Saint-Louis

Saint-Louis, set on a narrow island where the Senegal River meets the Atlantic in the country's north, is one of West Africa's most atmospheric towns and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Once the elegant capital of the entire French West African empire, it retains a wistful, faded grandeur, its grid of crumbling pastel colonial buildings, wrought-iron balconies and a landmark metal bridge evoking a bygone era. Horse-drawn carts still clatter through the streets, colourful fishing pirogues crowd the nearby Guet Ndar quarter, and each spring a renowned jazz festival fills the town.

History

A Wolof settlement at today's Guet Ndar dates from around 1450 and was a meeting and departure point for Muslim pilgrims bound for Mecca; Portuguese, Dutch and English traders came over the next two centuries, and in 1638 the French built a fort on Bocos Island, about 25 kilometres away. Repeated floods moved it in 1659 to the uninhabited island of Ndar, which the local leader, the Diagne of Sor, allowed them to settle for a yearly payment of cloth, iron bars and brandy, and the town was named after Louis IX, with a nod to Louis XIV; from its fort it commanded the river trade in slaves, gold, hides, beeswax and later gum arabic, and a Franco-African Métis merchant community, with its famous signares, shaped its life. The British took it in 1758 and the French retook it in 1779, it had about 5,000 inhabitants by the late 18th century, it was the capital of the colony of Senegal from 1673 to 1902 and of French West Africa from 1895 to 1902, and in 2000 it became a World Heritage Site (Wikipedia, Saint-Louis, Senegal).

What's there

• The colonial island - the faded pastel grandeur and balconies.
• The Faidherbe Bridge - the landmark iron bridge to the mainland.
• The fishing quarter - the pirogues and life of Guet Ndar.
• The jazz festival - the celebrated annual music event.

When to go

November to May, the cooler, drier season, for the most comfortable weather; the Saint-Louis Jazz Festival, usually in May, is the cultural highlight, filling the town with music and visitors. The nearby Djoudj bird sanctuary and Langue de Barbarie are best in the northern winter.

Things to know

Much of Saint-Louis's colonial architecture is genuinely crumbling and faded rather than restored, which is precisely its melancholy charm for some and a sign of neglect for others; it is a poorer, workaday town beyond the picturesque core. The heat can be intense. As an atmospheric, historic and culturally rich town, gateway to great birdlife and home to a famous jazz festival, though, it richly rewards a visit.

Nearby

The Djoudj bird sanctuary and the Langue de Barbarie are nearby.

Key facts