Saint-Louis

Aux Délices Du Fleuve

Known as the original patisserie of Saint-Louis, they serve pastries, omelets, pizza, desserts (try the chocolate ice cream or a piece of cake) and hot drinks. They also have Wi-Fi if you need to get online. Prices for the pastries start at 400 CFA. It's off the Rue Blanchot & Quai Roume.

Bar La Source

This is a great neighborhood bar and restaurant where you can sit out back in the large garden and order warthog brochettes from the grill as well as Senegalese dishes. They also have some of the cheapest and coldest beer in Saint-Louis. It's off the Rue De La Corniche, down the street from the Pharmacy Malang Lyss.

Contango Pizza Express

This small restaurant doesn’t look like much when passing by, but a stop here guarantees a delicious pizza with prices starting at 2500 CFA. If you’re not in the mood for pizza try a hamburger. Chat with the friendly owner who hails from Lebanon.

Faidherbe Bridge

As boats were insufficient to handle traffic between Saint-Louis island and the mainland, a bridge opened in 1865 and named after the colonial administrator Louis Faidherbe. With the introduction of rail traffic across the bridge, it too became insufficient and the current bigger one was opened in 1897, but it inherited the name of the older bridge. There's a myth that the bridge was designed by Gustave Eiffel – it's not, though his company indeed came second in the bidding process.

Flamingo

It's right on the river, it’s a great place to grab a bite to eat or a drink and you can swim in the pool for 4000 CFA, they have the only pool on the island that is not inside a hotel. The food is a little pricey, with entrees starting at 4000 CFA but a swim in the pool could be worth it.

Grand Mosque of Saint-Louis

Grande Mosquée de Saint-Louis

A beautiful but rather low-key mosque that features a colonial-style architecture. The two minarets features both a clock and a ringing bell.

Guet N'Dar

Walk to Guet Ndar, the fishing village that is located on the Langue de Barberie and watch the fisherman bring in their catch. If you're lucky, you might get a great deal on seafood. Dozens of trucks wait to buy up the fish (for as little as 500 CFA a crate) and transport them into the interior as far as Kaolack, Tambacounda and Mali. Local people carry the fish in baskets on their neck and on their heads. Women can be found smoking and drying fish next to the beach in vast cauldrons. Nearby very colorful pirogues are always under construction. It is possible to see nearly every stage from the first carvings to the final painting. If you walk into the residential district of Guet Ndar, you will see thousands of people trying to live their lives squeezed in a tiny area. The scene is very colorful and lively, but when you walk along the beach you will see the effects of overcrowding in the squalid sanitary conditions and insufficient trash disposal. There is a decent-sized market in Guet Ndar, somewhat smaller than the larger Sor market two bridges away.

Iguane Café

A popular night club in Saint-Louis, come here to dance until the wee hours of the morning.

Institut Français

French cultural centre. Here you will find a café, library and often times there are concerts, films and art exhibitions. Pick up the monthly program brochure at the center, one of the hotels around Saint-Louis or the Syndicat d’Initiative.

Mon-Fri 08:30-12:30 and 15:00-18:00; Sat 08:30-16:00

L'embuscade

Try some of the creative house made cocktails or just go for a cold beer and listen to live music, also stop in during the day for a bite to eat.

La Kora chez Peggy

This restaurant and bar with Wi-Fi has a nice selection of drinks which range in price from 1,000 CFA for a beer to 4,000 CFA for some of the house cocktails. The menu features French dishes, starting at 3000 CFA, and a small selection of desserts with the menu changing weekly. You can dine outdoors on the inviting patio or sit inside in the lounge. It's on the rue Blaise Diage.

La Linguère

Stop in this restaurant for a great plate of Yassa Poulet or your choice of many other Senegalese dishes, the prices start at 1500 CFA. The brochettes are also an appetizing option. Smaller dishes start at 1000 CFA and fish and meat dishes start at 2500 CFA.

La Résidence

Satisfy your craving for beef with one of the best steaks in Saint-Louis at La Résidence Hotel, with prices starting at 3200 CFA. Also check out the menu of the day which is a little pricier, the cost, 8000 CFA but you will get a starter, entrée and dessert.

Le Ponton

Sindone

It's out on a dock right on the river at the Hotel Sindone. It serves some of the best food in Saint-Louis and a great steak. It is expensive: meals run 4000-6000 CFA.

Musée de l’Aéropostale Jean Mermoz

This museum has displays about the colonial airmail service that played a role in the development of Saint-Louis as well as an exhibit about the pilot Jean Mermoz.

Open Mon through Sat·The entrance fee is 2000 CFA

Ndar-Toute-plage

This is where the city meets the Atlantic. You can see the colorful fishing boats here, but this beach unfortunately also doubles as a kind of landfill. Therefore, it's not a place for beach activities like tanning or swimming.

Nice Burger

This small restaurant with quick service on Avenue Malick Gaye offers hamburgers, chawarmas, sandwiches, fatayas, pizzas and rotisserie chicken dishes. They also offer a Senegalese plate of the day. Prices range from 300 CFA for more of a snack to 6,500 CFA for a whole rotisserie chicken served with fries, in a tasty onion sauce along with a basket of bread, absolutely delicious!

Plage Hydrobase

The long Plage Hydrobase stretching along the Langue de Barbarie Peninsula is the proper beach of Saint-Louis, popular with locals, tourists and cattle. A number of the city's hotels are also along or near this beach. However, also on Plage Hydrobase you will find plastic and other waste in the sand.

Plage de Sal Sal

Plage de Sal Sal to the north of the city is pristine and deserted, so much that you might not encounter anyone else here. The beach stretches across the border to Mauritania, so you should be careful not to go too far north. There's a chance you will see police officers on your way here, tell them that you are going to the beach.

Restaurant Bou El Mogdad

When this historic ship docs here every other weekend on the Saint Louis River you can either have dinner, starting at 3000 CFA or just go for a drink and listen to live jazz music on Saturday night. Check with the agency Sahel Decouverte to confirm when the boat will be docked.

Saint Louis Cathedral

The oldest functioning church in West Africa, this Roman Catholic church was opened in 1828. Perhaps surprisingly, Saint-Louis didn't have a real church before this, despite almost two centuries of European presence here. It's the seat of the Diocese of Saint-Louis du Sénégal.

Les Fanals

This festival is held each year between Christmas and New Years and is a night parade of lanterns, lit from within by candlelight that resemble carnival floats and are accompanied by songs and drums. This historic procession is unique to Saint-Louis and was initiated by the signares, who in colonial times were the colonists’ prestigious wives.

Saint-Louis International Jazz Festival

This annual event generally occurs in late May for about a week. The 2025 edition of this internationally renowned event attracted over 30 jazz musicians, and visitors from around the world. It is the most important jazz festival in Africa. The events of the festival take place all over town. Dates and programs can be found online.

Office de Tourisme / Syndicat d’Initiative

The local tourist office.

Sahel Decouverte – Agence de Voyages