Things to Do at July 22 Square
Complete Guide to July 22 Square in Banjul
About July 22 Square
July 22 Square sits at the administrative heart of Banjul. It is a broad quadrangular space framed by low colonial-era government buildings and the occasional flame tree dropping orange petals onto cracked concrete. The square has anchored civic life since the 1820s. You feel it immediately. Worn stone benches line the edges.
Taxi horns echo off the old post office facade. The humid salt air rolling in from the River Gambia carries the faint sweetness of decaying mango skins sold at carts along the perimeter. For most of its existence the square was called MacCarthy Square, after the colonial governor. It was renamed in 1996 to mark the date of the July 22, 1994 military coup that brought Yahya Jammeh to power.
Some maps and locals still use both names interchangeably. After Adama Barrow won the presidency, the original name was officially restored. Signage remains inconsistent. The square's identity tends to shift depending on who you ask. What makes the square worth a deliberate stop, rather than just a pass-through on the way to Albert Market, is the layering of Banjul's history in a single small space.
A cream-white memorial fountain from the 1930s stands near the center. Its paint peels in the West African heat. On the eastern edge, a sober war memorial lists the names of Gambian soldiers who served in the First World War. Pigeons scatter across the flagstones. Children chase each other around the fountain. Elderly men sit beneath the sparse shade of a neem tree debating politics in Wolof.
The square is not manicured or photogenic in any postcard sense. It has the lived-in gravity of a place that has quietly witnessed every chapter of this small capital's modern story.
What to See & Do
King George V Memorial Fountain
Dedicated on 12 May 1937, the coronation day of George VI, this pavilion-shaped fountain was built in memory of George V. Its cream-white stonework is banded in red. The four open sides echo a faintly Oriental architectural style that feels unexpected in downtown Banjul. The fountain has not functioned for decades. Its weathered elegance still draws the eye. Run your hand along the plinth. You will feel the grit of Saharan dust settled into every groove of the carved detailing.
Bathurst War Memorial
Standing on the eastern edge of the square, this stone cenotaph commemorates 37 Gambian casualties of the First World War whose graves are not marked elsewhere. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission recognises it as the official memorial to these soldiers. The inscribed names of the Infantry Company are weathered but still legible. There is something quietly powerful about reading them while the everyday noise of Banjul carries on around you.
Arch 22
Looming at the entrance to the city along Independence Drive, this 35-metre triumphal arch was designed by Senegalese architect Pierre Goudiaby and completed in 1996. It rises on eight concrete columns and houses three floors. A gallery on the second level offers sweeping views over Banjul's tin rooftops, the port cranes, and the green tangle of the Tanbi Wetland Complex. The top floor contains a small textile museum. A bronze statue of an unknown soldier once stood at the base, holding a baby in one arm with a rifle slung across his back. Civilian vigilantes removed it after Jammeh's fall in January 2017. The warm breeze at the top carries the brackish tang of the river estuary.
Surrounding Colonial Architecture
The square is bordered by a handful of faded government buildings dating to the British colonial period. Their louvered shutters and corrugated roofing give Banjul's center a low-slung, heat-adapted look. Paint flakes in long strips. Bougainvillea climbs iron railings. None of these buildings are individually famous. Together they form the texture of a capital city that has resisted the urge to tear everything down and start over.
Practical Information
Opening Hours
The square itself is open public space, accessible at any hour. Arch 22 tends to keep irregular hours. The upper floors may be closed without notice. Check with your hotel or a local guide before making a special trip to climb it. The textile museum on the top floor, when open, typically follows daylight hours.
Tickets & Pricing
Walking the square is free. Climbing Arch 22 involves a nominal entry fee that amounts to pocket change for most visitors. You pay at the base. There is no advance booking. Groups arriving with a licensed guide sometimes skip the wait. The wait itself is rarely more than a few minutes.
Best Time to Visit
Early morning is ideal, roughly between seven and nine. The heat has not yet turned punishing. The square catches a mild breeze off the river. The light at that hour falls softly on the memorial fountain. You will have the space mostly to yourself aside from a few civil servants cutting through on their way to work. By midday the concrete radiates heat. Shade is scarce. Late afternoon brings locals back out. This adds atmosphere. It also adds noise and traffic.
Suggested Duration
The square itself takes about twenty minutes to absorb properly if you read the memorial inscriptions and photograph the fountain. Add another thirty to forty-five minutes if you climb Arch 22 and linger at the gallery level for the views. Most visitors pair the square with Albert Market and the National Museum. Together these fill a comfortable half-day on foot.
Getting There
July 22 Square sits in central Banjul, walkable from most points within the city center. From the tourist strip along the coast near Kololi or Senegambia, a shared taxi or local transport to Banjul takes roughly forty-five minutes to an hour depending on traffic, and costs far less than a private tourist taxi. If you are arriving by ferry from Barra, the square is about a fifteen-minute walk south from the ferry terminal along Liberation Avenue.
Arch 22 sits on Independence Drive at the city's main entrance, so drivers coming from the Serrekunda direction pass directly beneath it. Those staying in the Banjul area can walk to the square in minutes from most hotels. The streets in central Banjul follow a loose grid, so navigation on foot is straightforward, though signage is sparse and it helps to use a landmark like the arch or the mosque minarets as orientation points.
Things to Do Nearby
Believed to be the largest market in the country, Albert Market sprawls across several blocks south of the square. The air inside hangs thick with the smell of dried fish, ground spices, and freshly dyed fabric. It pairs well because you can walk there directly from the square in under five minutes and it gives a completely different sensory register, from the quiet of the memorial stones to the clamor of haggling vendors.
A short walk from the square, this museum covers everything from Stone Age artifacts to the independence struggle. It is small enough to see in under an hour and provides useful context for understanding the political layers visible in the square and at Arch 22. The unknown soldier statue removed from the arch base was moved here after 2017.
Its minarets are visible from the top of Arch 22, and the mosque itself is an imposing structure in Banjul's skyline. Non-Muslim visitors can generally view the exterior and courtyard outside of prayer times. The walk from the square passes through quiet residential streets that give a feel for everyday life in the capital.
Visible from the Arch 22 gallery as a band of green stretching south of the city, this protected wetland is home to herons, kingfishers, and mudskippers. Reaching it requires a short drive or a long walk from the square. But it has a striking contrast to the concrete of the city center and is worth it for birdwatchers or anyone wanting to stretch their legs after a morning of urban sightseeing.
Tips & Advice
Tours & Activities at July 22 Square
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