Kigali in a Day

Kigali is built over a set of ridges and valleys, so the city keeps disappearing and reappearing as you drive through it. It is calm, unusually clean, and easy to get around, and almost every visitor is surprised by how much they enjoy it.

It is also, on most itineraries, a transit night at each end. That is a waste, and it is the wrong way round: a day in Kigali at the start gives everything you see afterwards its context.

Morning: the Genocide Memorial

The Kigali Genocide Memorial at Gisozi is the most important place you will go in Rwanda. It is the burial site of more than 250,000 people, and its permanent exhibitions explain the genocide against the Tutsi carefully and without flinching, alongside a section on genocide elsewhere in the world.

Allow at least half a day and do not schedule anything demanding immediately afterwards. Take the audio guide. Photography is not permitted in parts of the building — follow the posted guidance.

Do this early in your trip rather than on the last morning before a flight. Understanding 1994 changes how you read every conversation you have for the rest of the week.

Midday: Nyamirambo on foot

Nyamirambo is the oldest and liveliest quarter of the city — mosques, tailors, barbers, street food, and a pace entirely unlike the centre. It is best seen walking, with a local guide, and the women's cooperative there runs a well-established walking tour.

Eat while you are there. Rwandan buffet lunch, or brochettes and chips.

Afternoon: markets and art

Kimironko is the biggest market in the city: produce on one side and an entire hall of kitenge fabric on the other, with tailors who will make something up the same day. Bargaining is expected and good-natured.

Kigali's galleries are working studios rather than white cubes, and the artists are usually in. It is one of the more genuinely interesting contemporary art scenes in the region and almost nobody comes to Rwanda for it.

Evening: coffee, then dinner

Rwanda grows outstanding coffee and exports nearly all of it, which means most visitors drink better Rwandan coffee at home than they do here. That is changing, and there are roasters in Kigali doing serious work. Go to one.

The restaurant scene has come a long way. You can eat very well, and the city is comfortable to walk in after dark in the main areas.

Practical notes

• Moto-taxis are the fastest way across town. Helmets are provided and required by law.
• On the last Saturday morning of each month, Umuganda community work closes roads and businesses. Plan around it.
• Do not photograph government buildings, military installations or the airport.
• Fifteen to thirty minutes from the airport to most of the city.
• Two nights is better than one if you are arriving on a long-haul flight — you start the rest of the trip rested rather than driving out the morning after you land.