Dakar for The Romantics: a Friday-to-Monday weekend

Walk the sea road as the light drops over the Atlantic; the pavement is wide, the joggers thin out and the corniche lamps come on before six.

A white mosque standing in the surf at Ouakam, best seen from the rocks with the tide in; remove shoes and cover shoulders if you go close.

Fish grilled on a pier over the water in a lantern light; ask for the day's catch by weight and share one bottle of wine.

The twenty-minute crossing to Gorée; sit on the open upper deck and watch the Dakar skyline shrink behind you.

Ochre houses, bougainvillea and no cars; wander without a plan, buy a painting from the sand-street stalls, and stop whenever a courtyard door is open.

A long lunch in the courtyard with grilled fish and cold bissap; the last ferry is late enough that nobody needs to hurry.

The hilltop battery at the island's end, with the sunset view back towards Dakar and a breeze that makes the climb worth it.

Pirogues pulled up on the sand, a lazy coffee at a beach shack, and the island of Ngor sitting a short paddle offshore.

Take the five-minute pirogue to the car-free island and walk its sandy lanes past painted murals to the quiet side.

The splurge: a candlelit dinner on the terrace of the Terrou-Bi resort above the surf, with a proper wine list.

Croissants and strong coffee in the old Plateau, where the waiters have worked the same room for decades.

Shaded benches around the colonial-era square, a good place to hold hands before the airport run.