Where is Goree Island located?
Rachel Newton
Updated on May 08, 2026
Similarly, how do I get to Goree Island?
Getting There
Île de Gorée is frequently visited and easy to get to from Dakar. A ferry runs every one or two hours from the gare maritime (passenger port) in Dakar to Gorée and is about a 25 minute boat ride.
Subsequently, question is, what does Goree mean? The name was changed to Good Reed by the Dutch and the French called the island Goree - meaning "good harbour". But the name did not match with what went on in this tiny island between the 16th and 19th Centuries when wooden ships sailed from here across the Atlantic, with human beings chained in their holds.
Consequently, why is Goree Island important?
Gorée is known as the location of the House of Slaves (French: Maison des esclaves), built by an Afro-French Métis family about 1780–1784. The House of Slaves is one of the oldest houses on the island. It is now used as a tourist destination to show the horrors of the slave trade throughout the Atlantic world.
Where in Africa is the Door of No Return?
The House of Slaves (Maison des Esclaves) and its Door of No Return is a museum and memorial to the Atlantic slave trade on Gorée Island, 3 km off the coast of the city of Dakar, Senegal.