Things to Do in Porto Novo

Ethnographique da Silva Museum

Inside a 19th-century Brazilian-style mansion, the tatty but fascinating displays of Yoruba masks, Dahomey drums and dusty photographs give you a sense of how Porto Novo's elites once lived. You'll hear the wooden floors groan underfoot and catch a faint whiff of camphor balls trying to keep insects away from the textiles.

Grand Marché

Spread across several tin-roofed pavilions near Place Bayol, the market hits full volume by 8 am when vendors start hacking frozen tuna into steaks and the perfume of crushed fresh ginger mixes with diesel from idling zemidjas. You'll see pyramids of green kpéké balls, sacks of neon-orange gari and bright Dutch wax cloth that flutters like flags.

Honmè King's Palace

A short motorcycle-taxi ride south of the centre brings you to the coral-walled compound where King Toffa's descendants still receive visitors. Inside the courtyard, you can feel the cool of the beaten-earth floors while guides demonstrate the three-tone talking drum and let you handle the iron royal bells that smell faintly of palm oil.

Jardin Place Jean Bayol

This small landscaped square offers lagoon views framed by bougainvillea and a rusting 1930s bandstand. Late afternoon brings out office workers who buy grilled plantain from women stationed at the gate. The sweet smoke drifts past as you watch fishermen paddle pirogues home silhouetted against a copper sunset.

Centre Songhai farm

Four kilometres outside town, the Songhai training farm smells of fresh compost and roasting cashew nuts from the on-site bakery. Walking between papaya orchards and fish ponds, you'll hear the gurgle of biogas digesters and see students pressing bright-green moringa oil under a bamboo shelter.

Auberge de la Diaspora, Plateau district - a converted Afro-Brazilian house with lagoon-view balconies and creaky parquet floors

Hôtel les Bougainvillées, Rue 210 - mid-range compound set around a pool that gets cleaned daily

Chez Maman Brigitte, Adjigo - budget courtyard rooms where the owner's reggae bar lulls you to sleep

Sun City Guest House, Etoile Rouge - functional air-con stop popular with NGO staff

Centre Songhai guest rooms, outskirts - fan-cooled cells on the farm, great if you like roosters and early quiet

Maison Rouge, near the stadium - quirky B&B filled with local contemporary art and a resident cat that hogs the hammocks