Yaounde is the political capital and the assembly point for trips south and east. Give it two days: one for the centre (the National Museum in Ahidjo's old palace, the Reunification Monument, Mokolo market), one for the hills and the basilica above them. Mefou's rescued primates and the Nyong at Ebogo each take a third.
Cameroon's capital sits at about 750 m on seven hills, green and steep and built for administration rather than arrivals. Douala takes the flights and the freight. Yaounde keeps the ministries, the museums and the forest that starts where the suburbs stop.
Ahmadou Ahidjo's presidential palace, reopened as a museum in 2015 after six years of restoration: about 5,000 m² over 30 rooms, running from Grassfields royal regalia and masks to the politics of independence. Open Tuesday to Sunday, and the best single hour in the city for context.
A spiral tower read as two snakes whose heads meet at the top, one for each Cameroon joined in 1961. Engelbert Mveng conceived it, Armand Salomon built it between 1973 and 1976, and Gédéon Mpando carved the pillars beneath. The gardens around it fill with runners at six.
More than 300 rescued gorillas, chimpanzees, drills and mandrills in forest enclosures inside a national park, run by Ape Action Africa since 1996. Guided circuits only, and the walking is real. The closest you get to Cameroon forest wildlife without a week in the south-east.
The city's high ground, with the whole basin of seven hills laid out below it. The Benedictine monastery near the top keeps a compact museum of Cameroonian art: masks, stools, pipes, drinking horns and beaded statues from most regions of the country.
One of the largest open-air markets in Central Africa, trading on this ground since about 1949 and named for the quarter around it. Food, fabric, furniture, hardware and crafts, sold from stalls the vendors own. Loud, tight, and the fastest read on how the city works.
Yaounde's Catholic mission started on this hill in 1901. The building that replaced its cathedral stands 32 m high and 75 m wide on twelve columns, one for each apostle, and was raised to basilica in December 2006. The terrace looks north over the whole city.
The archdiocese's cathedral, begun in 1952 and consecrated in 1955, laid out as a cross and seating around 5,000. It stands at the central post office roundabout, which makes it the easiest fixed point to navigate the downtown grid from.
A private collection of about 2,070 objects, opened in 1998 by Nana Agnès Sunjio of the Bahouoc royal family from pieces left to her by her father and by other Grassfields kings. Narrower than the National Museum, and considerably deeper on the western chiefdoms.
Two hectares of zoo and botanical garden opened in 1951, holding 29 animal species and 36 plant species, bubinga, iroko and moabi among the trees. Modest against a European zoo, and the one place in town that gives children an afternoon of their own.
The national craft centre, where artisans from every region sell carving, masks, beadwork and textiles under one roof. Prices are negotiable and the range beats the airport by a wide margin. About ten minutes from the centre by taxi.
The state conference hall, and the venue for national ceremonies and trade fairs.
The monastery museum: masks, stools, pipes, horns and beaded statues.
Carving, masks, beadwork and textiles from every region, under one roof.
A quieter craft market north of the centre, easier to browse than Mokolo.
The city's established Chinese kitchen, and a standing fixture of the expatriate circuit.
Grills and mezze, the outlier on a scene that otherwise runs French and Cameroonian.
Two hectares, 29 animal species and 36 plant species, open daily.
Also the anniversary of French Cameroun's independence in 1960. The city closes.
School parades down Boulevard du 20 Mai, and the loudest morning after 20 May.
The Central African trade fair at the Palais des Congrès, and the week the hotels fill.
Union columns march the parade avenue, then the city takes the afternoon off.
Unity Day, the military and civil parade, and the fixed point of the calendar.
Free stages across town, with the Institut Français programme the most reliable.
A public holiday and a full day at Mvolyé, which is a Marian sanctuary.
Central Africa's largest film festival, founded here in 1997 and run over a week.
Cameroon's second international gateway, 27 km south of the city and about 45 minutes by road. Douala carries more traffic, so plenty of itineraries land there and come east by rail.
The Douala express leaves Yaounde at 17:00 daily and runs 4h45 over 263 km, calling at Ngoumou, Makak, Eseka, Messondo and Edéa. The northern line to Ngaoundéré uses the same station.
Yellow taxis run fixed lines and are shared by default: call your destination through the window, and the driver takes you if it fits his route. A private hire costs several times the seat fare.
The bikes climb the quarters the taxis skip and cut through a jammed centre. No meters, so agree the fare before getting on, and expect helmets to be the exception.
Bitter leaves stewed with ground peanuts and shrimp or beef. The national dish.
Chicken fried with plantain, carrot and pepper. DG is for directeur général.
Shredded eru leaves with crayfish and palm oil, served with water fufu.
A black stew built on burnt mbongo spice, with fish or meat and ripe plantain.
Pounded cocoyam under yellow palm-oil soup, from the Grassfields. Eaten by hand.
Ground black-eyed beans steamed in banana leaves with palm oil.
Skewered beef grilled over charcoal with a dry pepper rub, sold from dusk.
Fried dough, bean stew and millet porridge. Breakfast for a few hundred francs.
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