Maputo Downtown Walking Tour
Maputo Downtown Walking Tour
This is the best way to know Maputo and its flavor. In 3h we cover the most emblematic spots of the city and uncover the history behind them. The most complete tour available with lots of history, art, architecture and lovely guides
Book This ExperienceA glimpse of the journey
Your Itinerary
A curated journey through the experience
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
Nossa Senhora da Conceição is a nice example of the lots of Art Deco buildings we have in Maputo. Some people even say that if we join all the Art Deco buildings we have in Maputo, this could maybe be a little Miami
15 minutesOld Town Hall
Inside we have nice models of the old Lourenço Marques (present day Maputo) and a nice hall to see.
10 minutesPraca da Independencia In front of Maputo City Hall
The statue was inaugurated on October 19, 2011, the 25th anniversary of Machel's death in an aircraft crash on the convergence of the borders of Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa. Armando Guebuza, the President of Mozambique, led the construction of the statue and its inauguration ceremony, which was attended by numerous foreign dignitaries
7 minutesFranco-Mozambican Cultural Center
Inside, apart from the exposition room and the stage we can see artwork by Gonçalo Mabunda, one of the most popular artists in Mozambique in modern days – with his planes, chairs, etc made out of bullets, guns and Iron.
10 minutesCasa de Ferro (The Iron House)
- Iron house: designed by Gustave Eiffel, the building was brought pre-fabricated from Belgium in 1892 and assembled outside what was the town by those days. He liked neither the building (lets imagine why – an iron house in a hot country like Mozambique + no air conditioners) nor the isolated site. So the court of justice was supposed to move in but did not want to. It ended up as a girl school of the sisters Hospitallers to be closed when religious orders were removed from public schools after the revolution of 1910 and was later as offices. In 1972 it was moved to the present site to house a geographical museum, with displays also showing how an office would have looked at the time of the Portuguese geographical expeditions. Today it houses the cultural heritage authority of Mozambique.
7 minutesTunduru Botanical Gardens
Inside the gardens it is also possible to see a small cast iron “wallace” water fountain with four caryatides supporting a dome made by Fonderies d’Art du Val d’Osne in 1872. Many of these still exist in Paris and are named after the benefactor, Sir Richard Wallace, who erected them in order to provide safe drinking water. How did it come to Maputo? On theory it was brought here as a gift by French Engineer Eugène François Tissot, who had acquired the Lourenço Marques drinking water concession in1985. Tissot incidentally met a dramatic death – he first killed his wife and daughter and them himself with a pistol
10 minutesCentral Market
We also stop to try some local fruits – Massala, Ata, Coração de boi, or the one that calls your attention.
20 minutesJumma Masjid
The mosque also shows how good the relations between the different religious groups are, considering that this southern part of the country is mostly Christian and the biggest part of the Muslim community is on the northern part of the country. The country is mostly Christian but there are no religious conflicts between the most different religious groups.
5 minutesMaputo Central Train Station
The train station is quite popular. Some of the scenes for the movie blood diamond by Leonardo DiCaprio were shot here.
15 minutesRua Do Bagamoyo
Bagamoyo street: New Orleans in Maputo, that is the feeling most people who have been to New Orleans have when they walk through this street. Called Araujo street before independence, the street started as a residencies street, but because of its location – close to the harbor - it started to become a bit busier with lots of hotels, bars, most of them run down nowadays. it is a treasure of French colonial architecture with buildings with their iron pillars and verandas during the day, and the street that doesn’t sleep during the night. Bagamoyo is a red light district and the street where Leonardo DiCaprio had other set of scenes for the movie Blood Diamond
Fortress of Maputo
Fortress Nossa Senhora da Conceição or Fortaleza (has it is known) was originally built of wood in 1787. In 1811 the wall towards the sea was erected in stone. A plan of 1851 shows that the whole fortress was now made of stone. In it’s present from, it is a renovation and part reconstruction following a 1945 proposol of Joaquim Areal Silva of the Direcção de Monumentos Nacionais. The complete work was inaugurated noly in 1956. The two battlements of the landside and the connecting wall are mostly original. Inside there are many remains from fortresses around the country (including the dismantled fort of sofala), cannon and other historic objects. There is a coffin carved by Paulo Come containing the remains of Ngungunhana, King of Gaza who died in 1906 and the statue of his Victor Mouzinho de Albulquerque who had ironically died even earlier in 1902 by his own hand. His statue was originally erected in 1940’s in front of the Municipal Council (where we see the statue of Samora Machel today). Leopoldo simoes e Almeida was the sculptor. Also there is a statue of António Enes by Teixeira Lopes, which was originally on the square in front of the fort.
15 minutesIncluded
- Snacks
Not Included
- Alcoholic Beverages
Good to Know
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Tickets & Cancellation
You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start time of the experience.