National Museum of Costume

About this place

The National Museum of Costume is a state museum in Quartier France in Grand-Bassam, showing the traditional dress of the peoples of Côte d'Ivoire. It occupies the old governor's palace, the colony's first seat of government and one of the finest colonial buildings in town. A visit combines the story of the building with the country's wide range of cultures. The first four governors of the colony lived and worked here between 1893 and 1902. It was built with prefabricated iron parts delivered in April 1893, on top of an older building from 1849. The iron columns were later encased in masonry to protect them from the salty sea air. After the capital moved to Bingerville the palace fell out of use, until a ministerial order turned it into a museum in 1981. You see a cream two-storey building on a raised base, wrapped in a long veranda with columns and arches, and a double stair rising to the entrance. A small garden and palm trees lie in front. Inside are costumes and jewellery from different regions, models of traditional houses and old photographs. It stands inside Quartier France, about 36 km from Abidjan in a straight line. Combine it with a walk around the quarter and the nearby beach. Ask about photo rules in the galleries.