Africa’s riches are staggering. Yet, while its baobab trees, lions and gorillas, and deltas like the Okavango have long captured the world’s imaginations, its cities have been too often overlooked by travelers from beyond the continent, despite being equally exciting cultural ecosystems, and destinations in their own right.
You may know about Cairo, Marrakech, Tangiers, and Tunis, those ancient cities of the Mediterranean sphere, but it’s the hubs of sub-Saharan Africa—that have evolved right under our noses—that are drawing us in. These African cities, south of the great desert, are melting pots of their countries’ myriad ethnicities and religions. Whether you’re in Kigali, Johannesburg, or Addis Ababa, life and business are lived out on the street. As someone who was born in Nigeria—and returns often—I love nothing more than sitting in an Uber chugging through Lagos and watching the hustle and energy of pineapple vendors and money-changers, who ply their trade while looking resplendent in geometric-patterned adire fabrics, kufi caps, and colorful head wraps. It’s a chromatic extravaganza that would seem stage-managed anywhere else—and is a photographer and videographer’s dream, as visual artist Trevor Stuurman underscores in this ode to Dakar.
Ever since the opening up of the continent’s major economies in the 1990s, the African diaspora has recognized the opportunities on the home continent and have brought back their experiences collected abroad, melding them with traditional cues and wisdom. In Kigali, chef Dieuveil Malonga, who grew up in Germany and worked in Paris, is on a mission to showcase the best of pan-African cuisine, foregrounding ancestral recipes and giving them an international twist. (Plantain ravioli, anyone?) Others like him are taking advantage of Indigenous produce such as hibiscus and coffee beans, turning them into delicious floral cocktails and craft cappuccinos.
Homegrown locals are doing the same: Inspired by the digisphere’s explosion of ideas, they are similarly fusing Indigenous and non-native cultures to create something rootsy yet cosmopolitan, through formats like supper clubs in Lagos and art collectives in Johannesburg.
Idiosyncratic boutique hotels are sprouting up, too, complete with creature comforts and artwork plucked from booming art scenes. And you’ll find that these hotels are often not too far from a beach or lagoon. The coastal location of many sub-Saharan cities means that whether you’re in Dakar, Accra, or Dar Es Salaam, you can enjoy gorgeous ocean sunsets paired with the great music scenes only a major city could foster. African rhythms, which inform so much of modern global music, have come full circle, too—and clubbers everywhere are vibing to the likes of Burna Boy and Afropop artist, Mr. Eazi.
