Ethiopia
Addis Ababa travel guide
Addis Ababa is a city in Ethiopia, home to about 5,704,000 people.
- Best months
- October to March
- Nearest airport
- ADD8 km · Addis Ababa Bole International Airport
- Currency
- ETBbir
- Time zone
- Africa/Addis Ababa
- Language
- Amharic
About
About Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. With an estimated population of 6,287,000 inhabitants as of 2025, it is the tenth largest city in Africa.
While Ethiopia is regarded as the original home of humans, and there has been several earlier settlements in the region, Addis Ababa was founded only in 1886 by King Menelik II and Queen consort Taytu Betul. Since then, Ethiopia has gone through a lot of events that have left a mark on the city, such as two cathedrals built to commemorate victories over Italians, sites where emperors lived and worked, monuments to them, and a memorial museum to the victims of the red terror during the Derg regime.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Addis Ababa
See
If you walk along the road from Meskel Square to Sidist Kilo (6 Kilo), you'll probably find it quite entertaining and interesting. You'll see the Africa Hall, the palaces and the Parliament building, the Hilton Hotel, the marvellous architectural adventure of a building hosting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Sheraton Hotel, the first modern school (which Emperor Menelik II built in the 1880s), the Trinity Orthodox cathedral, the National Museum, and the Addis Ababa University (which hosts a former palace and museum).
- Addis Ababa Museum
- Ethiopian Railway Museum
- Ethnological Museum
- National Museum of Ethiopia
- The Zoological Natural History Museum
- "Red Terror" Martyrs Memorial Museum
- Anwar Mosque
- Gola Saint Michael Church
- Holy Trinity Cathedral
- Medhane Alem Cathedral
- Roman Catholic Cathedral of Nativity
- St George's Cathedral
Do
- Hager Fikir Theatre
- Jan Meda Race Ground
- Bihere Tsige Recreation Center
- Addis Ababa Golf Club
- Entoto Mountain
- Yewedale
- BailAmor Dance Group
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Addis Ababa
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Addis Ababa are October to March. April is the warmest month, with average highs of 25 °C; August is the wettest, with about 299 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Addis Ababa: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD), about 8.2 km from the city centre in a straight line.
Getting around
Very few streets have names and those that do may not be named correctly on a map; use landmarks to navigate the city.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
ADD · Addis Ababa Bole International Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Addis Ababa
Eat
Food is generally cheap. Make sure you try the national dish injera at least once, since there is no other food like it. It is a yeast-risen flat bread with a unique, slightly spongy texture. It is traditionally made out of teff flour. In making injera, teff flour is mixed with water and allowed to ferment for several days, as with sourdough starter. As a result of this process, injera has a mildly sour taste. It's what the locals eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Most ordinary Ethiopian restaurants have it, and a serving for 2 people with free refills can be as cheap as 15 birr. Addis has hundreds of cake and coffee cafes.
Drink
The national drink of Ethiopia is 'tej', which is brewed from honey. You can also try 'tela' which is similar to beer. In addition to places listed below, some of the hotels in Sleep have a bar.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Addis Ababa: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Addis Ababa?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Addis Ababa are October to March. April is the warmest month, with average highs of 25 °C; August is the wettest, with about 299 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Addis Ababa?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD), about 8.2 km from the city centre in a straight line.
What currency is used in Addis Ababa?
bir (ETB).
Nearby
Destinations near Addis Ababa
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.