Zanzibar walking tour & city guide

Stone Town

The seafront has the island's grandest buildings: the House of Wonders, the Old Fort built by the Omanis and the Forodhani Gardens, where a night food market opens every evening. Behind them, the lanes are too narrow for cars and are best explored slowly, with mosques, Hindu temples, the Anglican cathedral built on the site of the last slave market, and small shops selling spices and kangas.

Darajani Market, at the edge of the old town, is the busiest place on the island, with fish, fruit, spices and everyday goods.

A classic walk

Start at the Old Fort and the Forodhani Gardens, then follow the lanes inland past the Freddie Mercury House, the singer's birthplace, to Christ Church Cathedral and the East Africa Slave Trade Exhibit. Continue to Darajani Market, and return to the seafront at sunset for grilled seafood and the famous Zanzibar pizza at Forodhani.

Good to know

Zanzibar is mostly Muslim, so dress modestly in Stone Town, covering shoulders and knees. The dry seasons, June to October and December to February, are the best times to visit. Ferries connect Stone Town with Dar es Salaam on the mainland in about two hours.