The hook
A hilly, hectic capital founded as a home for freed slaves, backed by forested mountains that tumble down to a string of white-sand beaches so beautiful they once starred in a chocolate-bar advert as the very image of paradise.
01Why it's worth it
Freetown has a remarkable origin: it was established in the late 18th and early 19th centuries as a settlement for freed and rescued slaves, including formerly enslaved people from the Americas and Africans liberated from slave ships, whose descendants, the Krio, gave the city a distinctive culture, language, and architecture of wooden "board houses." The city is chaotic, hilly, and vibrant, with markets, music, and a poignant history (long symbolised by an ancient cotton tree, a landmark that sadly fell in a 2023 storm). But its greatest draw lies just beyond: the Freetown Peninsula, where lush green mountains meet the Atlantic in a succession of gorgeous, palm-fringed white-sand beaches, River No. 2, Tokeh, Bureh, and more, among the finest and least-developed in West Africa, dotted with fishing villages and low-key beach spots. Nearby, sanctuaries protect rescued chimpanzees. Sierra Leone has recovered remarkably from its civil war and the Ebola epidemic, and for adventurous travellers it offers warm people, rich history, and paradisiacal, empty beaches in a country still off most itineraries.
02How to experience it
Explore Freetown's markets, Krio heritage, and history, then head out to the peninsula beaches, River No. 2, Tokeh, and Bureh among them, for swimming, fresh fish, and low-key beach life. Visit the Tacugama chimpanzee sanctuary in the hills. Go in the dry season, and enjoy some of West Africa's best and least-crowded coast.