Nairobi City Tour

Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nairobi, which translates to "cool water", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper has a population of 3,138,369, while the metropolitan area has a population of 6,547,547. The city is popularly referred to as the Green City in the Sun. Nairobi is famous for being the only city in the world that hosts a national park, the Nairobi national Park.

Nairobi was founded in 1899 by the colonial authorities in British East Africa, as a rail depot on the Uganda Railway. The town quickly grew to replace Machakos as the capital of Kenya in 1907. After independence in 1963, Nairobi became the capital of the Republic of Kenya. During Kenya's colonial period, the city became a centre for the colony's coffee, tea and sisal industry. The city lies on the River Athi in the southern part of the country, and has an elevation of 1,795 metres (5,889 ft) above sea level.

With a population of 3.36 million in 2011, Nairobi is the second-largest city by population in the African Great Lakes region after Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. According to the 2009 census, in the administrative area of Nairobi, 3,138,295 inhabitants lived within 696 km2 (269 sq mi). Nairobi is the 10th-largest city in Africa, including the population of its suburbs.

Nairobi, East Africa’s youngest, fastest-growing metropolis and the beating heart of the continent’s largest economy, has for too long been overlooked. En route to Kenya’s national parks and palm-fringed beaches, most visitors only make forays into the city for the traditional art markets, coffee stores and museums.
Make time to explore further and you’ll find a dynamic urban landscape with cool restaurants, groundbreaking art projects and a burgeoning fashion scene (be sure to dig around the cluttered thrift markets as well as the latest boutiques).

Style blogs, artist collectives and innovative young designers are challenging the often narrow expectations of what African art and culture are supposed to look like. Skip Nairobi now and you’re missing out, big time.