There is a particular intimacy that only walking can offer a city, writes Zoë Erasmus.
Paul Macallan / Unsplash
The rhythm of your steps sets the tempo. You notice the faded paint on a balcony, the smell of bread drifting from a corner café, the conversation rising and falling from a pavement barbershop. Across Africa, some cities reveal themselves most generously not through a windscreen, but at walking pace.
Here are a few where slowing down turns sightseeing into something more layered and personal.
Stone Town
The historic heart of Zanzibar is less a grid and more a living maze. Narrow alleys twist between coral-stone buildings, carved wooden doors and shaded courtyards. Cars are rare in the tightest lanes, and that is part of the magic.
Walking through Stone Town means passing children in school uniforms, elderly men playing bao in the shade, and shopkeepers who call you in to admire intricate jewellery or handwoven baskets. The call to prayer ripples across rooftops, mingling with the salty air from the Indian Ocean.
Here, getting lost is the point. The city’s layered influences – African, Arab, Indian and European – are visible in the architecture and audible in the languages spoken on the street. At walking pace, you feel the weight of that history, not as a museum exhibit, but as something still alive.
Marrakesh
Marrakesh can be overwhelming if you rush it. But slow your steps and the medina becomes less chaotic and more cinematic.
You move from the sensory intensity of Jemaa el-Fnaa into quieter residential alleys where laundry hangs overhead and cats nap in doorways. The souks unfold gradually: leather one moment, spices the next, then a sudden courtyard riad hidden behind an unassuming door.
Walking allows you to appreciate the play of light and shadow on terracotta walls, the cool hush inside tiled courtyards, and the craftsmanship in hand-hammered lanterns. It also gives you the chance to stop often – for mint tea, for directions, for conversation. In Marrakesh, walking is less about ticking off sights and more about surrendering to atmosphere.
Dakar
Dakar’s energy is coastal, creative and unapologetically vibrant. In neighbourhoods like Plateau and Medina, walking reveals a city shaped by music, art and the Atlantic breeze.
Street murals burst with colour. Tailors sit outside their shops, sewing bright wax prints into modern silhouettes. The ocean is never far; a few turns and you are standing on rocky outcrops watching waves crash against black volcanic stone.
At walking pace, you catch snippets of mbalax drifting from a passing car, the scent of grilled fish from a roadside stall, and the rhythm of everyday life unfolding in courtyards and cafés. Dakar rewards curiosity. The more you wander, the more it gives back.
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa sits high, both geographically and culturally. Its altitude makes for crisp mornings that are ideal for walking, especially through neighbourhoods where eucalyptus trees line the streets.
On foot, you can move between coffee ceremonies, bustling markets and Orthodox churches with painted interiors. The city’s contrasts – old and new, traditional and modern – feel sharper when you experience them step by step.
Stopping for a macchiato in a small café or lingering at a roadside fruit stall becomes part of the journey. Walking also allows you to notice the city’s quieter details: hand-painted signs, shoeshiners working diligently, conversations unfolding on low stools along the pavement. Addis reveals itself slowly, in layers.
Cape Town
Cape Town is often admired for its dramatic landscapes, but its urban texture is best understood on foot. In neighbourhoods like Bo-Kaap, Woodstock and Kalk Bay, walking turns a postcard city into something more human.
You notice the pastel façades and cobbled streets of Bo-Kaap, the street art and independent galleries of Woodstock, the tidal pools and working harbour in Kalk Bay. The scent of coffee, the sound of seagulls, the sudden glimpse of mountain between buildings – these small details accumulate into something memorable.
For students, creatives and locals alike, walking also makes the city feel accessible. A morning promenade along Sea Point or a slow wander through a weekend market shifts the focus from spectacle to lived experience.
Lamu
On Lamu Island, walking is not just pleasant – it is essential. With no cars in the old town, movement happens by foot or donkey. The pace is unhurried, dictated by the heat and the tide.
The town’s Swahili architecture, with its intricately carved doors and shaded verandas, invites lingering. Narrow alleyways open suddenly onto bright courtyards or glimpses of dhows bobbing in the harbour.
Walking here feels timeless. The absence of traffic noise amplifies other sounds: the call to prayer, the creak of wooden boats, the murmur of conversation drifting from behind lattice screens. Lamu teaches you to slow down, to notice, to listen.
Why walking matters
To walk a city is to participate in it. You are not sealed off from smells, textures or conversations. You are part of the street’s choreography, adjusting your stride to avoid a puddle, pausing to greet a shopkeeper, stepping aside for a child racing past.
Across Africa, cities are often described in superlatives: biggest, busiest, fastest-growing. But at walking pace, those headlines soften. What remains are the ordinary moments that make a place feel distinct – the way light hits a wall at sunset, the laughter spilling from a doorway, the rhythm of daily life.
If you want to understand a city beyond its landmarks, start with your own two feet. Slow down. Wander. Let the pavements tell their stories.
Follow us on social media for more travel news, inspiration, and guides. You can also tag us to be featured.
TikTok | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
ALSO READ:
