Discover 15 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Accra (Ghana). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Makola Market, Black Star Gate, and Museum of Science and Technology. Also, be sure to include Osu Castle in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Accra (Greater Accra).
Table of Contents
Makola Market
Wholesale jeweler in Accra, Ghana. Makola Market is a renowned market place and shopping district in the centre of the city of Accra, the capital of Ghana. A wide array of products is sold in the markets and its surrounding streets, from car parts to land snails. Dominated by women traders, the market sells fresh produce, manufactured and imported foods, clothes, shoes, tools, medicines, and pots and pans. Jewellery made from locally handcrafted beads can also be found for sale in the market. About 25% of the 70% market women are employed in Makola market.[1]
Black Star Gate
The Black Star Gate is part of the Independence Square now known as the Black Star Square in Accra. It is located at the center of the Square where parades are held. The Black Star Gate is a monument topped by the Black Star of Africa. The five-pointed star represents Africa in general and particularly Ghana itself. It has the inscription “AD 1957” and “Freedom and Justice”. The Black Star Gate was commissioned by Kwame Nkrumah to indicate the country's supreme power to control its own affairs.[2]
Museum of Science and Technology
Museum. The Museum of Science and Technology in Accra, Ghana was established in 1963 and first opened its doors in 1965. The museum is under the administration of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board and the National Commission on Culture.[3]
Address: Barnes Rd, Accra
Osu Castle
Political museum in a historic fortress. Osu Castle is a castle located in Osu, Ghana on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea in Africa.
A substantial fort was built by Denmark-Norway in the 1660s, thereafter the fort changed ownership between Denmark-Norway, Portugal, the Akwamu, Britain, and finally post-Independence Ghana. Under Denmark–Norway control it was the capital of the Danish Gold Coast, and held and dispatched enslaved people overseas.
In 1902, Osu Castle became the seat of government in Ghana but this has now moved to Golden Jubilee House.[4]
Efua Sutherland Children's Park
Park in Accra, Ghana. Efua Sutherland Children's Park is a 14.83-acre public park for children located opposite The National Theatre at West Ridge in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. It was started in 1979 and known as Accra Children's Park or Ridge Park and later renamed after Ghanaian playwright and children's author, Efua Sutherland. As of 2019, the park has seen less development since its inception.[5]
Independence Arch
Large square commemorating independence. The Independence Arch in Accra, Ghana, is part of the Independence Square which contains monuments to Ghana's independence struggle, including the Independence Arch, Black Star Gate, and the Liberation Day Monument.[6]
National Museum of Ghana
Museum in Accra, Ghana. The National Museum of Ghana is in the Ghanaian capital, Accra. It is the largest and oldest of the six museums under the administration of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board.
The museum building was opened on 5 March 1957 as part of Ghana's independence celebrations. The official opening was performed by the Duchess of Kent, Princess Marina. The Museum's first Director was A.W. Lawrence.
Objects of archaeology, ethnography as well as fine art find place in the National Museum building.
Objects in the archeology section range from the Stone Age period to the recent historical past. Those on permanent exhibition at the ethnography gallery include chief's regalia, indigenous Ghanaian musical instruments, gold weights, beads, traditional textiles, stools and pottery. There are also objects from other African countries acquired through exchange. Examples are Senfu masks from Ivory Coast, Zulu wooden figures and bead-ware from Southern Africa. In addition there are also ancient Ife bronze heads from Nigeria and Bushongo carvings from the Congo. Exhibits at the small but impressive art gallery consist mainly of contemporary Ghanaian paintings executed in oils, pastels, acrylics, watercolours and collages. Apart from these there are sculpture pieces in different media.[7]
Address: Accra, 2 Barnes Road in Central Accra
La Pleasure Beach
Beach in Accra, Ghana. Labadi Beach or more properly known as La Pleasure Beach is the busiest beach on Ghana's coast. It is one of Accra's beaches and is maintained by the local hotels. Labadi Beach is in a town called La, popularly known as Labadi, near Teshie in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. An entrance fee to those not staying in the hotels is charged. On holidays and weekends there are often performances of reggae, hiplife, playback, and cultural drumming and dancing. As of 2014, the beach is still under intense scrutiny from the community to alleviate the ongoing issue of open defecation present on the beach. Proposals to build additional designated sanitation facilities to accommodate the issue have been brought to the attention of the local council and hotels near the beach. Aside from visiting the beach to have fun, people visit the place early morning to work out, mostly on weekends.[8]
Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum
Museum in Accra, Ghana. The Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum and memorial park is located in downtown Accra, the capital of Ghana.[9]
Address: Central Accra, Accra
Fort James
Fort in Accra, Ghana. Fort James is a fort located in Accra, Ghana. It was built by the Royal African Company of England as a trading post for both gold and slaves in 1673, where it joined the Dutch Fort Crêvecœur, and the Danish Fort Christiansborg along the coast of the then Gold Coast.
Fort James was likely named after James, then Duke of York, later King James II, who was Governor of the RAC at the time it was built and after whom the adjacent town of Jamestown in Accra is also named.
The fort stands next to Jamestown Lighthouse and from the colonial era up to 2008, served as a prison. Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah, was imprisoned from 1950 to 1951 with common criminals in Fort James.[10]
Kaneshie market
The Kaneshi markets Limited is a trading centre in Kaneshie, Accra, Ghana. It was built in the 1970s. The name "Kaneshie" means "under the lamp" referring to its beginnings as a night market.
During the 2015 Accra floods, the market was submerged and operations were forced to shut down.[11]
Address: Winneba Rd, Accra
Accra Ridge Church
The Accra Ridge Church is an English-speaking inter-denominational Protestant church based in the residential neighbourhood of Ridge in Accra, Ghana. The church is affiliated to the Anglican Diocese of Accra, Methodist Church Ghana and the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. The church also has branches in the suburbs of Tudu and Manet. The church is also the owner of the Ridge Church School, an independent and parochial preparatory day basic school located on the chapel premises.[12]
Independence Square
Black Star Square, also known as Independence Square, is a public square in Accra, Ghana, bordered by the Accra Sports Stadium and the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park. The square often hosts the annual independence celebrations as well as other national events. It is currently the site for all civic and military parades in Ghana. It was completed in the year 1961, which coincided with the state visit of Queen Elizabeth's II to Ghana. The Black Star Square is sited between The 28th February Road and The Accra's Southern Coastline.[13]
Ussher Fort
Dutch-built fort housing a museum. Ussher Fort is a fort in Accra, Ghana. It was built by the Dutch in 1649 as Fort Crèvecœur, and is a day's march from Elmina and to the east of Accra on a rocky point between two lagoons. It was one of three forts that Europeans built in the region during the middle of the 17th century. Fort Crèvecœur was part of the Dutch Gold Coast. The Anglo-Dutch Gold Coast Treaty, which defined areas of influence on the Gold Coast, transferred it to the British in 1868.[14]
Jamestown Lighthouse
Lighthouse in Accra, Ghana. The Jamestown lighthouse is located in the Jamestown neighbourhood of Accra, Ghana. The 28-metre structure was originally built in the 1930s, replacing an earlier lighthouse that had been built in 1871.
It consists of a stone tower with lantern and gallery, attached to a keeper's house. Both lighthouse and keeper's house are painted with red and white horizontal bands.[15]
Address: Cleland Road, Accra