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Luanda
Capital and largest city of Angola

Luanda

Luanda is the capital and largest city of Angola.

Plan a trip to Luanda→From Pointe Noire

It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Angola's administrative centre, its chief seaport, and also the capital of the Luanda Province. Luanda and its metropolitan area is the most populous Portuguese-speaking national capital in the world and the most populous Lusophone city outside Brazil. In 2024 the population reached more than 8.8 million inhabitants.

Get in

Getting to Luanda

Despite the city's low tourist numbers, it has a surprisingly large number of international connections, which largely service Angolans living abroad and the growing number of firms servicing the oil and diamond industries as well as reconstruction (done largely by Chinese workers and Brazilian firms). A couple of carriers still operate routes based on Cold War alliances (to Havana and Moscow).

See

Worth seeing

  1. 01
    Fortress of São Miguel
  2. 02
    São Pedro da Barra Fortress

    A fortress that served a variety of purposes throughout its history.

  3. 03
    Museum of Money

    About Angola's history of currency, from non-cash to Zimbo and Kwanza.

  4. 04
    National Museum of Slavery

    Built in the area where the slaves were held prior to being taken off to the Americas.

  5. 05
    National Museum of Natural History

    A museum filled with thousands of species of animals, including fish, birds, crustaceons and insects.

  6. 06
    National Museum of Anthropology
Eat

Where to eat

The majority of restaurants are on The Marginal or on Ilha de Luanda, where Luanda's elite go to dine and have fun. Be careful: when eating out, do not drink the tap water. The Belas Shopping mall has a food court with a variety of options from local foods to pizza and burgers. Panela de Barro, R. Emílio M'Bidi,.

  1. 01
    Chez Wou

    Av.

  2. 02
    Macau Restaurante

    Avenida Mortala Mohamede Ilha,.

  3. 03
    Vista Da Fortaleza

    Rua Massano de Amorim, Chicala 1 (in front of Supermercado Pomobel),.

  4. 04
    A Nossa Sombra

    Rua da Missão, corner with Rua Gamal Abdel Nasser (one block from Museu de História Natural).

  5. 05
    Restaurante Café Del Mar

    Formerly Coconuts Restaurant, still with a great Atlantic Ocean view though.

How locals move

Getting around Luanda the local way

  • Get inIn 2018 a new ferry started on the Luanda to Cabinda, which is useful to avoid a transit through the DR Congo.
  • Get aroundEco Tur also do 4x4 and minibus hire and airport transfers with bilingual drivers (paul@eco-tur.com) +244 912 501 387 B Home will provide airport pick ups and are available for hire (drivers) +244 222 264 423 B Home has offices in Luanda, and in the US.
  • Get aroundCongestion is a major problem with lack of public transport and the plethora of minibus taxis.

From Wikivoyage: Luanda, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.