Jacqueville

Jacqueville sits on a narrow strip between the Ebrie lagoon and the sea, coconut plantations along most of its length, and it was a trading point in the nineteenth century with a Protestant mission and commercial houses whose remains still stand. Until 2015 it was reached by ferry; a bridge now connects it to the mainland, which has changed the pace. Beaches on the ocean side draw Abidjan visitors at weekends.

Background

Jacqueville is the seat of Jacqueville Department in the Grands-Ponts Region, 40 kilometres west of Abidjan, and today is mainly a fishing port and seaside resort. The town is almost an island, with the Ébrié Lagoon on one side and the Gulf of Guinea on the other, and the bridge that opened in March 2015 is 776 metres long. In 2014 the sub-prefecture had 32,288 people in 23 villages, among them Jacqueville itself with 11,124, N'djem with 5,165 and Grand-Jack with 2,844. The local pineapples, called ananas sauvage, are long and narrow with white, very sweet flesh, and grown with nitrate fertilisers they turn yellow and taste much like an ordinary pineapple.

Source: Wikipedia, "Jacqueville"

The main sights

• The colonial relics - mission and trading buildings from the nineteenth century.
• The two shores - lagoon on one side and ocean on the other of a narrow strip.
• The coconut plantations - palms running the length of the peninsula.
• The bridge - the 2015 crossing that replaced the ferry.

When to go

November to March is the dry season and the most comfortable. Weekends bring Abidjan crowds to the beaches. The rains from April to July are heavy on this coast.

Before you go

Ocean-side currents are strong and there are no lifeguards. Colonial buildings are derelict and not maintained. Weekend traffic on the bridge is heavy.

Nearby

Tiagba is west along the lagoon, and Abidjan is east.

Key facts