Porto-Novo, Benin

Parliament of Benin in Porto Novo
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parliament_building_of_Benin,_2007.jpg
Author: peacecorpschadsey


Porto-Novo is the official capital of Benin. With a population of around 300,000 people (2012 estimate), it is the second largest city in the country after Cotonou, which is a vastly more important city.

While Cotonou enjoys a location facing the Atlantic Ocean, Porto-Novo is deeper inland. It is a port on the Gulf of Guinea, in a major agricultural region that produces palm oil, cotton and kapok.

Porto-Novo, which means "new port" in Portuguese, dates back to the Portuguese period, when it served as a port for the slave trade. In 1863, following bombardment by the British, the Kingdom of Porto-Novo was forced to seek protection from the French. However, the neighboring Kingdom of Abomey objected to any form of French intervention, leading to a war between the two kingdoms.

Kiosk selling oil by the roadside in Porto Novo, Benin
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kpayo.jpg
Author: Babylas


Porto-Novo was incorporated into the French colony of Dahomey in 1883, and was made Dahomey's capital in 1900. Although the Kingdom of Porto-Novo became defunct, the kings of Porto-Novo continued to rule, in both official and inofficial capacities, until the demise of the last king, Alohinto Gbeffa, in 1976.

Porto-Novo has a number of tourist attractions. Its parliament building is one of the modern buildings in the country. It Grand Mosque of Porto-Novo looks like a church because it was formerly one, designed in the Brazilian style.

Visiting Porto-Novo

Porto-Novo can be reached by taxi from Cotonou, where the international airport is located.

Grand Mosque of Porto Novo, Benin
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grande_mosquee_porto-novo.jpg
Author: Babylas

Places of Interest in Porto-Novo

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.