Kinshasa
A capital of some eighteen million on the wide Malebo Pool, facing Brazzaville across four kilometres of river with no bridge between them.
- Arrival
- N'djili International · FIH
- To the city
- About 20 km east of the centre
- Private jets
- FIH, airport of entry with customs
- Best time
- June to September
The city
Léopoldville, La Gombe and the river.
Stanley set up a trading post here in 1881 and called it Léopoldville; it took the name Kinshasa in 1966. The river made the city: this was the first navigable port above the Livingstone Falls, and the old administrative quarter of La Gombe still runs down to the water, along the Boulevard du 30 Juin. UNESCO named Kinshasa a City of Music in 2015.
Come in the dry season, June to September: highs of twenty-seven to thirty degrees and almost no rain, with July close to dry. From October the storms return, and November is the wettest month of the year, with more than 250 mm.
Arriving
One long runway, many handlers.
N'djili International, about 20 km east of the centre, is the main gateway to the country and the hub of Congo Airways and Air Congo.
- Luanda 1 h 05
- Kigali 2 h 30
- Jeddah 5 h 20
- Doha 6 h 55 long-range jet
- Delhi 10 h 05 long-range jet
When to go
June to September.
Hot all year, with one long wet season from October to May. June to September is dry and a little cooler, around twenty-seven to thirty degrees, with July almost rainless.
- 30° J 154
- 31° F 136
- 31° M 170
- 31° A 196
- 30° M 124
- 28° J 7
- 27° J 1
- 28° A 4
- 30° S 34
- 30° O 136
- 29° N 254
- 29° D 171
What to see and do
Days in and around Kinshasa.
-
Landmark
National Museum of the DRC
Opened in 2019, with three halls that can show some twelve thousand objects from the country's many peoples and eras.
-
Landmark
Lola ya Bonobo
A sanctuary for orphaned bonobos on the southern edge of the city, founded in 1994, with forest enclosures and an eco-lodge.
-
Landmark
Malebo Pool
The river widens into a lake some thirty-five kilometres long, with Brazzaville in sight on the far bank.
-
Nature
Kinshasa Botanical Garden
Laid out in 1933 as the Parc de Bock, the eight hectare garden on Avenue Kasa-Vubu was restored and reopened to the public in 2010.
-
Culture
Académie des Beaux-Arts
Visitors can watch painters and sculptors at work at the art school in Gombe, founded by the missionary Marc Wallenda in 1943 and in Kinshasa since 1949.
-
Nature
Petites Chutes de la Lukaya
South of the city, low falls on the Lukaya river empty into a small lake with a sandy beach where people swim, with a restaurant beside it.
-
Golf
Golf Club de Kinshasa
Golfers play an 18 hole, par 72 course here in the capital, which was still in regular use in 2026.
Where to stay
Towers in La Gombe, near the river.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Fleuve Congo Hotel by Blazon Hotels The former Kempinski, twenty-two floors high, with views over the river to Brazzaville.
- Pullman Kinshasa Grand Hotel Three hundred and sixty-nine rooms above the river, with a garden pool, a hammam and tennis courts.
- Hilton Kinshasa Opened in 2023 beside the Congo Trade Centre, five minutes' walk from the Brazzaville ferry, with a private pool terrace.
- Kin Plaza Arjaan by Rotana Rooms, studios and suites over eleven storeys, with a direct way into the Kin Plaza mall.
Where to dine
One table worth booking in La Gombe.
No MICHELIN Guide or other recognised guide covers Kinshasa. This restaurant in the Hilton is ranked first in the city on Tripadvisor.
- Savane Restaurant Tripadvisor, No. 1 in Kinshasa Peruvian $$$$ Hilton Kinshasa, La Gombe
Elsewhere in Congo (Kinshasa)
More reasons to come.
Flying to Kinshasa?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.