--- title: "Top 10 Things To Do in Windhoek, Namibia | Wimup" description: "The 10 best things to do in Windhoek, ranked: the Independence Memorial Museum, kapana at Oshetu Market, Heroes’ Acre and Daan Viljoen, plus day trips." url: https://wimup.com/city/windhoek type: City guide updated: 2026-11-02 publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com) --- # Top 10 Things To Do in Windhoek Windhoek, Namibia · Africa · By Wimup Editorial, 13 min read Windhoek is where almost every Namibian trip starts and where almost nobody plans to stay, which is a mistake worth correcting by two days. The centre is small and flat enough to read a whole colonial history on foot in a morning. What the walk will not show you is Katutura, where the city eats, trades and argues. ## Quick answer The best things to do in Windhoek are the Independence Memorial Museum, grilled kapana at Oshetu Market in Katutura, the 1910 Christuskirche, Heroes' Acre south of town and the Namibia Craft Centre. Two days is the right length: one for the walkable centre, one for Katutura and the city edge. Use a ride-hailing app or hire a car for anything outside the CBD. ## Quick facts - **Best months:** May–Sep - **Ideal length:** 2 days - **Budget per day:** $70–140 - **Language:** English is official, Afrikaans and German widely spoken - **Getting around:** Ride-hailing, shared taxis and a hire car - **Tourism board:** [Official site](https://namibiatourism.com.na/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ## The 10 best things to do in Windhoek ### 1. Start at the Independence Memorial Museum Museum · Robert Mugabe Avenue, Windhoek Central Opened in 2014 on the site of a German colonial equestrian statue that was moved to make room for it, and the swap is the point: three floors on occupation, genocide, the liberation war and independence. Free, and the glass lift runs to the best view in the city. - **Time:** 2 hr - **Cost:** Free entry - **Best at:** Late afternoon, for the top-floor view - **Tip:** Closed on Sundays, and it opens at 10:00 on Saturdays Links: [Website](https://www.windhoekcc.org.na/independence-memorial-museum/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ### 2. Eat kapana at Oshetu Market in Katutura Street food · Corner of Shanghai Street and Vicky Ipinge Street, Katutura Beef cut small, thrown onto a metal grill over an open fire and sold by the handful as it cooks. You point, you pay a few dollars, you eat it standing with tomato and onion salsa. Loudest and friendliest on a Sunday afternoon. - **Time:** 1 hr - **Cost:** A few Namibian dollars a portion - **Best at:** Sunday afternoon - **Tip:** Bring small notes, and eat where the queue is longest ### 3. Look up at the Christuskirche Landmark · Robert Mugabe Avenue at Fidel Castro Street, Windhoek Central Consecrated in 1910 and the shorthand image of Windhoek ever since: neo-Gothic bones, Art Nouveau detailing and local sandstone, on a traffic island where four roads meet. For the interior, collect the key from the parish office on a weekday morning. - **Time:** 30 min - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Early morning, before the light goes flat - **Tip:** The key is at the parish office, 12 Fidel Castro Street, Monday to Friday 08:00 to 13:00 Links: [Website](https://www.windhoekcc.org.na/christus-kirche/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ### 4. Climb the marble stairs at Heroes’ Acre Memorial · B1 road, about 10 km south of central Windhoek A white marble staircase cut into a hillside, an eternal flame and a bronze Unknown Soldier, built in 2002 by a North Korean studio, which is why it looks like nothing else in Namibia. Go in the first two hours of daylight. - **Time:** 1 to 2 hr - **Cost:** Small entry fee, cash - **Best at:** Early morning, before the marble heats - **Tip:** No shade on the stairs, so carry water and a hat ### 5. Buy something made in Namibia at the Namibia Craft Centre Craft market · 40 Tal Street, Old Breweries Complex, Windhoek Central About forty stalls under one roof, and most of it is made by named producers and cooperatives rather than resold: Kavango baskets, San beadwork, karakul rugs. Prices are marked, and the money reaches the maker. - **Time:** 1 hr - **Cost:** Free to browse - **Best at:** Weekday mornings - **Tip:** The Craft Café upstairs is the best lunch stop in the centre Links: [Website](https://www.namibiacraftcentre.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ### 6. Walk among game at Daan Viljoen Game reserve · Daan Viljoen Game Reserve, about 25 km west of Windhoek A 4,000-hectare reserve twenty-five kilometres west with no large predators in it, which is the point: you can get out of the car and walk. Oryx, kudu, eland, zebra and giraffe, and more than 200 bird species recorded. - **Time:** Half a day - **Cost:** Park entry, payable at the gate - **Best at:** First light or the last two hours before sunset - **Tip:** Start walks early: there is no shade on the ridge trails Links: [Website](https://www.nwr.com.na/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ### 7. Take the Penduka tour above Goreangab Dam Social enterprise · Penduka Village, Goreangab Dam, Katutura, Windhoek Penduka means wake up, and the project has employed and trained women in Katutura since 1992. A walk round the lakeside village passes bead-making, embroidery, batik and pottery. Tours are free and need no booking. - **Time:** 2 hr - **Cost:** Free tour, pay for what you buy - **Best at:** Late morning, so lunch follows - **Tip:** Combine it with Oshetu Market: both are in Katutura Links: [Website](https://www.penduka.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ### 8. Walk the shoreline at Avis Dam Nature reserve · Avis Dam Nature Reserve, eastern edge of Windhoek Built in 1933 and a recreation area far longer than a useful reservoir. Twelve kilometres of trail, from a flat circuit to routes climbing the hills behind, and the birdlife is the draw after good rains. Go at either end of the day. - **Time:** 1 to 3 hr - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Sunrise, or the hour before sunset - **Tip:** Best after the December to March rains, when the dam holds water ### 9. Find the Gibeon meteorites on Post Street Mall Landmark · Post Street Mall, Windhoek Central One of the largest iron meteorite strewn fields known anywhere, worked by Nama people into tools long before samples reached London in 1838. A set of masses stands on plinths in Post Street Mall. Free, always open, ten minutes. - **Time:** 15 min - **Cost:** Free - **Best at:** Any daylight hour - **Tip:** It is an open street, so keep your bag in front of you ### 10. See what Namibian artists are making at the National Art Gallery Gallery · Corner of Robert Mugabe Avenue and John Meinert Street, Windhoek Central Founded in the year of independence, holding the state collection and giving most of its floor to temporary shows, so check what is on. Five minutes from both the Christuskirche and the Independence Memorial Museum. - **Time:** 1 hr - **Cost:** Free or a small donation - **Best at:** Weekday mornings - **Tip:** Check the exhibitions page first: the temporary shows are the reason to come Links: [Website](https://nagn.org.na/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ## Best history and monuments in Windhoek Five stops that explain how hot springs in a dry valley became a garrison, then a capital. 1. **Alte Feste** (Founded 1890 · Windhoek Central): The oldest building in Windhoek, founded by Curt von François in 1890 and now holding the National Museum's historic collection. Often closed, so check. 2. **Tintenpalast and the Parliament Gardens** (Seat of parliament, 1913 · Windhoek Central): Redecker again, in 1913. Namibians named it the Ink Palace for the paperwork inside, and it now seats parliament. The gardens are the best shade in the centre. 3. **The three castles** (Built 1913 to 1919 · Klein Windhoek ridge): Wilhelm Sander built all three around the First World War, and they are the strangest thing on the skyline. Only Heinitzburg, now a hotel, can be entered. 4. **Old Location Cemetery and the 1959 memorial** (Site of the 1959 uprising · Hochland Park): In December 1959 police fired on residents protesting their removal to Katutura, killing at least eleven. The ground that explains why Katutura exists. 5. **Windhoek Railway Station** (Station building, 1912 · Windhoek Central): A 1912 Cape Dutch revival building with steam locomotives parked outside. The museum upstairs has been closed, so treat it as a ten-minute stop. ## Best restaurants in Windhoek Game meat, a culinary school and the best traditional kitchen in Katutura. 1. **Joe’s Beerhouse** (Game meat, open daily 11:00 to 23:00 · Eros): A sprawl of thatch, scrap metal and beer signs seating close to 600, with a menu built on game. Loud, touristy, and the meat is cooked properly. [Website](https://joesbeerhouse.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) 2. **The Stellenbosch Wine Bar and Bistro** (Steak and a long South African wine list · Klein Windhoek): A courtyard bistro where Windhoek goes for a steak it intends to think about. Beef from the owners' farm, and the longest wine list in the country. Book. [Website](https://www.thestellenboschwinebar.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) 3. **Leo’s at the Castle** (Fine dining in Hotel Heinitzburg · Klein Windhoek ridge): The restaurant inside a 1914 castle on the ridge, and the city's occasion table. Book the terrace rather than inside, and go early enough for the light. 4. **NICE Restaurant and Bar** (Training restaurant of the culinary institute · Windhoek West): The culinary school's working kitchen in a 1920s house: students cook under supervision, and the ambition is higher than the price. 5. **Xwama Traditional Restaurant** (Namibian traditional cooking · Katutura): In Katutura, and the best place in the city to eat Namibian food that is not a game steak: oshifima, mopane worms, omajowa in season. [Website](http://www.xwama.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) ## Best cafes and bakeries in Windhoek Three worth planning a morning around, in a city that takes its coffee seriously. 1. **Slowtown Coffee Roasters** (Weekdays 07:00 to 17:00, closed weekends · Windhoek Central): Namibia's own roaster, and why the coffee here beats most African capitals. The CBD branch shuts at weekends, so plan it into a working morning. 2. **Craft Café** (Above the Namibia Craft Centre · Windhoek Central): Above the craft centre, with a balcony over the rooftops: home-baked bread, juices you assemble yourself, and the cheesecake regulars order without looking. 3. **Shema Coffee Roasters** (Bakery, brunch and house roast · Klein Windhoek): A bright, spare room in Klein Windhoek doing bakery, brunch and its own roast, and the current answer to where to have breakfast. ## Best markets and craft in Windhoek Where the money actually reaches the maker, and where the city does its trading. 1. **Namibia Craft Centre** (About 40 stalls, marked prices · Windhoek Central): Around forty stalls in the Old Breweries Complex, mostly cooperatives and named producers rather than resellers. Prices marked, parking enclosed. [Website](https://www.namibiacraftcentre.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) 2. **Oshetu Market, Single Quarters** (Kapana grills and a working food market · Katutura): Katutura's open market and the city's kapana grills, with dried meat, mopane worms and vegetables beyond the fires. A working market, not a tourist one. 3. **Post Street Mall** (Open-air traders and the meteorite display · Windhoek Central): The pedestrian spine of the CBD, with the Gibeon meteorites on plinths down the middle and open-air traders either side. Half an hour and a photograph. ## Best parks and walks in Windhoek Four places to get outside without leaving the municipal boundary. 1. **National Botanic Garden of Namibia** (Weekdays 08:00 to 17:00, free entry · Klein Windhoek): Twelve hectares of Namibian dryland flora on Orban Street: aloes, euphorbias, a welwitschia or two. Free on weekdays, and a birding spot in the city. 2. **Zoo Park** (Stone Age elephant site, marked by a column · Windhoek Central): The town zoo until 1962, now a lawn and a playground in the CBD. Excavations here found elephant bones and the quartz tools used to butcher them. 3. **Hofmeyer Walk, the Aloe Trail** (About 1 km, easy, best in winter · Klein Windhoek): A kilometre of ridge path above Klein Windhoek through aloes that flower red in winter. Half an hour, and the cheapest good view in the city. 4. **Parliament Gardens** (Public gardens at the seat of parliament · Windhoek Central): The formal gardens in front of the Tintenpalast, and the one piece of deep shade in the centre, with the Christuskirche framed at the end of the axis. ## Best neighborhoods in Windhoek A small centre, a township that outgrew it, and the valleys in between. 1. **Windhoek Central** (The walkable core · CBD): The colonial grid between Independence and Robert Mugabe avenues, and the only part of the city that works on foot. It empties after dark and on Sundays. 2. **Katutura** (Founded by forced removals, 1959 to 1968 · Northwest): Built by the apartheid administration and filled by forcing the Old Location out. The name means the place where we do not want to live. Go by day, and hungry. 3. **Klein Windhoek** (Guesthouses, restaurants and the coffee · East): The green valley east of the centre: guesthouses, embassies, the botanic garden and most of the coffee. Where to base yourself for more than a night. 4. **Eros and Olympia** (Domestic airport, malls, car hire · South and east): The suburbs where the practical parts of a trip happen: the domestic airport, the mall for a supermarket shop, and most of the car hire counters. ## Best day trips in Windhoek Four that fit between breakfast and dinner, all on tar. 1. **N/a’an ku sê Wildlife Sanctuary** (45 km east, about 5 hr with transfers · B6, toward the airport): Forty-five kilometres east, taking in carnivores that cannot be released. The feeding tour runs most days, and profits fund the conservation work. 2. **Okahandja and the woodcarvers’ market** (73 km north on the B1, about 1 hr · Otjozondjupa): Seventy-three kilometres north, and the reason to go is two dozen stalls of hand-carved wood and basketry on the main road. Easy to pair with Gross Barmen. 3. **Gross Barmen hot springs** (100 km, thermal hall and outdoor pool · Near Okahandja): A hundred kilometres out, on an 1844 mission site. The spring comes out at about 65 degrees and is cooled to 40 for the thermal hall. Open year round. [Website](https://www.meft.gov.na/national-parks/gross-barmen-hot-springs/218/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) 4. **Von Bach Dam** (Fishing, watersports and 150+ bird species · Near Okahandja): The reservoir that supplies most of Windhoek's water, eighty kilometres out in granite hills. Fishing, sailing and over 150 bird species on the shore. ## Festivals & annual events in Windhoek (2026) - **Windhoek Karneval (WIKA)** (Mar): A full German Karneval transplanted to southern Africa, run since 1952, over ten days in late March or early April. - **/Ae//Gams Arts and Cultural Festival** (Mar): The city's own arts festival: Namibian music, dance, theatre and craft, plus invited performers from abroad. - **Independence Day** (21 Mar): 21 March. A public holiday with a ceremony that rotates around the regions. Plan food and fuel the day before. - **Namibia Tourism Expo** (Apr): The country's travel trade fair, useful for booking regional operators face to face. Dates move each year. - **Cassinga Day and Africa Day** (May): Two public holidays in May, on the 4th and the 25th. Both are solemn rather than festive, and both close offices. - **Heroes’ Day** (26 Aug): The anniversary of the start of the liberation war in 1966, with a state ceremony at Heroes' Acre. A public holiday. - **Windhoek Industrial and Agricultural Show** (Oct): Livestock, machinery, trade stands and a funfair in the first week of October. The biggest annual event by attendance. - **Oktoberfest** (Oct): The German-speaking clubs have kept a Bavarian-model Oktoberfest going for decades. Tickets sell out among locals early. ## Must-try dishes in Windhoek, Namibia - **Kapana**: Beef cut small and grilled fast over coals, sold by the handful with salsa and a spice mix you dip into. - **Oshifima with meat and spinach**: A stiff mahangu porridge, pinched by hand to scoop up a stew of beef or goat with wild spinach. - **Potjiekos**: Meat and vegetables layered into a cast-iron pot over coals for hours, unstirred. As much occasion as dish. - **Game steak**: Oryx, kudu, springbok and eland are farmed here and on every menu. Start with oryx, and have it rare. - **Biltong and droëwors**: Beef or game salted, spiced with coriander and air-dried. The thing to have in the car on a long drive. - **Mopane worms**: Emperor moth caterpillars, dried then fried with tomato and onion. Nutty, dense and high in protein. - **Omajowa**: Giant termite-mound mushrooms, in the markets January to March. Meaty enough to grill like a steak. - **Vetkoek**: Dough deep-fried until it puffs, split and filled with mince or eaten sweet. The cheapest breakfast here. ## Windhoek transport & airports - **Hosea Kutako International Airport** (WDH): The main gateway, 45 km east on the B6, and 30 to 45 minutes across open bush. No train and no scheduled bus, so it is a shuttle, a transfer or a hire car. - **Eros Airport** (ERS): The domestic and charter field four kilometres south, and the departure point for light aircraft to Sossusvlei and Etosha. Baggage limits are strict. - **Ride-hailing and taxis** (LEFA): LEFA is the Windhoek ride-hailing app, covering the suburbs, the airport and the lodges. Shared minibuses are cheaper but hard to use without local knowledge. [Website](https://lefa.com.na/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - **Driving and long-distance road** (Left-hand side): Namibia drives on the left and the roads out of Windhoek are tarred and good. Gravel wants higher clearance and a slower speed. Fill up whenever you pass a station. ## Windhoek at a glance - **Country:** Namibia - **Region:** Khomas Region, central highlands - **Population:** 486,301 in the urban locality (2023 census) - **Founded:** Settled around 1840 under Jonker Afrikaner, refounded 18 October 1890 - **Nickname:** |Ai||Gams and Otjomuise, older names referring to the hot springs - **Language:** English is official; Afrikaans, German, Oshiwambo, Otjiherero and Khoekhoegowab are widely spoken - **Currency:** Namibian dollar (NAD), pegged to the South African rand, which is also accepted - **Time zone:** UTC+2, no daylight saving since 2017 - **Calling code:** +264, city code 061 - **Airports:** Hosea Kutako International (WDH), 45 km east; Eros (ERS) for domestic flights - **Power:** 220V, 50Hz, type D and type M plugs - **Emergency:** 10111 police, 10177 ambulance, 061 211 111 Windhoek emergency services ## Interesting facts - Windhoek has recycled its sewage directly into drinking water since 1968, the first city in the world to do it. - The city sits at about 1,650 metres, which is why June and July nights drop close to freezing under clear skies. - Excavations in Zoo Park in 1962 found the bones of two elephants and the quartz tools used to butcher them, about 5,000 years old. - Heroes' Acre was designed and built by a North Korean studio, which is why the marble staircase looks like nothing else in Namibia. - Namibia abolished daylight saving in 2017 and now stays on UTC+2 all year. ## Windhoek travel FAQ ### How many days do you need in Windhoek? Two. One covers the walkable centre: the Independence Memorial Museum, the Christuskirche, the Parliament Gardens and the craft centre. A second covers Katutura and the city edge. One night on arrival and one on departure also works. ### Is Windhoek safe for visitors? Windhoek is calmer than most southern African capitals and the centre is fine to walk by day. Petty theft is the real risk: keep phones out of sight, leave nothing visible in a parked car, and take a car after dark, including in the CBD, which empties at night. ### When is the best time to visit Windhoek? May to September, the dry-season months: clear skies, almost no rain, days in the low twenties and cold nights. December to March is hot and holds what rain the city gets, though the bush is green and omajowa reach the markets. ### Do you need a car in Windhoek? Not for the centre, which is small enough to walk. You need one for everything else, because Heroes' Acre, Daan Viljoen and Avis Dam have no useful public transport to them. The LEFA app covers the city, so two days without a car is workable. ### What should you eat in Windhoek? Kapana at Oshetu Market in Katutura, which costs a few Namibian dollars and is the most Windhoek thing on this page. Then a game steak, oryx for preference, at Joe’s Beerhouse or the Stellenbosch, and a plate of oshifima with meat and spinach at Xwama. Buy kudu biltong for the drive out of town. ## Nearby guides - [Swakopmund](https://wimup.com/city/swakopmund.md): Namibia · 10 picks - [Gaborone](https://wimup.com/city/gaborone.md): Botswana · 10 picks - [Kimberley](https://wimup.com/city/kimberley.md): South Africa · 10 picks - [All of Africa →](https://wimup.com/africa): 69 cities Part of the [Namibia guide](https://wimup.com/country/namibia.md) · [Africa](https://wimup.com/africa.md) ## Sources - [Windhoek tourism board](https://namibiatourism.com.na/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Start at the Independence Memorial Museum (official site)](https://www.windhoekcc.org.na/independence-memorial-museum/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Look up at the Christuskirche (official site)](https://www.windhoekcc.org.na/christus-kirche/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Buy something made in Namibia at the Namibia Craft Centre (official site)](https://www.namibiacraftcentre.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Walk among game at Daan Viljoen (official site)](https://www.nwr.com.na/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Take the Penduka tour above Goreangab Dam (official site)](https://www.penduka.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [See what Namibian artists are making at the National Art Gallery (official site)](https://nagn.org.na/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Joe’s Beerhouse (official site)](https://joesbeerhouse.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [The Stellenbosch Wine Bar and Bistro (official site)](https://www.thestellenboschwinebar.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Xwama Traditional Restaurant (official site)](http://www.xwama.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Gross Barmen hot springs (official site)](https://www.meft.gov.na/national-parks/gross-barmen-hot-springs/218/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Ride-hailing and taxis (official site)](https://lefa.com.na/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.