Discover 6 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Cape Coast (Ghana). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Cape Coast Castle, Fort Victoria, and Cape Coast Castle Museum. Also, be sure to include Fort McCarthy in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Cape Coast (Central).
Table of Contents
Cape Coast Castle
Museum of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Cape Coast Castle is one of about forty "slave castles", or large commercial forts, built on the Gold Coast of West Africa by European traders. It was originally a Portuguese "feitoria" or trading post, established in 1555, which they named Cabo Corso. However, in 1653 the Swedish Africa Company constructed a timber fort there. It originally was a centre for the trade in timber and gold. It was later used in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Other Ghanaian slave castles include Elmina Castle and Fort Christiansborg. They were used to hold slaves before they were loaded onto ships and sold in the Americas, especially the Caribbean. This "gate of no return" was the last stop before crossing the Atlantic Ocean.[1]
Fort Victoria
Fort Victoria is a structure in Cape Coast, Ghana. It was initially known as Phipps Tower, its name being later changed to Fort Victoria in honor of Queen Victoria.[2]
Cape Coast Castle Museum
Museum. The Cape Coast Castle Museum is an ethnography and archeological museum located in Cape Coast, Ghana. It was established in 1974.[3]
Fort McCarthy
Fort McCarthy is a fort from the colonial British Gold Coast period in present-day Ghana.
The fort is a ruin in Cape Coast, of the Central Region of Ghana.[4]
Fort Nassau
Museum in Moree, Ghana. Fort Nassau, near Moree, Ghana, was the first fort that the Dutch established on what would become the Dutch Gold Coast.[5]
University of Cape Coast
Public university in Cape Coast, Ghana. The University of Cape Coast is a public collegiate university located in the historic town of Cape Coast. The campus has a rare seafront and sits on a hill overlooking the wide Atlantic Ocean. It operates on two campuses: the Southern Campus and the Northern Campus. Two of the most important historical sites in Ghana, Elmina and Cape Coast Castle, are a few kilometres away from its campus.
The University of Cape Coast was established in October 1962 as a university college in response to the country's dire need for highly qualified and skilled manpower in the education sector. Its original mandate was therefore to train graduate teachers for second cycle institutions, teacher training colleges and technical institutions, a mission that the two existing public universities at the time were unequipped to fulfil.
On October 1, 1971, the college attained the status of a full and independent university, with the authority to confer its own degrees, diplomas and certificates by an Act of Parliament. Today, with the expansion of some of its faculties/schools and the diversification of programmes, the university has the capacity to meet the manpower needs of other ministries and industries in the country, besides that of the Ministry of Education. The university has since added to its functions the training of doctors and health care professionals, business professionals, administrators, legal professionals, and agriculturalists. UCC graduates include Ministers of State, High Commissioners, CEOs, and Members of Parliament.
In September 2021, the University of Cape Coast was ranked by Times Higher Education 2022 World University Rankings as follows:
- 1. The No. 1 University in Africa for research influence (Globally)
- 2. The No. 1 University in Ghana
- 3. The No. 1 University in West Africa
- 4. Ranked amongst the top 5 Universities in Africa.