Carry crisp dollar notes and small francs in Kinshasa

The Forescom building in Gombe, completed in 1946 and described as the first high-rise in the country, has a monumental prow like a 1940s ocean liner, sun-breaker panels and porthole windows. It stands on a triangular plot beside the river, so step back across the square for the full shape. Soft morning or late…

Gombe holds the Botanical Garden, the zoo, the Grand Market, many cultural centres and several large hotels, so sleeping there cuts the daily crossings through town. The Botanical Garden is walkable from most of the commune. Traffic builds on Boulevard du 30 Juin roughly from seven to ten in the morning and three to…

Hotel Memling on Avenue du Tchad was built by the airline Sabena for its passengers in the Leopoldville days, with construction starting in 1937, and it is still counted among the city’s best-known hotels. It stands between Boulevard du 30 Juin and the Grand Market, close to the river, so downtown errands stay short…

Nsele Valley Park, in Maluku about 50 km east of the centre on the N1, offers vehicle or guided safaris to see lions, giraffes, zebras and buffalo, plus a long zip line, kayaking, hiking and pedal boats. Count on a full day, because the drive takes one to two hours depending on traffic, and book the zip line ahead. Go…

The Kinshasa Jazz Festival, created in 2017, has run in September in recent years, with two evenings of concerts plus workshops, master classes and jam sessions. The 2024 edition was at the Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles in Gombe and the 2026 edition moved to the Centre culturel Le Zoo, so confirm the venue each year…

The Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste, founded in 1994 by Armand Diangienda, is a choir and orchestra of around 200 members who play Mozart and Dvorak beside reworked Congolese canticles. It performs at Kinshasa cultural venues, such as the Centre culturel et artistique des Pays de l’Afrique centrale in February…

La Crèche is a veteran Kinshasa bar whose house orchestra has played rumba classics by Franco, Tabu Ley Rochereau and Grand Kallé since 1984. Dancing happens on a rooftop terrace at weekends and runs until the small hours. Go late, because nights start slowly, and settle in for the evening. Ask your host or driver for…

Bikeko, founded in 1958, is where Kinshasa carvers, painters, mask makers and jewellers sell their own work. The market has been moved several times and now sits at Place Royale in Gombe, behind the institutional buildings near Maisha Park, so ask your driver to take you straight there. Visitors are few, which leaves…