Asmara, Eritrea

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Perched on the eastern edge of Eritrea's highland plateau, Asmara enjoys a great climate, clean and architecturally striking streets, and a reputation as one of the safest capital cities in Africa. The city began life as four villages - hence the meaning of its original name, Arbate Esmere - that were founded by shepherds pleased with the local abundance of water. Travellers used the place as a refreshing stopover on their way between the sea and mountains and it eventually became a key trading post. In the late 19th century, the all-colonising Italians decided Asmara was to become the jewel of their east African empire and over the next 50 years proceeded to lavish the town with their own cultural trimmings.

The Italian architectural touch can be seen all over the city, from the original residential area in the south, which still displays numerous Art-Deco villas, to the buildings of what was (and still is) the administrative area in the north. Harnet Ave is the main thoroughfare, running east to west, and a stroll along here (starting at the western end) will take you past the Corinthian columns of the Neoclassical Governor's Palace, the Romanesque portico of the 1920s Opera House, a Catholic cathedral thought to be the finest example of its style (Lombard-Romanesque) outside Italy, and the imposing frontage of the Cinema Impero. Conspicuous style is, however, conspicuously missing from the city's northeast, where the local population were housed during the days of colonialism and where the local poor now shack up.

Asmara's National Museum has exhibits on Eritrea's ethnic groups and the main archaeological sites. There are plans to upgrade the museum and to move it to a more suitable place. At the city's main market, you'll find stalls selling household goods, fruit and vegetables, spices, pottery, musical instruments, secondhand clothes and shoes, and wooden and metal furniture, to name but a few of the items on offer. If you need a break from spending all your nakfa, you can rest in the peaceful environs of City Park.

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