Things to do in Addis

A lion in Addis at Unity Park — The lions at Unity Park guarding over the city

Things to do in Addis

There are so many things to find and explore in Addis that I couldn’t possibly name them all. Plus, exploring is half the fun! However, here are some of the coolest things to do in Addis to give you a flavour. To learn more about the activities mentioned here, follow our Instagram account where we share updates on all the cool stuff that’s going on.

Visiting Parks

Unity Park is really nice, peaceful, and has lots of animals to see (great for kids). Animals in captivity always make me feel uneasy but aside from the lions and cheetahs, which are unable to fulfil their need for hunting, I felt that most animals had a faily decent existence. The park is well designed, clearly by someone who knows animals. For example, the baboon exclosure has a play area in it. Overall I think Unity Park is worth a visit. It’s a bit expenny! If you’re a foreigner – even a diplomat – you have to pay foreign price which is 20 usd or 3030 birr. The playground at Unity park is also very good, although the small trampolines need replacing.
Friendship Park, consists of two sections and you cannot move between the two. You either have to visit one or the other, or drive between the two and pay again. It would be useful if they gave them different names.
- Frenchship park 1 (to the north) has an amazing playground. However, it is jampacked at the weekends and after school, so we avoid it.
- Friendship park 2 (entrance near Sheraton) has a lot of space for walking and some decent looking restaurants.
Zoma Museum is a quiet hideaway near old airport which is super peaceful and well worth a visit. It seems that they have small workspaces for remote workers to use, but I’m not sure if you hae to pay for them.
Entoto Park, up on the hill, is a really nice escape from the city. The main walking/running/cycling track is paved, which ruins the mystique a little but allows for safe and easy passage through the forest. NOTE: there are multiple entrances which are far from each other so, if you’re meeting friends, make sure you get the right one. The fun entrance, as the name suggests, is best for kids as it has an amazing trampoline park, a playground, go karts (they are terrible, not worth it) ad a couple of decent restaurants. The main entrance has great views and some nice restaurants too.

Hiking

Addis is surrounded by hills and there are numerous hiking groups or tour operators that organise hiking trips. However, the number of destinations is much more limited now due to insecurity in the surrounding areas. According to one hiking guide, they used to have around 25 popular hiking trips but now they’re down to around 8. Still, if you go every weekend, that’s still 2 months worth of routes to explore. Some are relatively straightforward and can be done alone, others require a guide.

Mountain Biking

Similarly, there is lots of good mountain biking around and people organise trips frequently.

Artisinal Markets

There are many regular markets that take place on the weekends in Addis. Many of the same vendors tend to move around from market to market. They typically happen at the Hilton, the Hyatt, Addis Golf Club, Laphto Mall, etc etc.

Golf

There is one main golf course in Addis – The Addis Ababa Golf Club – and another one located inside the British Embassy, which you need to be invited to.

Disc Golf

There is a Disc Golf course at Asrahawariyat school, see here. I have been in touch with them and it’s possible to play as soon as the course dries. They say that they have discs for rent.
According to this website there is also one at ICS and Assosa University, but I have not been able to confirm that yet.
The UK Embassy golf club is planning to allow disc golf soon
Overall, I’ve been here 1.5 years and despite medium effort, have not managed to play disc golf yet.

Live Music

As I mentioned in the restaurants and bars section, there is live music every night of the week in Addis, and usually a really great atmosphere.

Events

There is an endless stream of events in Addis, which you will quickly come to learn about, mainly through the expat social media channels which you can read about here. There are events for adults, kids, and everything in between.