Libreville

Libreville is the capital of Gabon. It is a very posh city and offers lots of attractions that are hard to find in the neighboring countries or in the countryside. Golf, tennis, horseback riding, bowling, squash, shopping centres, sailing. If you need a break from the adventurous traveling most of Central Africa offers you, you have picked the right spot.

Libreville's greatest asset is, probably, the seafront where people gather daily to relax by the Atlantic Ocean. All along the seafront you will find some Gabonese sculptures (some are 20 feet tall!) looking over the beach. You could also go in Nzeng-ayong to see the Arboretum de Sybang which is a huge tree sanctuary inside Libreville which groups thousands of local species. (But make sure in advance that somebody will be there to open the gate. Once you are inside apply a huge amount of anti mosquito cream on your skin before entering the woods. The people there will remind you - they are very helpful) The city centre is also a nice area to visit, in which you are able to enjoy the nearby ocean breeze.

Eating at any good restaurant ends up costing about $24+ for the meal and drinks. Not cheap but it is usually worth it! There are some high end restaurants that can be compared to the best restaurants in Western metropoles. The standard of quality in cheaper restaurants is high. Try one of the three Papa Union restaurants. A great place to have a meal is the restaurant/hotel Excellence in the quartier Ancien Sobraga. It is run by a Belgium guy, and they serve Python a la sauce tomate. Delicious. The main road leading up into the Louis area (from the seafront near Jeanne Eboli Hospital) has a good range of restaurants and clubs. Costa Sylvia Pizzeria makes a very nice Neptune pizza. The Chinese restaurant opposite Le Warhol's is nice too. The good thing about Libreville is that one can salad in the restaurants, and there is no need to be afraid of the ice cubes in your drink. The tap water is absolutely ok. Do not try that in any other African city. L'Emir has very good Lebanese food and the owners are friendly.

The local beers, Regab, Beaufort and Castel are Ok, if you are not too demanding. The local lemonade, Djino, is a real find. It is comparable to Orangina, maybe better. There is no problem to get any imported goods (wine/spirits) if you are prepared to pay.