Originally published on Discover Walks Blog.

The capital city of Namibia, Windhoek, is a place with a heavy mixture of cultures and a lot of different things to explore. As a fairly underrated travel destination, I feel like Namibia deserves some more credit.

Having only been independent for a little over thirty years, German culture (and German people), English culture (and English people), and South African influence are all still present in Namibian society. As you walk or drive down any of the city streets, you’ll see a mixture of old German architecture, modern buildings, and an oddly not-totally-European, not-totally-African feel to the place.

While I was in Namibia, I saw beautiful and awe-inspiring marvels of nature, I saw old German museums, I saw new Namibian museums, and I also strangely saw a lot of Shell gas stations and KFCs. But out of everything that I saw and did in Namibia, these are the seven best sights to see in the nation’s capital: Windhoek.

1. Namibia Craft Centre

If you’re like me and you need to bring gifts back for all of your loved ones, or you just love browsing and buying things for yourself, the Craft Centre is by far the most comprehensive and interesting place for you to go.

Located right in the center of all the action, the Craft Centre is like a hand-made supermarket tucked neatly away off Sam Nujoma Drive and Tal Street. While from the outside it may not look like much, you enter into a huge space filled with 40 different vendors selling unique crafts from various rural communities and ethnic groups. Not only that, but the Craft Centre also has a restaurant on the second floor with cakes, entrees, and drinks of all kinds.

When I was there, I was able to find a Christmas ornament with a little Santa riding a zebra, some hand-painted mugs with elephants and giraffes, some stylish safari hats sporting the Namibian flag, handmade jewelry, books, clothes, and more stuff than I’d be able to fit in my bag to take back with me.

2. Independence Memorial Museum

Possibly my favorite place in all of Namibia, as someone who studies history, is the free museum located inside the imposing gold tower on the corner of Fidel Castro Street and Robert Mugabe Avenue. This enormous and impressive building, designed by North Korean architects, is possibly even more impressive from the inside than it is from the outside.

As you approach, you are greeted by a statue of Sam Nujoma, Namibia’s first president, and past that, there are large, decadent murals depicting scenes of Namibia struggling and breaking free from its colonial chains. Then, you head up the elevator where each of the three floors are respectively labeled: Colonial Repression, Liberation, and Road to Independence.

Each of the floors is filled with detailed history that paints a holistic picture of Namibia’s independence struggle, without trying to whitewash that history or shy away from apartheid South Africa or the United States’ role in prolonging their struggle for independence.

Possibly more interestingly, the museum is filled with art. Every exhibit contains at least a few murals showing important historical moments or figures with countless other sculptures, artifacts, and visuals that bring you into the history that you are learning about. It is hard to put into words the beauty and weight behind each piece on display, but out of all the museums that I have visited, this one still remains on top.

3. View of the City

The Independence Memorial Museum is home to more than just a tribute to Namibia’s independence struggle. It also houses a restaurant high above Windhoek, with balconies on all three sides that look out over the city and the rolling mountains behind it.

After making my way through the three stunning floors of the museum, I ended up in a classy dining room with a bar and comfortable seating. The view from the balcony is breathtaking. Not only can you see the entire city, but the mountains in the background are a wonder all of their own. The restaurant also has a good selection of food and drinks to offer, and I enjoyed a passion fruit lemonade while taking in the view.

4. Christuskirche

The Christ Church, also known as Christuskirche, is a central landmark in the Windhoek skyline. Located on a traffic island across from the Parliament Building, also known as the Tintenpalast, the church is an ornate and alluring sight to see, especially in its place among its city setting.

Built by the Germans with Italian marble using a variety of architectural styles, this building certainly sticks out from the average building in Windhoek. Though there isn’t much to this simple stop on your tour of Windhoek, it is certainly a staple and one of the most recognizable landmarks that Namibia is home to.

5. The Parliament Gardens

Across the street from the Christ Church is the Parliament Building (the Tintenpalast), which is home to the Parliament Gardens just off of the front steps. The best way to describe the Parliament Gardens is as a mixture between a park and a botanical garden, though it is much closer to a park than it is a botanical garden.

It has beautiful trees and bushes embracing the edges of the gardens, with a path weaving right around a central lawn. Each bush is trimmed exactly to shape, and colorful bits of flowers are scattered around to add an extra pop to the sea of green.

Had I stayed in Windhoek long enough, this would have been a great spot to have a picnic or sit out and read, but even in passing it was a wonderful stop on this self-guided tour of the city.

6. National Museum

One of my only regrets about leaving Namibia is that I didn’t get the chance to visit Namibia’s National Museum (my other regret is that I didn’t get the chance to visit their National Library). After having such a breathtaking experience at their Independence Memorial Museum, the logic only follows that Namibians are great museum makers, and I am sure that I missed something good in not making it to this museum.

Also, in doing research for my trip to Namibia, this museum came up quite a lot, along with a plethora of other museums that I also wish I could have visited. So, I also recommend checking this out so you don’t leave Namibia with any regrets like I did.

7. The Namibian Sunset

I saw my fair share of sunsets during the time I spent in the beautiful country of Namibia, but there is one way to view the sunset that remains my favorite.

As evening fell, after a long day of sightseeing and city exploring, my fellow travelers and I drove down long, winding, and steep roads exploring the residential areas of the city. We got to see a diverse set of architecture and some tightly packed, minimalist-style neighborhoods, and when the sun finally began to set, we pulled off into a little alcove that overlooked the entire city to watch the sunset.

No matter which direction or angle you look at Windhoek from, the sun paints the sky orange, the mountains grow clearer, darker, and bolder as they get closer to the city limits, and the buildings of the city sit nestled in their little alcove of the Namibian landscape. Even if you aren’t in Windhoek, the sunset is something that you’ll never get tired of watching in Namibia, whether that be in the desert sand dunes, in the mountains, or in the city.

Conclusion

So, whether you are in Namibia for a day or for a whole month, the city of Windhoek has plenty of amazing sights to see and places to go during your stay. If you like history, art, architecture, wonders of nature, people, culture, or any number of other things, you won’t leave Windhoek without having seen the perfect sight for you. I hope that this short list of seven of my favorite things to do and see was helpful and that you are able to go and have your own adventure in Windhoek, Namibia.