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These steps connect the lower Commissariat at the landing area to the French Company building on Wallance Johnson street. Despite their name, it was the British colonial governor Sir Charles MacCarthy who had them constructed in 1818; the Portuguese colonised this area but not longer when the steps were built.
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Finished in 1828 as one of the most impressive churches in the city, today it is the cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Freetown.
The headquarters of the Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Freetown, and one of four Catholic catedrals in Sierra Leone. It was dedicated in 1887.
Next to the Cotton Tree.
An ancient tree known to have been standing in the middle of the city since at least 1787. Freetown was established at this tree on 11 March 1792 by slaves freed by the British and returned to Africa as thanks for fighting in the American War of Independence. As such it was a symbol of the city, and home to countless bats that fly around in daytime. It collapsed on May 24, 2023.
See artefacts from the past including masks, relics from the war, local costumes - guided tours. Sierra Leone National museum has a replica of the De Ruyter Stone. The original is buried at King Jimmy Market (it was discovered but reburied to protect it against vandalism and weathering). In 1664, in the Anglo-Dutch war vice admiral Ruyten made inscriptions in on the stone as he was raiding British posts along the coast.
Finished in the 1820s, this is one of the oldest churches in Freetown still in use. It was built by Maroons, former slaves from Jamaica returning to Africa.