A small island twenty minutes by ferry from Dakar, and for four centuries one of the main collection points for the Atlantic slave trade. The Maison des Esclaves, with its infamous "Door of No Return" opening onto the sea, is the emotional heart of any visit. Beyond the history, the island itself is pink-and-ochre pretty, with crumbling colonial houses, bougainvillea, and no cars. UNESCO World Heritage. The ferry leaves roughly hourly from the port in Dakar.
Île de Gorée
Slave trade memorial island, twenty minutes by ferry from Dakar