The Old Governors Palace, Lome

 The Old Governors Palace was minutes away from my hotel. A wall surrounds the palace and sadly there is no way to enter. The palace was  built between the years 1898-1905 when Lome was a German colony. It has a prime beachfront location.

One of the reasons for this was so that ships coming into Lome could find the coastlne easily. The palace has 28 rooms.  After Togo’s independence in 1960 the palace became a residence for several Togolese presidents until 1970 when President Gnassingbe Eyadema built a new palace. Between 1976-91 the palace was the seat of Togo’s prime minister’s and a residence for guests.

Political tensions in Togo in 1991 caused damage to the structure. The palace is apparently closed for renovation. They do  seem to object to you taking pictures as I discovered upon hearing someone calling out “Madam”  I retreated speedily across the street to the beach