City Guide: Accra

     Decent by day, Accra rocks by night.

     The very sensible city of Accra will deluge your senses with interesting places, slave forts and former prisons on display, but after sunset the city is anything but calm and instead pulsates with music, dance and performance.

     You can find out why Accra is so unique with Booked.net. From cheap hotels in Accra to those packed with luxuries all are available at our website. Our listings include maps, photos and secure forms on each hotel.

     Away from modern times, Accra paved a very long path to the global confidence of today. Accra is among the oldest areas ever settled in the world. The first people in the area date back to 30,000 years before the present. But the city began to take shape in the late 1600s when the Ga people inhabited the region. In the following years the city saw a cultural splendor of the Portuguese, Swedish, British, Danish, Dutch and French who built trading posts in the area.

     Since gold has been discovered in Accra, the city's mines were gradually stripped for more than 250 years for British, Dutch and Portuguese benefit. In addition, Accra evolved into the leading center of slavery and served as the major slave vendor in the world. In 1877 it even replaced Cape Coast for the British Gold Coast colony that Accra was re-named.

     After the earthquakes in 1862 and 1939 the tensions between the English and locals began to grow and in 1948 Accra became a hotbed of national campaigns for independence. These efforts paid off with success and Accra became the capital city of independent Ghana in 1957.

     The city took huge efforts to abandon its rural feel of small trading spot for the gloss of modern commercial hub. Today you are going to experience Kotoka International Airport, luxury hotels, and architectural masterpieces in the area.

Attractions include;

- National Museum offers a dose of Ghanaian history with exhibits on clothing, thrones, carvings, paintings, pottery, and so on

- Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, built to honor Kwame Nkrumah, who won independence for Ghana

- Independence Square celebrates Ghanaian independence from British rule in 1957

- Jamestown, the oldest part of Accra

     Along with big city comforts Accra faced the usual set of problems like long lines and traffic jams. Apart from other destinations, Accra made traffic jams a pleasant experience with vendors maneuvering along the vehicles and selling everything from fruits to towels.

     Away from urban buzz, Accra is a sprawling city to experience with Booked.net.