Côte d’Ivoire is the busiest Francophone economy in West Africa. Abidjan’s lagoon skyline has a different energy: glass towers, heavy traffic, and a port that handles about 40% of the region’s cargo.

Yamoussoukro, the administrative capital, has the Basilique Notre-Dame de la Paix, finished in 1990 and larger than St. Peter’s in Rome. It stands among half-empty boulevards and government buildings that never filled. The contrast alone makes the 3-hour drive from Abidjan worthwhile.

The forested south and the savanna north are a day’s drive apart. Near the Guinean border, the town of Man sits in Dan country, known for stilt dancers and carved wooden masks. The Taï National Forest, one of the last primary rainforests in West Africa, covers 5,000 km² in the southwest. Routes here are built individually.