Porto-Novo is the capital city of Benin, a country on the coast of West Africa. That is the official answer, the one you will see on a list of capitals. Though actually, the larger, busier city is Cotonou: that is where the airport is, where a lot of government work happens, and where news stories often send their reporters. So a person who “goes to Benin” will almost certainly land in Cotonou, not in Porto-Novo. People still use Porto-Novo when they talk about the country as a state — maps, passports, the seat of the assembly. The name is Portuguese and means “New Port”; Portugal once traded along that coast. In English it is usually said POR-toh NOH-voh.