Porto-Novo

The official capital, understated and steeped in history

Role	Official political and administrative capital of Benin
Department	Ouémé
Population	Roughly 320,000

Getting there

About 30 km from Cotonou (30–45 minutes by road).

Don't miss

• The Honmè Museum (former royal palace)
• The Great Mosque, built in Afro-Brazilian style (an architectural legacy of formerly enslaved people who returned from Brazil)
• The Alexandre Sènou Adandé Ethnographic Museum
• The future International Vodun Museum, currently under construction

Good to know

Porto-Novo is the historic home of the Gun people, born of the mixing of Yoruba and Adja communities — a story that echoes our Population & Society page.

For local businesses

A quieter city than Cotonou, with a more limited range of accommodation but real potential for close-in cultural tourism (a day trip from Cotonou). It's also the host city of the Festival of Masks (late July) — a period of strong local demand for lodging.