Travel to Addis Ababa

the fifth highest capital in the world

Set in the centre of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa is the capital of the country, the main transport and commercial hub.

Although not a particularly attractive place, the fact that Addis is the fifth highest capital city in the world ensures that it enjoys a relatively pleasant and healthy climate.

The main attractions include a number of decent museums and what is claimed to be the world’s largest outdoor market.

History

Although there were earlier imperial cities in this area, Addis Ababa was founded by Emperor Menelik II as recently as 1886. Originally it was simply a cluster of rural estates clustered around a health-giving mineral spring and over the first decade it grew very slowly.

When Menelik II came to the throne in 1889, he declared Addis Ababa as his capital, planted great eucalyptus avenues and, critically, persuaded the French to construct a railway from the Red Sea port of Djibouti. From that point forward the town expanded very rapidly.

During the 1930s the city came under the control of the Italian invaders, who imposed their characteristic architecture, especially in the area known as the Piazza. This period came to a swift end during the Second World War, when the Allies liberated Ethiopia from the Axis powers.

The modern city is a sprawling and rather ramshackle place, with a fast-growing population of around three million people. Around half of the inhabitants are from the Amhara ethnic group. Around 75% are Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, 16% are Muslim and 8% are Protestant Christians.

Places of interest

Although there’s not a great deal of interest in Addis for the majority of visitors, the central area of parks, palaces and parliament buildings is pleasant enough and some of the museums may be worth visiting, especially if you are travelling to the historic sights in the north of the country.

Slightly to the northeast of the centre, the octagonal St George’s Cathedral is one of the most substantial of the early buildings in the city, dating from 1896.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral contains the burial place of Emperor Haile Selassie and, surprisingly, of renowned British suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst.

The Merkato is said to be the largest open market in Africa, as well as being home to the impressive Grand Anwar Mosque, the biggest mosque in Ethiopia, which was built in the 1930s during the Italian occupation.

The National Museum of Ethiopia is famously home to (a plaster replica of) the early hominid known as Lucy, which was discovered in the Lower Awash area to the east.

Other notable institutions include the Ethiopian National Library, the Ethiopian Ethnological Museum, the Addis Ababa Museum, the Ethiopian Natural History Museum, the Ethiopian Railway Museum and National Postal Museum.

The National Palace, built to mark Emperor Haile Selassie’s silver jubilee in 1955, was apparently modelled on Buckingham Palace in London.

Although most international visitors generally prefer to get in and out of Addis Ababa as quickly as possible, flight timings mean that it’s often necessary to overnight in the city at one or both ends of a trip.

Seasonality

The best time of year to visit Ethiopia will be determined by the conditions in the various locations that you want to visit around the country, rather than those here in Addis Ababa.

Getting around

Thanks to the unusually high stature of Ethiopian Airlines, Addis Ababa is extremely well connected to cities both in Africa and around the world.

Almost all international visitors arrive and depart via Bole International Airport, to the southeast of the city centre, from where regular daily services depart to a surprising range of places throughout the country.

The majority of our guests tend to move around the city in the company of a private guide and vehicle, which helps to insulate you from the chaos, whilst opening up various opportunities.

Where to stay

Although Addis Ababa has no recommended boutique hotels or guest-houses, it does have a surprisingly good selection of larger city hotels, the best of which are clustered around the central district and out by the airport.

The majority of our guests choose to stay in the upmarket Sheraton Addis, which is just around the corner from the National Palace, but there are some decent lower cost options too.

overnight stopover to make flight connections