Dakar rewards a thin wallet: the whole Atlantic edge of the peninsula is free to walk, a plate of thieboudienne costs less than a European coffee, and shared taxis cross the city for 200 CFA. These three days run on markets, beaches and cliff-top villages.
The westernmost tip of continental Africa: a black basalt shelf at the end of Route des Almadies where the swell breaks hard. Walking out to the point costs nothing, and fishermen grill sardines on braziers for around 500 CFA.
A working lighthouse from 1864 on the taller of Dakar's two volcanic Mamelles hills, 105m above the sea. The climb from the Ouakam road takes about 20 minutes on foot and opens a full sweep from Ngor to the Plateau.
Around fifty working ateliers in converted barracks off Route de l'Aéroport, where Senegalese painters and sculptors keep studio doors open Tuesday to Saturday. Entry is free and nobody pressures you to buy anything.
A long public beach fronting the Layène Sufi village, where pirogues land the afternoon catch and teenagers play football until dark. No entry fee, no loungers, and grilled fish from the beach stalls runs 1,500 CFA.
The Medina's everyday market on Avenue Blaise Diagne, stacked with dried fish, bissap flowers, peanuts and cheap enamelware. Prices here run well under the tourist stalls, and a bag of cashews costs about 1,500 CFA.
A Cape Verdean-Senegalese canteen on Rue Moussé Diop in the Plateau, running since the 1980s. Portions are enormous, the daily thieboudienne or yassa poulet lands around 3,500 CFA, and half of downtown Dakar eats here at lunch.
The 1860 colonial rotunda rebuilt after a 1993 fire, ringed by flower sellers and fruit pyramids. Mangoes, bananas and bread for a picnic come to under 2,000 CFA, and the fish hall inside stays cool through the afternoon.
Dakar's long-running shawarma counter a block from Place de l'Indépendance, open late and permanently crowded. A loaded chawarma with fries goes for roughly 2,500 CFA and feeds you properly without a sit-down restaurant bill.
The chaloupe crosses to Gorée in 20 minutes from the Plateau terminal, with departures from about 06:15. The return ticket for foreigners is 5,000 CFA and covers the whole day; the island's lanes and beach cost nothing to wander.
The Anse Bernard fish landing on the Corniche Ouest, where painted pirogues run up the sand and the catch is auctioned on the beach. Watching is free, and grilled fish with onion sauce from the beach kitchens costs about 2,000 CFA.
A white mosque wedged into the cliffs above Ouakam beach, built in 1997 after a fisherman's vision. There is no entry charge, the descent to the cove below is public, and the surf breaking on the rocks is the whole attraction.
Wooden pirogues shuttle from Ngor beach to the small island offshore in five minutes, all day until dusk. The crossing is roughly 1,000 CFA return, and the island's western rocks face straight into the Atlantic sunset.