Holiday in Asmara

About Asmara

Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, is one of the most surprising cities in Africa — an art deco time capsule at 2,325 meters in the East African highlands. The city, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017 as a modernist city of Africa, preserves an almost intact ensemble of Italian colonial architecture from the 1930s. The Italians made Asmara their Piccola Roma: art deco cinemas (Cinema Impero), futuristic gas stations (Fiat Tagliero), rationalist architecture, and wide boulevards. This architectural treasure survived intact because Eritrea built very few new buildings after independence in 1993 — due to a lack of funds for monument preservation. Harnet Avenue is the promenade: cafés serve macchiato and cappuccino in art deco bars, just like in the 1930s. Asmara's café culture is legendary — Eritreans roast their coffee fresh, and the traditional coffee ceremony (Buna) is a meditative ritual. At 2,325 meters, the climate is mild year-round (around 20 °C), making Asmara the most pleasant city in East Africa. The old town is clean, safe, and walkable — a rare pleasure in the region. The ride on the historic Eritrean railway from Asmara to Massawa down to the Red Sea is one of the most spectacular train routes in Africa.