Things to do in Lubumbashi
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Lubumbashi
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dry and coolest, with clear skies and cold nights by local standards. The best window in the city and for excursions.
Still dry but warming and dusty. Workable for the city, golf and the lake.
Hottest month before the rains break, dry and dusty. The Lubumbashi Biennale can fall in October in Biennale years.
Rains easing. Roads start to recover, but rural tracks to the parks remain difficult.
Rainy season: heavy rain on most days, mud and the worst road conditions of the year. Waterfalls run strongest late in the rains, when they are hardest to reach.
What's on
- DRC Mining Week Usually mid June
The annual mining expo and conference at the Pullman Grand Karavia. Every good hotel in the city fills, so book far ahead or avoid these dates.
- Independence Day 30 June
National holiday with official events, a party mood and tighter security around official venues.
- Lubumbashi Biennale October to November in Biennale years
The Picha-run contemporary art Biennale, held on an irregular cycle. The one cultural event that can justify timing a leisure visit.
Best things to do in Lubumbashi
Cathedrale Saints Pierre et Paul
The large brick cathedral in the centre, completed in the 1930s, is the starting point for a short look at the colonial era centre.
Musee National de Lubumbashi
The regional national museum, with Katanga ethnography and mining history, is the best place in the city to get your bearings.
Jardin Zoologique de Lubumbashi
The wooded city zoo keeps lions, primates and a long lived crocodile, with uneven upkeep, so go in the morning with modest hopes.
J.A.C.K Primate Rehabilitation Centre
A rescue centre for chimpanzees confiscated from trafficking, visited on guided tours arranged in advance by the zoo.
Picha
The independent art centre behind the Lubumbashi Biennale, worth checking for exhibitions and talks whenever you are in town.
Stade TP Mazembe
Home of TP Mazembe, one of Africa's most successful clubs, where a daytime home match is the city's biggest mass event.
Where to stay in Lubumbashi
Quartier Golf
business stays, security and the flagship hotels
Home to the Pullman and Novotel, the golf club and most expat dining, in the leafiest and calmest quarter.
Centre-ville
centre-based work and lower prices
By the cathedral, museum and offices, with the Art Deco Park Hotel and the cheaper Hypnose Hotel.
Think twice about
- Kenya commune
Persistently higher crime than the centre and Golf quarter, with nothing a visitor needs. Do not go on foot.
- Kasapa area
Persistently higher crime and no visitor draw. Pass through by car only, in daylight, if your route requires it.
- Kamalondo after dark
Go only for a TP Mazembe home match in daylight, with a host, and leave with the crowd. Do not wander it at night.
- North-western Haut-Katanga around Lusinga and the Upemba approaches
Violent attacks reported near Lusinga in 2026. No-go without specialist security advice.
Best restaurants in Lubumbashi
Wabi Sabi - Lubumbashi
The city's best known pan Asian and sushi address in the Golf area, and the special dinner locals name first.
Le Boucher
The steakhouse name in the city, built on grilled quality meat, and the business dinner splurge of most mining trips.
Chez Marc
A long running Belgian run restaurant in the Golf quarter, serious French and Italian cooking without flagship prices.
Restaurant du Zoo
An Italian restaurant by the zoo known for pizza, and the natural lunch to pair with the zoo and sanctuary.
Latte Lounge
A flexible cafe and lounge on Kilela Balanda that works for coffee meetings, working lunches and low key evenings.
La Brioche
The city's best known French bakery cafe, with pastries and coffee at local cafe prices, the right breakfast outside a hotel.
Katanga Fried Chicken
A local fried chicken chain on Avenue Lumumba, the cheapest named sit down meal in the city, paid in francs at lunch.
Outdoor things to do in Lubumbashi
Lubumbashi Golf Club
The maintained course in the Quartier Golf is the city's main expat green space and its easiest outdoor half day.
Parc Muyambo
A large private leisure park with giraffes, zebras and a pedalo lake, and the easiest family friendly outdoor day near the city.
Lac Tshangalele
The Lufira reservoir lake is the classic resident weekend escape for fishing, boats and a slower pace, by car in daylight.
Kundelungu National Park
A vast plateau park known for Lofoi Falls, reached only as a dry season expedition with an operator and your own supplies.
Upemba National Park
The wilder sister park of lakes and plateau, covered by a UK essential travel only warning, so go only with specialists.
Best hotels in Lubumbashi
Pullman Lubumbashi Grand Karavia
The flagship Golf quarter hotel over Lake Tshombe, with gardens, pool and spa, and the venue for DRC Mining Week.
Novotel Lubumbashi
The newer international brand hotel on Avenue Mpala in the Golf quarter, the sensible fallback when the Pullman is full.
Park Hotel Lubumbashi
A central Art Deco hotel by the cathedral and museum, the character pick for visitors whose work is in the centre.
Hypnose Hotel
A small central hotel with a rooftop terrace, at the lowest price of any reliably bookable hotel in the city.
Is Lubumbashi expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | $80 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | $200 a person |
| Splurge | $450 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- J.A.C.K Primate Rehabilitation Centre: a few days ahead
- Lubumbashi Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Kundelungu National Park: weeks ahead
- Upemba National Park: weeks ahead
- Pullman Lubumbashi Grand Karavia: weeks ahead
- Novotel Lubumbashi: a few days ahead
- Wabi Sabi - Lubumbashi: a few days ahead
- Book the Pullman and Novotel weeks ahead for DRC Mining Week in mid June.
- Arrange J.A.C.K sanctuary visits in advance, and any Kundelungu or Upemba movement through an operator weeks ahead.
- Book a driver for every day you plan to leave your hotel.
Is Lubumbashi safe?
- Do not walk after dark, do not walk alone in unfamiliar communes, and keep phones and valuables out of sight in traffic.
- Malaria is present year-round. Take travel clinic advice on prophylaxis before you travel and sleep under a net where provided.
- Yellow fever certification is required for entry and visas must be arranged in advance. Neither is fixable on arrival.
Lubumbashi travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Photographing government buildings, police, military, the airport or mines can get you detained. Ask first, and never photograph a checkpoint.
- Carry a copy of your passport and visa for checkpoints, and check where your host wants the original kept.
- Do not rely on ATMs or cards outside the big hotels. Carry clean, recent US dollar notes and francs for small purchases.
Getting around Lubumbashi: public transport and more
- Use a hotel arranged or company car with a local driver, booked by the day, for every movement.
- Luano International Airport is about 14 km from the centre, and your hotel or host should meet you there.
- Never drive yourself, never travel between towns after dark, and do not use shared taxis or motorcycle taxis.
Who Lubumbashi suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | OK |
| Couples | OK |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Not ideal |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Lubumbashi your trip
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