Addis Ababa 3-Day Itinerary: Lucy, Unity Park, Entoto and Jazz

Because Addis Ababa sits at 2,355 metres and climbs to 3,200 metres on Mount Entoto, this three-day itinerary starts on gentler gradients in the museum and palace quarters on days one and two before ascending the mountain on day three once you are acclimatised. Read our practical briefing before you begin.

Day 1: Lucy at the National Museum, Ethnological Museum and Holy Trinity Cathedral

• Morning: begin at the National Museum of Ethiopia at Amist Kilo to see the 3.2-million-year-old hominid fossil Lucy (Dinkinesh), Selam, Ardi and Aksumite royal artefacts before crowds build.
• Late morning: walk or take a short Ride taxi up to the wooded Sidist Kilo campus of Addis Ababa University to tour the Ethnological Museum inside Emperor Haile Selassie's former Guenete Leul Palace, admiring his preserved bedroom and the gallery of Orthodox processional crosses.
• Afternoon: enjoy a first lunch of sourdough teff injera (try a colourful vegan beyaynetu platter or rosemary shekla tibs), then visit Holy Trinity Cathedral at Arat Kilo to see Afewerk Tekle's stained glass and the granite tombs of Emperor Haile Selassie and Empress Menen.
• Evening: experience a slow, three-round Habesha coffee ceremony over smoking frankincense before an early first night in Bole or Kazanchis.

Day 2: Imperial Unity Park, Friendship Park, Piazza and Live Ethio-Jazz

• Morning: spend three hours exploring Unity Park inside Emperor Menelik II's 19th-century Grand Palace compound, touring the timber-vaulted Shengo Banquet Hall, the Throne Room, the Egg House pavilion and the indigenous botanical garden.
• Early afternoon: walk down into lakeside Friendship Park for lunch among its terraced gardens, followed by a visit to the poignant Red Terror Martyrs' Memorial Museum at Meskel Square.
• Late afternoon: head up to historic Piazza to visit octagonal St George's Cathedral (Giorgis) and stand at the counter of 1953 Tomoca Coffee for a rich Harar macchiato.
• Evening: dine on spicy doro wat with honey wine (tej) and catch a live Ethio-jazz band or traditional eskista shoulder-dancing show.

Day 3: Addis Merkato, Mount Entoto Park and Shiro Meda Weavers

• Morning: meet a local guide early to walk through the spice stalls, coffee warehouses, basket lanes and Minalesh Tera recycling artisans of Addis Merkato.
• Afternoon: drive up to 3,200-metre Mount Entoto to visit Entoto Maryam Church and Menelik II's first palace, then stroll the eucalyptus forest trails and cliff lookouts of Entoto Park before shopping for handwoven cotton netela and gabi shawls at Shiro Meda Market on the way back down.