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All Benin Cotonou

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Cotonou

2 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Cotonou, Benin

Updated April 18, 2025
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Unusual Attractions in Cotonou

Cotonou, Benin

Ganvie Lake Village

Africa's Venice on stilts.

Cotonou, Benin

Amazon Statue

The 100-foot-tall (30-meter) bronze statue was built to recognize the world's only documented all-female army.
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Ouidah, Benin

Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá

This singular fort was once the smallest colony in the world, an international oddity
20 miles from Cotonou
Door of No Return.

Ouidah, Benin

La Porte du Non-Retour (The Door of No Return)

A monument to the more than one million enslaved Africans deported from the port of Ouidah.
20 miles from Cotonou
Pythons at the temple.

Ouidah, Benin

The Temple of Pythons

Dozens of snakes are housed and worshipped within the walls of this Vodun temple.
21 miles from Cotonou
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Stories About Cotonou

Podcast: Ganvie Lake Village

A deep dive into "the Venice of Africa," a waterway-filled village in Benin.
by The Podcast Team, Atlas Obscura
March 26, 2024
Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
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