Things to do
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Entoto Hills
Eucalyptus forest climbs above the city to the church and modest palace where Menelik II founded his capital before moving down to the hot springs below. The ridge gives a long southward view and a cool walking and running circuit used by Ethiopian athletes. Roads up are steep, and the air is noticeably thinner.
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Ethnological Museum
Housed in a former palace of Haile Selassie inside the university grounds, this collection follows an Ethiopian life from birth to death through objects, alongside rooms of processional crosses and icons. The emperor's bedroom and bathroom are preserved. Labels are unusually good, and two hours pass easily. Student cafes sit just outside the gate.
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Holy Trinity Cathedral
Haile Selassie and Empress Menen lie in carved granite tombs inside the Orthodox cathedral raised to mark liberation from Italian occupation. Stained glass, murals and the graves of resistance figures fill the nave. Services close the interior to visitors, so a weekday mid morning works. Modest dress is expected and shoes come off at the door.
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Merkato
Lanes and warehouses west of the centre make up the largest open air market in Africa, trading everything from recycled metalwork to spice, coffee and cloth. Sections are organised by trade, and a local guide makes the difference. Pickpocketing is common in the crush near the taxi stands, so bags stay closed and phones out of sight.
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National Museum of Ethiopia
Lucy, the partial Australopithecus skeleton found in the Afar in 1974, anchors a basement gallery of hominin fossils that draws most visitors here. Upper floors hold imperial regalia, Aksumite carving and modern painting. A cast stands in place of the original bones, which are kept in storage. A guide is worth taking for the fossil rooms.
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Red Terror Martyrs' Memorial Museum
Photographs, bones and the possessions of victims document the Derg campaign of the late nineteen seventies, in which tens of thousands were killed. Survivors and relatives act as guides, which gives the account its weight. Entry is free and an hour is enough. The subject is harrowing and the presentation plain.
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Unity Park
The imperial palace compound opened to visitors in 2019 after restoration, taking in the banqueting hall, a throne room, a pavilion of regional house styles and a small zoo of Ethiopian wildlife. Entry is timed and tours move in fixed groups. Allowing a couple of hours is sensible, and identification is checked at the gate.