Places to Visit in Parakou, Benin, North Africa, Africa

Places to Visit in Parakou, Benin, North Africa, Africa

Parakou is a city in the eastern portion of Benin, situated around 420 kilometers north of the country’s commercial capital, Cotonou. Parakou is the administrative center of the Borgou Department, covering an area of 441 square kilometers. Parakou is one of the modern cities of Benin with all facilities as well as entertainment centers, including the nightclub, The Bataclan Nightclub and also featured in museums, libraries, cafes, restaurants and internet cafes.

Parakou is home to the recognized football clubs, Dynamo Unacob FC de Parakou and Buffles du Borgou FC. Parakou has an industrial based economy, mainly cotton and textile industries and trade activities and tourism are also the parts of the city’s economy. Parakou coordinates with 9°21′ N latitude and 2°37′ E longitude and sprawls over an area of 441 square kilometers.

How to reach Parakou?

Parakou hosts a domestic airport with scheduled flights from Cotonou, served by COTAIR. Other than airway, Parakou can also be reached easily from Cotonou by both roadway and railway.

Voyageur SARL is a private train operator offering Train d’Ebene services between from Cotonou to Parakou and can get by prior request only.

To move within the city of Parakou, visitors can use minibuses or comfortable taxis or rental vehicles like a car or bike.

Culture, Shopping and Food in Parakou:

Muslim citizens cover half of the population of Parakou, followed by Roman Catholics population.

Grand Marché Azeke and Marché Kobo Kobo are the two important and famous traditional markets of Parakou.

Some nice food corners in Parakou include:

La Face Douane
Le Bataclan
KMM Club

Things to do in Parakou:

Visiting nightclubs
Walking
Shopping

Tourist places in Parakou:

The Grand Marché Azeke:

The Grand Marché Ezekiel is an international market in the Parakou home to vendors between 500 and 1000. The market is specialized selling traditional potteries like bowls and cheese and bowls are the colorful genuine cotton clothes.

Central Parakou:

The Central Parakou is packed with all the important administrative offices of the commune as well as banks, Parakou library, the Ministry of Culture, Art and Tourism, especially tall pink column, a symbolic structure on which emblazoned the city’s name.

Zoo in Hotel les Routiers:

Other than grand hospitality services, the Hotel les Routiers is known for its zoo with many typical animal and bird species like turtles, warthogs and alligators. Visitors can also purchase wooden masks, jewelry and many other different designer products at the gift shop in the hotel.

Musée en Plein Air de Parakou:

Situated around 1.5 kilometers away from the heart of the city of Parakou, the Musée en Plein Air de Parakou features 5 circular complexes associated to the traditional housing of the natives. Entrance fee is CFA franc 1500.

The Bataclan Nightclub:

A favorite youth site in the city, the Bataclan Nightclub is the focal point of the nightlife of Parakou which gets full crowd during weekends by nearby city youths along with local youths. It is situated in the vicinity of Hotel Princess in the city.

List of the other attractive places in Parakou include:

Parakou Mosque
Cathédrale Saints Pierre et Paul
Municipal stadium of Parakou
Pendjari National Park
Djougou Stadium
Cotonou Cathedral
Alexandre Sènou Adandé Ethnographic Museum
Royal Palaces in Porto-Novo
Musée en Plein Air de Parakou
Cotonou Central Mosque
W National Park
Ancient Pont Bridge
Basilique de l’Immaculée Conception

Ideal time to visit Parakou:

The best time to visit Parakou is during the months between November and February.

Where to stay in Parakou?

Parakou is a modernize city holding different kinds of accommodation, including hotels, motels and vacation rentals of which the most can be booked through package tours. A list of the famous hotels in Parakou and Cotonou (around 420 km) includes: