🌅 At sunset
Sunset on the IlhaThe sun sets into the Atlantic as the Ilha's terraces light up.
✦ Your self-guided tour
Luanda
Discover the city at your own pace, with your route and your trip essentials in one place.
5 stops · about 4 h 13 · audio guide12 languages
Highlights
5 stops · about 4 h 13 · audio guide
Photos
Photos: Wikimedia Commons (each author credited) and Google.
Luanda: your route
Pay once. Access is saved on this device and sent by email.
5 stops · about 4 h 13 · audio guideTransport on the route: about AOA 53,500
Included: the full route, audio guide in 12 languages and the travel tools. Not included: museum and monument tickets, transport tickets.
💡 Good to know in Luanda
Practical tips before you step out.
🚨 Emergency113 / 112
✈ AirportNBJ · Aeroporto Internacional Dr. António Agostinho Neto (NBJ)
💶 CurrencyAOA
Luggage
Leave luggage at the airport left-luggage desk or a partner storage point on the route (marked ★). Carry only essentials and your passport.
Internet
Outside EU roaming: buy an eSIM before you travel or a prepaid SIM at an official carrier shop (bring your passport).
Payments
The kwanza (AOA) is only used in Angola; many places take Multicaixa and some foreign cards. Carry cash for markets and taxis.
Tipping
Tip 5–10% in restaurants; round up in taxis.
Water
Drink bottled or filtered water and avoid ice of doubtful origin; check that bottles are sealed.
Safety
Use app or hotel taxis, keep your phone away in the street and avoid walking after dark in empty areas. Don't photograph government buildings, the military or police, and always carry a copy of your passport. Candongueiro minibuses are cheap but keep no timetable.
Sockets
Type C/F sockets, 220 V.
Toilets
Toilets in malls, museums and cafés; some public ones charge a little and paper goes in the bin, not the bowl.
ⓘ Practical information compiled from official and public sources in October 2026. Not yet checked on the ground in this city — if something has changed, use “Report a problem”.
Safety in Luanda
Emergency numbers, common scams and how to get help. Free for everyone.
Emergency113
Ambulance112
Fire brigade115
Tourist policePolice: 113 · don't photograph government buildings, the military or the police
Hospital and pharmacy search around the city centre — share your location for results near you.
Look for: Farmácia ✚
Show this to someone nearby
Socorro! Preciso de ajuda. Por favor, chame a polícia ou uma ambulância.
Common scams and risks
Phone snatching
Thieves on bikes or scooters grab phones from your hand. Step back from the kerb when using maps.
ATMs and money
Use bank ATMs, not independent ones, and always choose to be charged in the local currency.
Taxis
Use official taxi ranks or apps with a fixed fare. Turn down rides offered inside the airport arrivals hall.
Photos with costumed people
Costumed "gladiators" and characters pose for photos and then ask for big tips. Agree a price first or decline.
After dark
Stay on busy, well-lit streets and use a taxi or ride-hailing app (Uber, Bolt) for longer trips at night. Keep phones and jewellery out of sight in empty areas.
👜 Watch your wallet in
Marginal · Markets · Candongueiro (minibus) stops
🌙 At night, take extra care in
Walking away from the Ilha and the Marginal · Unlit areas
Keep a photo of your passport on your phone, carry just one card and some cash, and stick to busy, well-lit streets.
ⓘ Practical information compiled from official and public sources in October 2026. Not yet checked on the ground in this city — if something has changed, use “Report a problem”.
General guidance. If you're in danger, call 113 now. · Luanda
Everything in Luanda
All the useful things in one place.
🆕 Today in Luanda
Friday 23 October · updated automatically every day
24° – 29°Little chance of rain
Experiences in Luanda
Moments, fun and events, picked for you.
Your interests
🌙 At night
Live semba and kizombaNights of Angolan music and dance in the city's clubs and restaurants.
📅 At the weekend
A weekend on MussuloA boat to the sand spit of calm beaches and white sand south of the city.
🕐 Flexible — check opening times
Benfica craft marketMasks, wood carvings, paintings and fabrics from across the country.
🕐 Flexible — check opening times
Chicken muambaThe national dish, with palm oil, okra and funge, at a traditional restaurant.
🏛️ History & culture of Luanda
How the city came to be, in a few minutes of reading.
Luanda is the capital and largest city of Angola. 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 (a third of Angola's population).
Among the oldest colonial cities of Africa, Luanda was founded in January 1576 as São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda by Portuguese explorer Paulo Dias de Novais, being occasionally called "Leonda" or "St Paul de Leonda" by non-Portuguese sources. The city served as the centre of the slave trade to Brazil before the institution was prohibited.
Read the full history
Luanda is the capital and largest city of Angola. 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 (a third of Angola's population).
Among the oldest colonial cities of Africa, Luanda was founded in January 1576 as São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda by Portuguese explorer Paulo Dias de Novais, being occasionally called "Leonda" or "St Paul de Leonda" by non-Portuguese sources. The city served as the centre of the slave trade to Brazil before the institution was prohibited.
At the start of the Angolan Civil War in 1975, most of the white Portuguese left as refugees, principally migrating to Portugal. Luanda's population increased greatly from internal refugees fleeing the war, but its infrastructure was inadequate to handle the increase. This also caused the exacerbation of slums, or musseques, around Luanda.
In the 21st century, the city has been undergoing a major reconstruction. Many new large developments are taking place that will alter its cityscape significantly.
Industries present in the city include the processing of agricultural products, beverage production, textile, cement, new car assembly plants, construction materials, plastics, metallurgy, cigarettes and shoes. The city is also notable as an economic centre for oil, and a refinery is located in the city.
Luanda has been ranked as one of the most expensive cities in the world for expatriates. The inhabitants of Luanda are mostly members of the ethnic Ambundu people. In recent decades of the 21st century, the number of ethnic Bakongo and Ovimbundu have also increased. Ethnic Europeans are mainly Portuguese.
Luanda was the main host city for the matches of the 2010 African Cup of Nations.
💬 What travellers say about Luanda
Tips, experiences and questions from people who've been there.