Pointe-Noire

Pointe Noire is the second largest city of the Republic of the Congo. It is a major sea port and a tourist destination. The town has a very French feel to it because of the colonial past and the large number of French expatriates and tourists.

Understand

The city, commonly known as PNR, had almost 1.2 million residents in 2017. Pointe-Noire is the centre of the oil industry of the Republic of Congo, one of the main oil producers in Central Africa.

Pointe-Noire is also known for its fishing industry, which is often at odds with the oil development.

Climate

Pointe-Noire has a wet season that spans from October through April, while the remaining 5 months form the dry season. Temperatures are somewhat cooler during the dry season with average temperatures of 24 °C. During the wet season, average temperatures hover around 28 °C.

Get in

By plane

• 1 Agostinho-Neto International Airport (PNR IATA). It has local flights from Brazzaville, and international flights from Paris, Istanbul, Nairobi, and other African cities. The airport is not far from the town or beach hotels. A taxi will cost about FCFA 2000 to the town.  

By train

La Gazelle train links Pointe-Noire with Dolisie and the capital Brazzaville every other day. With proper restaurant car and air condition, it offers one of the more comfortable railway experiences in sub-Saharan Africa. However, despite the train's name, a journey from Brazzaville takes around 15 hours. There are no sleepers available, just regular seats. Other services, using older rolling stock, are also available. While cheaper, they are be a rather gruelling experience.

• 2 Pointe-Noire railway station (Gare de Pointe-Noire), Ave. Carles de Gaulle. The old colonial railway terminus, with "Bavarian-inspired" architectural style, was completed in 1936. A small cafeteria is available as is a ticket office. (updated Aug 2020)

By car

Roads inside the town are in good condition. However, outside of the town they may be impassible to anything less than a 4 wheel drive vehicle.

Do not go outside of PNR without a known driver and a 4WD.

The asphalt road from Brazzaville to Point Noire was finished in 2015, but it is unsafe in the Pool region. The new road is worth driving on just to get a feel for the forest/grassland region of Congo.

By bus

By boat

There are no scheduled passenger ferries to Pointe-Noire.

Get around

It is OK to walk around the main parts of town.

In Pointe-Noire, public transport is provided by private operators who operate buses, taxis or common taxis. It is very safe to travel around with a taxi. Taxis in PNR are shared so if you are in a hurry tell him to take you straight where you want to go, and pay FCFA 700-1000. If you take other people from the road you pay FCFA 150-350, depending on the length. For a longer trip (from the airport to the city), it takes FCFA 1000 to 2000. If you use a taxi more than 1 hour you will have to pay FCFA 3000 for that hour.

For collective taxis, known as 100-100, which make round trips along a single route, their price is set at 150 CFA Francs

See

• 1 African Circle Museum of Pointe-Noire (Musée du Cercle Africain de Pointe-Noire). 09:00-20:00. A great repository of African masks, plus sculpture and painting. Souvenir shop is on the premises too. (updated Aug 2020)
• 2 Mâ-Loango Regional Museum. Housed in a former royal palace, displays artifacts (weapons, baskets, etc) pertaining to tribal life and the history of the region of the Republic of the Congo. CFA 2500. (updated Aug 2020)

Do

• 1 Diosso Gorge (north of Pointe-Noire). Just outside Pointe Noire, there's the spectacular Diosso gorges. One can negotiate a taxi for the day to go there and forth. Local village boys have barred the route to the lookout point and ask about FCFA 2000 pp for entrance. 
• 2 Côte Sauvage. The premiere beach of Point-Noire with pretty sand but a little bit contentious as far as surf, theft, and safety (at night) go. Be careful going barefoot too due to broken glass. (updated Aug 2020)
• 3 Tchimpounga Animal Sanctuary. Jane Goodall's chimpanzee sanctuary for rescued primates who have been caught up in illegal bushmeat trade. May be able to arrange tour. (updated Aug 2020)
• 4 Conkouati-Douli National Park. A five-hour drive (in the dry season) North of Pointe Noire, near the Gabonese border is the vast and relatively scarcely visited national park of Conkouati-Douli. Elephants, gorillas and chimpanzees can be seen here. Be sure to strenuously ask your guide to do a tour of the Ngongo river as late as possible and to go down the river with the engine turned off to see elephants and gorillas. 

