🕓Addis Ababa: City Highlights and Museums Guided Tour

Explore the best of Addis Ababa with a guided tour of the city’s top attractions. Visit Meskel Square, the National Museum of Ethiopia, and the Ethnological Museum. See the Lion of Judah and the Derg Monument, and explore the Gullele Botanical Garden and Intoto Natural Park.Continue to the National Museum of Ethiopia, home to many of the most significant relics and pieces of artwork from around the country. See a good collection of archaeology, like precious stelae and statues from Axum. Find skeletal remains from early hominids, and a model of the famous “Lucy.” Up a floor, see a good collection of royal family memorabilia from the former emperors of Ethiopia.Visit the Ethnological Museum, located within the lush university campus. Learn about the major tribes of Ethiopia, the history and importance of coffee in Ethiopian culture, and see an impressive collection of Ethiopian Orthodox paintings, triptychs, and Orthodox crosses.See the Lion of Judah, in front of the old Railway Station in Addis Ababa, representing the Ethiopian pride and the emperor. See another Statue of the Lion of Judah made from black stone that sits outside the National Theater.Visit Entoto Hill, the roof of Addis Ababa. Pass homes and small villages, highland growth, and as you gain elevation, start to get great views of Addis Ababa (on a clear day). See the Entoto Maryam Cathedral, or St. Mary’s Church.On the way back from Entoto Hill, stop by the Shiro Meda market. Buy all sorts of Ethiopian clothes and local crafts. Continue to the Gullele Botanic Garden, an emerging conservation project near the northern hill of Addis Ababa.Start your tour at Meskel Square, the central gathering place in the city. Learn about its importance during the founding of the True Cross Orthodox Christian festivals and political demonstrations. Visit the official Ethiopian Tourism office across the street and see the Addis Ababa museum and Red Terror Memorial adjacent to the square, just off Bole Road.The garden aims to conserve and multiply endangered plants and related wildlife species in-situ and ex-situ. It will also aim to educate the public by showing them the beauty of plants and animals in a sensible and educative way.The Intoto Natural Park is the other aspect of ecological restoration initiative to fully replace the exotic dominant eucalyptus forest into the original indigenous species of afro-alpine vegetation such as Junipers proceraca, Acacia abyssinica, Hygenia abysinica, and more.