Things to do in Kigali

Culture · Gisozi

The memorial and burial place for more than 250,000 victims, and the country's principal centre for education about the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.

Local tip: Go early in your time here, not late, and go alone or with someone you can be quiet with. Allow the whole morning and nothing after it. Photography is restricted inside and the request is meant seriously.

Food · Kimironko

Kigali's biggest market — produce, secondhand clothes, and the fabric section where tailors will make anything from a photo.

Local tip: The fabric hall at the back is the reason to come. Buy kitenge, walk it ten metres to a tailor, agree a price and a day. Prices are negotiated but good-humouredly.

Neighborhood · South-west Kigali

The oldest, densest and liveliest quarter — Muslim-founded, full of small restaurants, barbers and street life that the rest of orderly Kigali doesn't have.

Local tip: The Nyamirambo Women's Centre runs a walking tour led by women from the neighbourhood. It is the single best orientation to how Kigali actually lives.

Culture · Kacyiru

Artist-run studio and gallery, with a Thursday-evening scene that pulls in a mixed local and international crowd.

Local tip: Thursdays are the night. The artists are usually there and will talk about the work — this is a working studio, not a white cube.

Nature · West of Nyamirambo

The ridge overlooking the city, with eucalyptus tracks, a horse-riding stable and the best view back over the hills.

Local tip: Walk up early on a Sunday before the haze. It is a proper hill, not a stroll, and the descent into Nyamirambo afterwards is the good half.

Landmark · Central Kigali

Ten stone columns in a quiet compound, one for each Belgian peacekeeper killed on 7 April 1994, in the buildings where it happened.

Local tip: Almost nobody comes here and there is rarely anyone to explain it, which is part of why it lands. Fifteen minutes, in the middle of the city, and it reframes the memorial at Gisozi.