Ouidah, a coastal city 42 km west of Cotonou, has 162,034 inhabitants. A major trading post for the Atlantic slave trade in the 18th century, it preserves exceptional historical heritage: the Slave Route, the Door of No Return, Portuguese, French and English forts, and the history museum. As the spiritual capital of Vodun, it hosts the Vodun Days festival every January, an international event attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors. The city also houses the historic Agouda quarter, home to descendants of freed slaves who returned from Brazil, maintaining a unique cultural identity.
