Ivory Coast

Abidjan, the country’s capital in all but name, has always had a mixed reputation with travellers. On one hand, it’s a glitzy, vibrant city of high-rise buildings, smart boutiques and chic Ivorian ladies clacking along in high heels on their way to restaurants of four-star Parisian quality although the ‘Paris of West Africa’ moniker was a bit of an exaggeration, even during the boom years. On the other hand, there are the beggars, the street hawkers and now the gun-toting soldiers who seem to have slipped in from another world.