Give it a day, two at most. Spend the morning at the camel market on the Boutilimit road and the national museum, look at the Saudi and Marocaine mosques from outside, then be at the fishing beach by late afternoon when the pirogues come in through the surf. Eat grilled fish by the sea. Then go north to the Banc d'Arguin or inland to the Adrar.
Nouakchott was a coastal village until 1957, when it was picked to be the capital of a country about to exist. It now holds 1.4 million people on flat sand beside the Atlantic, and its best sights are working ones: a fishing beach, a camel market, three mosques.
The best sight in the city is a working one. Hundreds of painted wooden pirogues come in through the surf in the late afternoon, and crews haul the catch up the sand to buyers waiting there. Stand back from the boats and keep your camera low.
Herders, traders and butchers buy and sell dromedaries on open ground at the city's eastern edge. Nothing else in the capital shows you the nomad economy this plainly. Go in the morning, before the heat and before the deals are done.
Built by China in 1972, with two permanent rooms, archaeology and ethnography. Start here before the Adrar, because it gives the ksour and the caravan trade their context. The building is dated and the collection is worth the hour.
King Faisal commissioned the city's largest mosque in the 1970s, and Saudi Arabia paid for it. Its two tall minarets are the capital's clearest landmark. Only Muslims may enter, so see it from the street, ideally at a call to prayer.
The Grande Mosquée de la Capitale has a 55-metre minaret tiled in white, blue and green, and it is modelled on the Koutoubia in Marrakech. Look for the green roofs. Combine it with the market next door, which is at its busiest in the morning.
The central market is where merchants from across West Africa trade cloth, spices, woven bags, electronics and car parts. It is loud, dense and useful. Come here for a melhafa or a boubou, and bargain calmly.
A beach restaurant and camp north of town, with umbrellas on the sand and a long menu of grilled fish and seafood. It is the city's easiest escape from the dust. Take a taxi, stay the afternoon and eat whatever came in that morning.
Nouakchott's oldest mosque, inaugurated in 1963 with Tunisian funding, when the capital was barely a town. It is modest next to the Saudi and Marocaine mosques and matters more to the city's story. See it from outside on your way to the museum.
For years it held the only cinema screen in the country, and it still runs films, concerts, exhibitions and talks all year. Check the programme when you land, because an evening here is the best cultural night in the capital.
The best reason to use Nouakchott as a base. UNESCO-listed in 1989, the park's mudflats hold more than two million wintering shorebirds, with flamingos and pelicans among them. It is about three hours by 4x4 each way, so stay a night if you can.
A large everyday market in the south of the city, used by residents rather than visitors.
The hotel restaurant, mixing West African and French cooking.
Films, concerts and exhibitions all year, in French and Arabic.
Wetlands on the Senegal River delta, 220 km south, rich in waterbirds.
Daytime slows right down and the city comes alive after iftar.
New clothes, family visits and the first daytime meals in a month.
Every family sacrifices a sheep, and the livestock markets overflow before it.
Hip-hop, dance and graffiti since 2008, with artists from across Africa.
The worldwide music day, marked in Nouakchott with concerts across the city.
A week of screenings in a city with almost no cinemas. Launched in 2023.
The national day, marking independence from France in 1960.
The book fair's second edition, after its first in October 2025.
Opened in June 2016, about 25 km north of the city. The taxi takes around 30 minutes; agree the fare before you get in.
The way everyone gets around. There are no meters, so agree the fare first and carry small ouguiya notes.
Shared cars to Rosso, Atar and Nouadhibou leave from the garages when full. Cheap, cramped, and the only public option.
Flights link Nouakchott with Nouadhibou and Atar, saving most of a day on the road north or inland.
Fish, broken rice and vegetables in tomato. The national dish.
Rice with slow-cooked lamb, goat or camel. The everyday lunch.
The afternoon's catch, split, salted and grilled over charcoal.
Whole lamb roasted over embers and shared by the room.
Grilled or stewed, leaner and a little sweeter than beef.
Coarser than Morocco's, often millet or barley, with a meat sauce.
Soured milk, water and sugar, drunk cold. The Saharan thirst cure.
Green tea brewed three times and poured from a height until it foams.
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