Dakar for The Time Travellers: a Friday-to-Monday weekend

The square at the heart of French-era Dakar, ringed by banks, the chamber of commerce and the shaded arcades of the Plateau.

The African Remembrance Cathedral, a 1936 Neo-Sudanese design in stone, with a beautiful interior and stained glass by African artists.

A French bistro near the Plateau where ministers lunch; the menu is classical and a little old-fashioned in a way that suits the district.

The crossing to Gorée, where Portuguese, Dutch, British and French each held the island in turn from the fifteenth century.

The House of Slaves, with its famous Door of No Return; historians dispute how many people actually passed through, but the building is still a quiet, difficult place.

A small museum on the island's women, from the signares traders to modern leaders, housed in an eighteenth-century house.

Lunch in a courtyard on the island, fish and rice, before the afternoon ferry.

Senegal's national museum, opened in 2018 in a Chinese-built circular hall; the collection traces African civilisation through art, masks, and music.

The IFAN museum holds one of the best West African collections of masks, textiles and instruments; the displays are dated, but the objects are superb.

At 52 metres, taller than the Statue of Liberty, this 2010 bronze group is Africa's tallest statue; the view from the top is the justification.

The 1964 mosque in the Médina with a pink minaret; visitors see the exterior and courtyard, so dress modestly and ask politely.

A midday coffee in the café that has watched the Plateau for decades, with the Dakar daily papers at the counter.