1 day Kigali city tour gives you a special feeling of Africa’s beautiful and cleanest city. The city hosts some of the thousand hills in Rwanda so visitors in Rwanda shouldn’t miss out on visiting this city. Kigali city is the capital of Rwanda and a busy commercial center with a moderate climate throughout the year allowing you to visit any time of the year. Many tourists visit Rwanda for its rare endangered mountain gorillas Volcanoes national park that she shares with Uganda in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and Mgahinga national park as well as DR Congo in Virunga national park. During this 1-day Kigali city tour, you will visit some of the historical sites that define Rwanda as a country. You will get to know how Rwanda came to be the leading tourism destination in Africa, explore several hills in the city and meet the local people who are friendly and welcoming. The 1 Day Kigali city tour can be part of your Rwanda safaris such as chimpanzee trekking, game viewing, gorilla trekking, Rwanda cultural tour, cycling tours and birding safari where you can add the Kigali city tour.

This is a 1 Day Kigali city tour

If you book with Africa adventure vacations, our English-speaking driver-guide will pick you up from your hotel or residence in the morning after a heavy breakfast or even from Kigali international airport. You will have a short briefing of what you are expected to see and your 1 Day city tour will start with a visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre in Gisozi commemorating the 1994 Rwanda genocide to see the graveyards of a thousand of Rwandan genocide victims including the young children. You will get to see the tools that were used displayed, pictures of some victims, and interviews of survivors displayed.

After the genocide memorial tour, you will go to the Caplaki Craft Centre in Rugunga. Here you will find Caplaki handcrafts co-operatives with different craft sold here ranging from clothes, bags, shoes as well as jewelry. We shall then have our lunch at any preferred good restaurant or hotel where you will have a good taste of Rwandan local foods before we have another stopover at the presidential palace. After lunch, we shall visit the famous presidential palace museum located in Kanombe that served as a home to Juvenal Habyarimana and pastor Bizimungu from the 1970s to the 1990s. from here you will learn a bit about the political history of Rwanda, the lifestyle of Habyarimana, how he entertained the palace, and much more. The palace is well designed unfortunately you are not allowed to take pictures inside the palace.

From here you will have a hike climbing mountain Kigali found in the heart of the city. You will proceed with visiting the shopping malls and markets like Kimironko to buy some local food and fruits and here you will get a chance to interact with local people. Later our driver will take you back to your hotel for relaxation or transfer you to Kigali international airport if on schedule and your 1 Day Kigali city tour will end there.

Meal plan

• Lunch

Tour includes

Transport

Service of a driver-guide

Site entrance fees

Drinking bottled water

Government local tax

Lunch

Airport transfer if any

However, the tour excludes

International flight

Visa fees

Medical and personal insurance

Optional activity

Tips and personal expenses

Top things to do in Kigali city

Kigali city walk

One of the things people shouldn’t miss in most big cities is town walk and Kigali is one of the cleanest and organized cities in Africa. Walking around the city is one of the best ways to experience the county’s culture, day-to-day workings as well as the behavior of the local people.

Rwanda museums.

Kigali city is famous for several museums that have made the city to be one of the most touristic attractions as of today. Most of the museums are due to the incident that happened in 1994, where big numbers of Rwandans were killed during the time and after the 1994 Rwanda genocide. After the 1994 Rwanda genocide, some churches and buildings were turned into museums. Some of the museums in Rwanda include the Kigali genocide memorial ground, campaign against genocide museum, presidential palace museum, Richard Kant house museum, Belgium museum, and many others. These have attracted so many tourists from different parts of the world to come experience and learn about the Rwanda genocide history and current development.

Visit Kigali genocide memorial ground

This is one of the places where the bodies of the victims of the Rwandan genocide that happened in 1994 were laid to rest, as a sign of decent burial. The genocide memorial ground is just a few kilometers away from the capital city. Visiting the Kigali genocide memorial ground gets you to know about the history of genocide, the pics of people who died as well as tools used to kill people in the genocide so it’s worth a visit. The Rwandan genocide started in April when a plane carrying the president of Rwanda by then Juvenal Habyarimana who was a Hutu was shot down and everyone in the plane died. The Hutu blamed the RPF and they immediately started a campaign to slaughter all the Tutsi, neighbors killed neighbors and Hutu husbands killed Tutsi wives threw them into rivers saying that they originated from Ethiopia and are not Rwandese. In just 100 days, an estimated 800,000 Rwandans were already killed.

Hike mount Kigali

Hiking mountain Kigali is one of the greatest ways to explore Kigali city. Kigali mountain is not a mountain as such but it’s the tallest hill in the city. The hiking is not difficult because of its gentle slopes. Hiking to the top of the hill gives you a beautiful view of the city from a distance and an opportunity for you to take photos. Hiking mountain Kigali introduces you to the cool forest breeze while watching monkeys and listening to different sounds of birds.

Visit Kimironko market 

Kimironko market is located in Remera and its the largest market in Kigali city. The market has a lot of things that one will ever need ranging from household, gifts to local food staff such as vegetables, species, fruits, and flours. Visiting the market gives you a chance to interact with local people see how they interact with customers and also get to learn about the day-to-day life of local people.

Go shopping at art galleries

There are so many art galleries in Kigali city selling souvenirs so you can decide to visit any of them and do some shopping of jewelry, kitenge that is always on display. Some of the best art galleries in Kigali include Inema art gallery, Niyo art gallery, Kigali arts center, Abien arts center to mention but a few.