Banjul City Tour: Arch 22, National Museum & Albert Market

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/2

Duration1h–3h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Three stops through Banjul's colonial past and street markets

You visit Arch 22 (a 35-meter monument with optional stair climb), tour the National Museum's colonial and archaeological sections with a known historian's curation, then navigate Albert Market's three zones with time to bargain. Private transport handles the route, entry fees are separate, and you'll need cash throughout.

1h–3h

Step-by-step itinerary

Visit Banjul's main historical sites

Visit Arch 22 monument
Explore Gambia National Museum
Shop at Albert Market

The Experience

The lift at Arch 22 might not be working when you arrive—so you could find yourself climbing stairs inside a 35-meter monument built to mark a 1994 military coup, designed by a Senegalese architect who also built the ECOWAS headquarters in Lomé. It's the kind of detail that makes the Banjul city tour feel less like a checklist and more like stumbling into someone else's history. The arch itself is printed on the back of the 100 dalasi note, which your guide will probably point out once you're up there, looking out over the Banjul-Serrekunda Highway.

After that, you head to the National Museum of Gambia, which opened in 1985 and splits into two sections—one for archaeology, one for colonial history. The curator, Hassoum Ceesay, is a known historian in the country, and the artifacts on display actually tell a story instead of just sitting behind glass. This is where the Banjul city tour shifts from monuments to understanding what happened here, which matters if you want to know why things look the way they do. Entry is 200 GMD, and it's not included, so bring cash—credit cards don't work in most places around Gambia, which your guide will remind you of more than once.

Albert Market is the last stop, and it's loud and crowded and exactly what you'd expect from a street market that's been running since colonial times and named after Prince Albert. It splits into three sections: wholesale, food, and tourist goods. The market runs from 8am to 7pm, and if you're there in the morning, it's packed. Bargaining is expected, not optional, and the energy is nothing like the quiet museum. You'll see fabrics, spices, crafts, and people moving fast. Private transportation picks you up and drops you off, so you're not figuring out how to get between stops on your own—which is the real relief when you're trying to see three different parts of the city in one afternoon.

What’s included

Your tour includes private transportation between Arch 22, the National Museum of Gambia, and Albert Market.
Entry fees to Arch 22 (200 GMD) and the National Museum (200 GMD) are separate and paid on-site.
You'll have time to explore each location and bargain at the market.
Bring cash, as credit cards are not accepted at most places in Gambia.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPets welcomePublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Kassama Tours

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see Banjul's main historical sites without arranging your own transport between them—the private pickup handles the logistics so you can focus on the colonial history, the museum's artifacts, and the market itself.