Go see the bonobos by Lac de ma Vallée, Chutes de Zongo in Bas Congo and Bombo Lumene on the road to Kikwit. A BBQ on a sandbank on the Congo River is definitely also a must. Renting a boat for a day with a driver and all the gear (tables, chairs, a suntent and a BBQ) will set you back around 150$ at the Yacht Club Kinshasa. The boat can take 8 people, so if you share the cost it is quite affordable. A truly unforgettable experience if you don't forget the meat and the Primus!
Don't forget to get some arts in Le marché des valeurs, sometimes called marché des voleurs... the first calling means market of value, the second in changing only one letter means market of thieves. Be prepared to haggle and don't pay the initial asking price that will be at least 60-75% over the final price if not more. For some more upscale art you can go to the Academie des Beaux Arts on Avenue Pierre Mulele (formerly Avenue 24 Novembre) or to Symphonie des Arts: towards Kintambo on the Boulevard du 30 Juin, turn right after the elephant when you see the barrier on your right... then it's on your left hand accross from the big colonial villa. A more time consuming but far more interesting and personal way to get to know the artists of the country would be to visit their private studios. Prices are high even there for paintings of Lema Kusa, Henri Kalama or Nshole, but worth every penny considering the quality of their works and their international career.
A more relax and fun way to buy street art is to have a beer at Surcouf: it's on the street off the boulevard 30 Juin towards Justice off the INSS building. Sit at a table and have a drink (Primus is recommended) and the artists will come and show all kinds of artworks all the time. The same rule on negotiating applies as at Marché des valeurs.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Kinshasa
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Kinshasa - updated May 2024
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Kinshasa Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