Work

There are a few junior mining companies setting up close to pointe noire with touching base with including Cominco Resources and Equatorial Resources. If you have the appropriate working visa these companies are worth touching base with.

Buy

Some hotels will accept payment in euros or US dollars. There are also a few money exchange offices. Changing euros or dollars is easy. Very poor rates are given for British pounds.

The artisan village is on the Port Side Beach (next to Le Derrik). Prices will differ for every customer. It is ok to take pictures and send local trustworthy people to buy in your place as they will get at least half of the price. Be careful when buying wood statues as they need to be fumigated for bugs.

Eat

• Citronnelle, Opposite Atlantic Palace Hotel. Typical French patisserie, which has some excellent patisseries, cakes and fresh orange juice 
• La Cite, Taxi will take you there. Typical bakery that also serves swarm, sandwiches and kebab, good prices, Swarm is around FCFA 2000, try the Chocolate Bread (Pain de Chocloat) ~ FCFA 500. 
• Kactus, Charles de Gaulle crossing (Across from Congo Credit Bank), ☏ +242 22 294 5025, +242 05 564 5025. 10:00-22:00. Home delivery and also sit-in restaurant. Very good pizza and Hamburger. The fish burger (as of 2012) is particularly good with a thick chunk of fresh grilled fish topped with cheese, tomato slice and lettuce. Ordering at home will cost you extra FCFA 2000 for shipment, they work very fast in about 20 minutes you have it at your door (updated Oct 2017)
• Le Derrick, Port Side Beach. 11:30-15:00, 19:00-22:00. Best place in town for eating, prices are very good about FCFA 5500 will give you the daily menu, It is mostly for oil industry people, but anyone can eat there. However, it does get crowded during meal times hence come early. Certainly a recommended place as of 2012. 
• Gaspar. Very good fish and chicken on a stick, French type on the sidewalk restaurant, very fresh and tasty food. Do not go to bathroom since it is dirty, chicken is clean. 
• Cercle Naval (ClubNautique) (near Artisan Market), ☏ +242 05 557 9998. 12:00-15:00, 18:00-22:30. Restaurant co-located with the Pointe Noire Yacht Club. Covered terrace overlooking the water. Most of the patrons are expatriates. Large selection of pizzas, also meat and fish dishes. Nice atmosphere. FCFA 7-9,000. 

Budget

Mid-range

Splurge

Drink

Sleep

Hotels in Pointe Noire are very expensive given the standard of accommodation. Also, not many accept credit cards.

Budget

Mid-range

Splurge

• 1 Hotel Palm Beach Congo, On the beach, ☏ +242 05 713 3333. Reasonably good hotel with pool. Right next to the beach. Rooms in the old block start at FCFA 80,000, nearly double that in the new block. WiFi is available in some areas - FCFA 2000 per hour. FCFA 80,000. 
• 2 Hotel Twiga, Ave Dr Jacques Bouity (Cote Sauvage beachfront), ☏ +242 6584747, +242 6574848. Beachfront hotel with popular bar-restaurant on ground-level with direct access to the beach. More formal restaurant on upper level. Large choice of pizza and pasta dishes as well as various fish and meat dishes. Extra charge for side dishes,such as vegetables (string beans), fried plantains or rice. Hotel rooms are comfortable, roughly equivalent to a two- or three-star hotel in Europe. Free Wi-Fi internet access for hotel guests. Listening to the waves crashing on the beach is a real pleasure. It is also fun to watch the surfers from the beachfront terrace. 

Connect

Stay safe

Unlike many African cities, it is quite safe to walk in the main parts of the city and the beach area. There are relatively few beggars.

Cope

Credit cards are not accepted in many places - only the very best hotels. Internationally linked ATMs are also not too common. Credit du Congo have a few branches with machines that will accept foreign cards.

There are several FM radio stations (all French language), including RFI on 93.2MHz.

Not many people in the town speak English.

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