, you will have to have a place to sleep first. In Abidjan there is a nice hotel name the "WAFFOU". The design of the hotel is such that guest have their own small apartment that lay on water. The hotel is on the coast of the sea and the service is remarkable.
If you need to have some sun and relax away from the city of Abidjan, I suggest that you go to the beach. There are many beaches in the Ivory Coast. On of the most famous one is located an hour away from Abidjan, in Assini. At Assini there are many options for tourists to stay for the weekend and more and have a relaxing time. There are many chalets that can be rented out for as long as you want. There are very luxurious, upscale. Those houses are just on the beach, the view is priceless. There are many restaurants around that served nice sea food as well as grill food. There are also many souvenirs shop to buy nice handmade statuette, and African clothes. In Assini you can also visit the Colonial houses, where the colonizer used to live.
The other main city is Yamoussoukro, the capital. Yamoussoukro is famous because you can visit the biggest Basilica in the world. The first president of the Ivory Coast wanted to build a monument for its country that will attract tourists but also make it known by the outside world. He decided to build a basilica that will be bigger than the one in Rome. He was able to but sadly it did not attract as many tourists as he would have wanted and it did not make our country well known.But it still a nice place to visit.
Back in Abidjan for you night life, there are many places where you can go and have some fun. If you really want to get a taste of the culture trough amusement, it is better to go to the "maquis", which are pubs, where people drink, dance and eat. It is not an upscale place but it is very entertaining.
After spending some time at the Waffou hotel, eating at AKWABA restaurant, spending some time at Assini beach and visiting the basilica in Yamoussoukro and dancing with the people in the "maquis", you will want to make this part of the world, a vacation place for the winter.