Luanda

About Luanda

Luanda spreads around a wide bay on Angola's Atlantic coast, a city of palm-lined waterfront, glass towers and vast neighbourhoods that is home to millions. Founded by the Portuguese in 1576, it is one of the oldest European-founded cities in sub-Saharan Africa and was for centuries a hub of the Atlantic slave trade, a history remembered at the National Museum of Slavery south of the centre.

Since the civil war ended in 2002, oil wealth has transformed the skyline and the Marginal promenade, while older landmarks such as the Fortress of São Miguel, colonial churches and the Iron Palace recall the past. Weekends belong to the beaches, from the restaurant-lined Ilha to the sandy spit of Mussulo, and the city's music, from semba to kizomba, spills out of bars at night.

Luanda is Angola's main gateway for international flights. Day trips lead south along the coast road to the eroded cliffs of the Miradouro da Lua and the savanna of Kissama National Park, where elephants and giraffes were brought back after the war.