Nairobi's reputation arrives before Nairobi does: traffic, crime, a place you pass through rather than stay in. The reality is a city of 4.5 million people with a gallery scene quietly producing some of East Africa's best contemporary art, a restaurant culture that spans Ethiopian, Indian, Lebanese, and Kenyan without apology, and a national park seven kilometres from the central business district where you can watch a lion cross a valley with the Nairobi skyline behind it.
What to Actually Do
The Giraffe Centre (African Fund for Endangered Wildlife, Langata Road) allows visitors to hand-feed Rothschild's giraffes from an elevated wooden platform. Entrance is KES 1,500 (around £9). The giraffes — a critically endangered subspecies with fewer than 1,600 remaining in the world — are relaxed about this arrangement. Arrive at 9am for the smallest crowds.
The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant orphanage in Langata opens to the public for one hour daily at 11am. Elephant orphans rescued from poaching and drought situations interact with keepers in a muddy enclosure while the adoption programme is explained. Book online — capacity is limited and it sells out weeks in advance in peak season. KES 500 (£3) entry.
Nairobi National Park is the world's only national park adjacent to a capital city. Entry: KES 3,785 (USD 29). The park has lions, leopards, rhinoceros, buffalo, giraffes, cheetah, and over 400 bird species. The southern boundary is the Athi-Kapiti plains — unfenced — which is how the wildlife can migrate seasonally. The backdrop of the Nairobi skyline in wildlife photographs from this park is not composited. It is what it looks like.
Neighbourhoods Worth Your Time
Westlands is the commercial and restaurant hub — Sankara Hotel, Java House for breakfast, several good Indian and Ethiopian restaurants. Karen (named after Karen Blixen, who farmed here) has the Blixen Museum, the Giraffe Centre, antique shops, and the relaxed pace that the CBD lacks. Lavington has good cafés and less traffic than Westlands. The CBD itself — City Square, Uhuru Park, the National Museum — is fine for an orientation morning but not a destination in itself.
Food
Nyama choma (roasted meat, usually goat or beef, with ugali/maize porridge and kachumbari salad) is Kenya's most important communal meal. The Carnivore Restaurant in Langata is the famous version — game meat on the menu, theatrical presentation, reliably excellent. Local nyama choma joints throughout Westlands and Karen are cheaper and often better. Habesha Restaurant (Ethiopian) in Westlands is one of the best Ethiopian restaurants in East Africa. Artisan (Village Market, Gigiri) has the best brunch in Nairobi.