Cote d'Ivoire
Travel Guide > Africa > Cote d'Ivoire
In this Article
- Introduction
- Brief History
- Geography
- Regions
- Cities
- Sights and Activities
- Events and Festivals
- Weather
- Getting there
- Getting Around
- Red Tape
- Money
- Work
- Study
- Language
- Eat
- Sleep
- Drink
- Health
- Safety
- Keep Connected
Quick Facts
[edit]
- Capital
- Yamoussoukro
- Population
- 16,390,000
- Government
- Republic
- Religions
- Islam, Indigenous beliefs, Christianity
- Languages
- French
- Calling Code
- +225
- Nationality
- Ivorian
- Local name
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Introduction
Unlike most West African countries, Cote d'Ivoire's experience with European colonialism was a relatively positive one. Deemed unattractive by slave traders (it had poor harbors compared to neighbouring lands), the French were the first to take an active interest in Cote d'Ivoire. The nation was the jewel at the heart of France's West Africa domination scheme and thrived under the benefits of plantations. In 1960, when the French gave Cote d'Ivoire its independence, the nation could look forward to a rich future.
As a result, Cote d'Ivoire has developed to become one of the region's best destinations. Cote d'Ivoire's art is reputedly the best in West Africa. The old ways of life carry on in many parts of the country, with the majority of the population practising traditional religion. A handful of excellent beaches add to Cote d'Ivoire's charm.
Unfortunately, recent political conflict makes Cote d'Ivoire a destination to be enjoyed with caution.
Brief History
Geography
Sights and Activities
Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro
Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro, also known as Basilique de Notre Dame de la Paix de Yamoussoukro, is a Roman Catholic church in the capital in Yamoussoukro. After being completed in 1989, at a cost of over 300 million USD, it became the world's largest Christian place of worship. The Basilica has a greater surface area and higher dome then St. Peters in the Vatican City, although the church can only seat 18,000 people. This church is an amazing sight and well worth the visit.
Les Éléphants Football Team
Les Éléphants is the national football team of Cote d'Ivoire. Being one of the best teams in Africa they made their appearance on the international level at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Many people thought they would have done better if they had not drawn such a difficult group. Try to catch a game in the Abidjan if you can.
Music
Some great music can be found in Cote d'Ivoire. The country is a crossroads between Western African art and music. That means there is a very interesting blending of cultures and styles across the country. Go check out some of the amazing musical groups around the country or maybe hit up a large music festival in the city of Abidjan.
Other Sights and Activities
Events and Festivals
Weather
Getting there
By Plane
Air Ivoire is the national airline of Cote d'Ivoire and is based at Félix Houphouët-Boigny International Airport (ABJ) near Abidjan. International destinations include Accra, Bamako, Conakry, Cotonou, Dakar, Douala, Libreville, Lomé, Monrovia, Marseille, Niamey, Ouagadougou and Paris.
Other cities served with mostly their respective national airlines are Algiers, Tripoli, Brussels, Nouakchott, Casablanca, N'Djamena, Johannesburg and Tunis, and a few other cities in neighbouring countries in West Africa.
By Train
By Car
By Bus
By Boat
Red Tape
Money
See also Money matters
Cote d'Ivoire uses the CFA Franc as a currency. The CFA Franc is divided into 100 centimes. Coins come in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 500 francs while banknotes come in denominations of 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000 francs
The exchange range is fixed at aproximately 656 CFA Francs for one Euro.
In Cote d'Ivoire the West African CFA Franc (XOF) is used which has the same vallue as the Central African CFA Franc (XAF), but it's not possible to use both currencies in the same country.
Fourteen countries in Africa use this currency, eight in West Africa and six in Central Africa. The West African CFA Franc can only be used in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo, while the Central African CFA Franc can only be used in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
Work
Study
Language
Eat
Sleep
Drink
Health
Safety
This is version 15. Last edited at 18:47 on Jul 23, 08 by Utrecht (+12). 10 articles link to this page.
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