Cafés in Plateau

Place de l'Indépendance, once Place Protet

The central square was Place Protet, after Auguste-Léopold Protet, the French naval officer credited with founding Dakar, until Léopold Sédar Senghor renamed it.³ The Gouvernance, former office of the French governor, stands on it with the préfecture and the Chambre de commerce. In 2011 protesters filled it against Abdoulaye Wade's bid for a third term, until a decree known as the arrêté Ousmane Ngom banned demonstrations there before the 2012 election.³

The city put about 744 million CFA francs into reworking the square under its contracts for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games, with delivery promised by mid-October 2026.⁴ Le Rond Point is at 1 Place de l'Indépendance, on the corner of Rue Albert Sarraut: a restaurant-bar with Senegalese and international dishes, regular live music and an all-you-can-eat brunch on Sundays.⁵

Kermel and Sandaga markets

Marché Kermel stands in the middle of the Plateau under a pagoda-like roof with a pointed dome on an iron frame; light falls on the stalls through a high glass roof, and butchers and poultry sellers work the central aisle.⁶ It once drew senior officials, expatriates and foreign traders.⁶

Kermel sells fruit, vegetables, fish, meat and shellfish, and art dealers have set up in the streets around it.⁷ Sandaga, at the junction of Avenue Pompidou and Avenue Lamine Guèye, is the largest market in central Dakar, where you can find almost anything; keep an eye on your bag in the crowds.⁷

From breakfast to after midnight

Presse Café opens every day at 07:00 and closes at 01:00, with Wi-Fi and no smoking inside. Dallas café, at 116 Rue Joseph Gomis, shares its street with the Institut Léopold Sédar Senghor at number 89, and the Théâtre National Daniel Sorano is on Boulevard de la République.⁷ Buunna Coffee, on Rue Bérenger Ferraud, is a short walk from Le Rond Point.

Getting to the Plateau by bus, ferry or taxi

Sunu BRT, Dakar's all-electric bus rapid transit, runs 18.3 km on its own lane between Petersen / Papa Guèye Fall and the Guédiawaye prefecture.²⁸ As of 2026 a ride cost 400 CFA francs within one zone and 500 across zones; line B1 runs daily from 06:00 to 21:00.⁸

Ferries to Gorée Island leave about every 20 minutes from Môle 1 of the port, the embarcadère de Gorée.⁷ Taxis run without meters and fares depend on distance, so settle the price before you get in.⁷

Heat and the rainy season

Dakar has a short rainy season from July to October and about 411 mm of rain a year.² From December to May daytime temperatures are usually 25–28 °C; from May to November highs reach 29–31 °C.²