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District · Accra

Osu / Oxford Street

Accra's main tourist strip: restaurants, bars, shops and hotels along Oxford Street; the easiest base for a first visit.

sleepeat

Key facts

Suits
First visit, restaurants and nightlife
Room prices
$$
price band of 5
Sights here
2
Eats here
2

What it's like

Feels:
Accra's most cosmopolitan strip: restaurants, bars, shops
Suits:
First visit, restaurants and nightlife
Best time:
Any time, especially evening
Watch out for:
Nothing much; the easiest district in the city.
In short:
Accra's main tourist strip: restaurants, bars, shops and hotels along Oxford Street; the easiest base for a first visit.

About these names

Accra addresses often work by landmark and neighbourhood rather than a reliable house-number system: give your driver the district and a nearby landmark.

A first visit covers a coastal strip of about 8 km: Jamestown and Ussher Town (the old Ga town) in the west, Independence Square and the government quarter in the middle, and Osu with its Oxford Street a little further east. Makola market sits just inland from the old town. Everything beyond that strip — East Legon, Airport Residential, Labadi, Teshie — is a ride.

Where exactly

This district is highlighted. Shapes follow this guide's walking areas and places, not official boundaries.

Osu / Oxford Street on the Accra mapTap an area for what it is like and who it suits. Shapes follow this guide’s walking areas and places, not official boundaries.
Osu and Oxford Street · $$Ridge and Independence… · $$

Osu / Oxford Street

sleepeatPrice $$

Accra's main tourist strip: restaurants, bars, shops and hotels along Oxford Street; the easiest base for a first visit.

Suits: First visit, restaurants and nightlife

On the map: W. E. B. Du Bois Memorial Centre for Pan-African Culture

District guideWalk: Osu & Oxford StreetSleep: Osu and Oxford StreetIn the districts table

Off the map: Kotoka International Airport (ACC) (30–75 min by the usual route).

Not drawn yet (no coordinates in this guide): Labadi / La, East Legon / Airport Residential. See the table above.

Where’s what, as a list:

  • Jamestown / Ussher Town: The old Ga fishing town: Fort James lighthouse, Ussher Fort, colourful fishing canoes. Narrow lanes, broken pavement, and a strong sense of place — go with a local guide for context. Suits: History and photography, a morning out.
  • Independence Square / Ridge: Black Star Square, Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and the ministries; wide, exposed and hot at midday with little shade. Suits: History, government-quarter hotels. Price band $$.
  • Makola: West Africa's largest and most chaotic market district; go with bags left at the hotel and cash in a front pocket. Suits: Market trips.
  • Osu / Oxford Street: Accra's main tourist strip: restaurants, bars, shops and hotels along Oxford Street; the easiest base for a first visit. Suits: First visit, restaurants and nightlife. Price band $$.
  • Labadi / La: Labadi Beach is the closest easy beach to the centre; lively on weekends, watch belongings closely. Suits: A beach afternoon.
  • East Legon / Airport Residential: Newer, leafier residential areas with malls and international restaurants; every outing is a ride to the coastal sights. Suits: Longer stays, quieter base, business travellers.
  • Sleep area Osu and Oxford Street: suits First visit, restaurants and nightlife, price band $$.
  • Sleep area Ridge and Independence Avenue: suits History, government-quarter hotels, price band $$.
  • Kotoka International Airport (ACC), 30–75 min by the usual route.

Stay here?

How this district's sleep area scores for five kinds of traveler, ranked against the other Accra districts that have scores. Scores are this guide's 1–5 judgements.

  • First visit

    2nd of 2

    Walkable to some sights; Jamestown and Independence Square are still a ride.

    Better for this: Independence Square / Ridge

  • Families

    2nd of 2

    Restaurants and shops are easy; broken pavements outside the main strip are the strain.

    Better for this: Independence Square / Ridge

  • Light sleepers

    2nd of 2

    Bars and traffic noise on Oxford Street itself; side streets are calmer.

    Better for this: Independence Square / Ridge

  • Night owls

    best of 2

    The city's main visitor-facing bar and restaurant strip is on the doorstep.

  • On a budget

    best of 2

    A wide spread from budget guesthouses to upmarket boutique hotels.

See

Opening hours and prices from each place page; (check) means typical hours, not yet verified.

  • Oxford Street, OsuGo

    The busy shopping and eating street of Osu: an evening walk with a car booked home; stalls and cafés run late.

    Entry:
    Free
  • W. E. B. Du Bois Memorial Centre for Pan-African CultureBook a time

    The former home and grave of the African-American scholar and activist W. E. B. Du Bois, who settled in Accra in 1961: a quiet, indoor hour on Pan-African and diaspora history.

    Hours:
    09:00–17:00(check)
    Entry:
    GH₵ 20–40 (2026 estimate)

Open now in this district

Checking the time in Accra…

Eat

What to order and what locals pay, from each eat page. Prices are estimates; check the menu.

Sleep

  • Osu and Oxford Street$$

    First-timers: cafés and street food are a short walk; choose a hotel with a 24-hour desk, a generator and a car door.

    Rooms: GH₵ 250–500 (check)

    Skip this if: Noise from the street until late.

    4–8 min walk to Osu & Oxford Street

Drink and nightlife

Lines from the Accra drinking guide that name this district.

  • Oxford Street, Osu · Bars, clubs, restaurants · until Late on weekendsAccra's main visitor-facing nightlife strip; walkable between venues but still watch belongings.
  • Palm wine and akpeteshie · Traditional fermented palm wine and distilled spirit · until — · CheapLocal spots, less common on Oxford Street

Shopping

Markets and shopping streets from the Accra buying guide that name this district.

  • Oxford Street craft stalls · Kente cloth, wood carvings, beads, souvenirs · Shop hours · haggling: hardAimed squarely at visitors; prices start high.
  • Kente cloth and tailoring · Oxford Street, Makola fabric lanes · Shop hoursGenuine handwoven kente is expensive and slow to make; ask whether a piece is handwoven or printed.

Getting there and around

Where to get off

  • Car to the top of Oxford Street · for Oxford Street, Osu
  • Car to the centre, Cantonments near Osu · for W. E. B. Du Bois Memorial Centre for Pan-African Culture
  • Car to the street · 3 min walk to Chop bar in Osu (waakye, jollof, banku)
  • Osu, off Oxford Street · 5 min walk to Grilled tilapia and banku, Osu

Walks inside the district

  • Oxford Street, Osu → Chop bar in Osu (waakye, jollof, banku): 5–8 min on foot (Walk along the street)
  • Oxford Street, Osu → Grilled tilapia and banku, Osu: 8–14 min on foot (Walk along Oxford Street)

On to the next area

Minutes are this guide’s typical walking and ride times (p50–p90); traffic and heat stretch them.

Streets in this district

Street names that appear in the addresses of this district’s places and eats: useful to type into a map or show a driver.

  • Oxford Street

Safety at night and noise

  • Osu / Oxford Streetday: oknight: ok

    Pickpocketing in crowds; watch drinks and bags on the busy strip.

  • Quiet nights

    Bars and traffic noise on Oxford Street itself; side streets are calmer.

  • Nightlife

    The city's main visitor-facing bar and restaurant strip is on the doorstep.

  • Late arrival

    Larger hotels keep 24-hour desks; smaller guesthouses may not.

Nearby districts

Built from this guide’s Accra districts table, place, eat and sleep pages, route graph and city notes. Hours, prices and rules change: anything marked (check) is typical, not verified. checked: 2026-09.