Two to three days covers the city well. Spend a morning at the Old Town market and the craft stalls by the post office, walk the river trails at the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre, visit the War Memorial Tower and keep an evening for drumming and dinner at Kumbali Cultural Village.

Old Town is the original trading center to the south, with markets, the bus station, cafes and craft stalls. City Centre, also called Capital City, grew up to the north after Lilongwe became the capital, and holds ministries, embassies, hotels and offices. A wooded nature sanctuary separates them.

Lilongwe was planned in numbered Areas, from Area 1 to Area 58, and the numbers follow the order they were developed rather than their position on the map. Locals give directions by Area, so Area 3 can sit far from Area 4, and drivers will ask for one first.