Confident and curious Addis Ababa is one of the political and diplomatic hubs of the African continent, and home to the liveliest and most forward-thinking sectors of Ethiopian society as a whole. Since its establishment recently at the end of the 19th century, it has grown in size, population and cultural character, transforming itself into one of the veritable metropolitan ‘must visits’ in this region of the world.
Among its many important sights, Addis (as it’s known in short) boasts a number of truly immersive museums and cultural heritage sights, and visitors looking for the best introduction to the city should definitely ask their Addis Ababa tour guide for the low down on the Ethnological Museum; an encompassing exhibition centre that now occupies the sprawling onetime palatial complexes of Haile Selassie, Ethiopia’s most revered political luminary.
For visiting foodies, Bole Road is lined with cafes that serve Sprice Juice and injera, a flat bread dish that is one of Ethiopia’s national favourites and a staple of the local diet. The local drinks of tej, a honey mead and tela , a beer made of maize are ‘must tries’ that can be found in most all of Addis’ downtown drinking joints.