Yamoussoukro

Overview

In 1983 Yamoussoukro became the official capital of Cote d'Ivoire. But some twenty years later it is still capital only in name: Abidjan is where everything happens.

From 1960 onward the then president Felix Houpouet Boigny starting spending lots of money to make his native village into a big city. The result is that you now find a small city with some 100,000 people and loads of huge governement buildings, a bigger-than-life cathedral, a presidential palace and eight-lane highways.

The main attraction for visitors is the Basilique de Notre Dame de la Paix , a copy of the St. Peter's in Rome . The stain-glass windows are truly impressive.

(one wonders how such a big building can be afforded by such a poor country.)

Houpouets Palace is also worth a visit. You cannot visit but you can witness the moment when the crocodiles in the pond just in front of the palace are fed.

History