A mass of skyscrapers and boulevards, big businesses and urban blocks, Abidjan is far and away the largest city in the Ivory Coast – in fact, it's one of the largest in West Africa as a whole. It was once the official capital but now rumbles on as its economic hub.

During Abidjan's glory years in the 50s, and during the post-independence decades of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, the town accumulated thought-provoking architectural pieces and important buildings. It's still packed with foreign embassies and consulates, but you can also spy out the likes of the futuristic Saint Paul Cathedral – a lesson in audacious modernism – and the rich Musée National – look out for curious folk masks and magnificent works of whittling within.

For those who prefer the outdoors to the city’s vibrant markets, bars and street food stalls, Abidjan tour guides can whisk you away to the misty jungles of the Banco National Park. They sprout venerable mahogany forests and waffle wood, all between a series of luxury trekking lodges. In the other direction is the Cocody area of the city, which spills into the Atlantic Ocean in a flurry of cotton-white sands and coconut palms.