The best shopping malls in Accra

Accra Mall is looking lively again, with nearly all the units now open. Clothing boutiques, global sports brands and high-end jewellery outlets populate the ground floor of Ghana’s largest shopping centre. Glamorous African-inspired fashions fill the racks of KIKI Clothing, and a branch of African fabric specialists Woodin and Vlisco both have ranges of beautiful prints. Also on the ground floor are familiar brands like Levis, Puma and Swatch. A small food court includes a fried chicken eatery and a good African restaurant, plus other snacky food. There’s a central play area to allow kids to let off steam. Upstairs is the territory of Silverbird, which runs a fairly well-stocked book and music store, and it’s also where you’ll find Ghana’s only multiplex cinema, showing blockbusters, Nollywood and Ghanaian films.

Marina Mall is made up of three floors of shops, with a food court taking up the top level. There’s a welcome branch of D-Café, as well as fast food outlets including Marina’s, which sells burgers and kebabs, and KFC. A large balcony overlooks one of the more bizarre sights in Accra, a DC-10 plane that has been recently converted to a restaurant. Also next to the the mall are Yasmina’s and Soho, two of Accra’s best new restaurants. Elsewhere, big names in the complex include Benetton, the French franchise Façonnable and fashion boutique Viva. Most of the ground floor is given over to a large supermarket, one of the best for foreign goods in Accra, and a technology store and pharmacy called Compu-Ghana (054 916 3695). Also in the mall is a branch of All Pure Nature, as well as plenty of men’s and women’s fashion stores. There’s a children’s play area, although the video games make more of a racket than the kids.

Designed for excellent access and visibility, West Hills Mall is on the new motorway in west Accra. West Hills is a 30-minute drive from the Accra CBD, and forms the gateway into the Greater Accra Region from Western Ghana. West Hills is a rapidly developing middleclass residential node in a city with a growing population of over 2.5 million people. Other key tenants secured to date include The Palace, Edgars, Jet, Truworths, Identity, Foschini and Woolworths. To date the development is 90% let based on GLA. This is Atterbury's second large venture in Ghana, and a key step in Atterbury Group's focused approach to African expansion through Atterbury Africa Limited.

Located in the suburb of Nungua in Accra, Ghana, the Junction Shopping Centre is the go-to venue for residents in search of popular clothing brands and restaurants. It serves a catchment population of 665 000 people and is firmly anchored with the Shoprite store, as well as two well-known South African-based retailers, Mr Price and JET. Since the successful launch in November 2014, shoppers have been treated to a number of international brands such as Nike, Swatch, Bata, TM Lewin and Levis, all trading alongside favoured local brands and franchises.

In the last 25 years, Melcom has become one of Ghana’s great retail successes. It’s now the country’s largest chain of retail complexes, with almost 30 up and running, including a new location in East Legon. The biggest of these is in the North Industrial Area, where the mall’s three floors cover pretty much anything you could imagine: white goods, household items, clothing and a wide range of food, including fresh fruit and veg. New lines across the vast range are added continuously. There’s also a pharmacy, a café and a KFC next door. Melcom have added branches in Tema (Post Office Road, Traffic Light Meridian, opposite Vodafone Tema Community 1,026 4922 600) and Kumasi (Prempeh 2nd Street, Adum, 322 045 578). The most recent branch is in East Legon (Bawaleshie, Mensah Wood Road, near Sel Filling Station. Open 10am-8pm Mon-Sat; noon-6.30pm Sun). Melcom Travel and Tours Ltd, which can arrange tour packages to any destination. Contact the tour company at Melcom Plus, Kaneshie (Otublohum Street, North Industrial Area, PO Box GP56, 0302 252 984, 024 907636, travels@melcomgroup.com).

Set in Accra’s East Legon residential community, A&C Square offers a mix of shopping, dining and entertainment – plus access to banking, health clinics and other services. There’s a modern health club, Total Fitness (see p69), which has a swimming pool. The square also has a children’s play area, a coffee shop and bar.