Djibouti City walking tour & city guide

The European and African quarters

Place Menelik, with its white arcades and Moorish arches, is the heart of the European quarter, surrounded by cafés, shops and the Presidential Palace. Nearby, the Hamoudi Mosque, built in 1891, is the oldest in the city.

Across the main avenue, the African quarter and the central market are full of traders selling spices, fabrics, fruit and khat, the mild stimulant leaf that arrives fresh from Ethiopia every afternoon.

A classic walk

Start at Place Menelik and walk through the arcades of the European quarter to the Hamoudi Mosque. Continue into the central market and the African quarter, then head down to the seafront promenade and the fishing port for sunset over the Gulf of Tadjoura.

Good to know

Visit from November to February, when temperatures are bearable; summers are extremely hot. Whale sharks gather in the Gulf of Tadjoura between November and February. Lake Assal, a brilliant salt lake 155 metres below sea level, is a two-hour drive west.