Things to do in Nairobi: Fun and Best Things to do in Nairobi Kenya

This page is filled with fun and interesting things to do in Nairobi Kenya. From the breath-taking places, picnic sites and beautiful abundance of natural attractions to the glamour and glitz of the modern Nairobi city lifestyle.

Best Things to do in Nairobi Kenya

Visit Nairobi National Park

  1. Location: Langata
  2. Distance: 10km from the CBD
  3. Duration of visit: Half day depending on interest points.

Established in 1948 and covering an area of 117sq, km, it is the only park in close proximity to the city centre. It has diverse environments with characteristics of flora and fauna and deep rocky valleys.
The animals that can be found in this park are black and white rhinoceroses, diverse birdlife, Lions, Leopards, hyena, Cheetah, Buffalo, Zebra and hippos.

Visit Animal Orphanage

  1. Location: Langata
  2. Distance: 10Km from CBD
  3. Duration of visit: 2-3 hrs depending on interest points

It was established in 1964 as a refuge and rehabilitation centre for wild animals, found abandoned or injured in Kenya.
In a setting for visitors to walk around and have close up views to a variety of animals such as, Lions, crocodiles, cheetah, leopards, wild cats, and wild dogs. But there is also the group of monkeys and baboons roaming freely around.

Visit Nairobi Safari walk

  1. Location: Langata
  2. Distance: 10Km from CBD
  3. Duration: Half day depending on points of interest

This is Kenya’s new conservation based recreation facility. The combination of skilled and creative landscape design, unique wildlife species and detailed interpretation, renders the facility supreme in tourism and conservation education.
It offers an opportunity to experience what you expect to see across the country. Introductory talks on Kenya’s parks and reserves can be arranged for you by the naturalists. You will have a taste of Kenya’s rich Animal collection including the rare bongo, white rhino, albino zebra, and a collection of cats, antelopes and primates.

Visit Nairobi National Museum

  1. Location: Museum Hill
  2. Distance: 3Km from CBD
  3. Duration: 1hr depending on points of interest

The Museum aims to interpret Kenya’s rich heritage and offers a one-stop shop for visitors to sample the country’s rich heritage both for education and leisure.
Visitors are treated to a variety of shopping and dining facilities, as well as botanical gardens that offer a serene environment. There is a wide variety of attraction on display at the museum ranging from cultural and natural exhibits, stuffed birds and mammals, fossils from lake Turkana, exhibits of local arts, impressive collection of rocks and minerals and a collection of pre-historic bones and fossils including one of an elephant.
One can purchase a combination ticket for the adjacent snake park with live specimens of Kenya’s most common reptiles.

Visit Nairobi Mamba Village

  1. Location: Karen
  2. Distance: 13Km from CBD
  3. Duration: Half day depending on points of interest

Mamba Village is famous for its Crocodile Farm. The pens are home to an estimated 70 Nile crocodiles. Four Maasai Ostriches can also be found strutting around their pen with grace.
Visitors often come into direct personal contact with them when given the opportunity to feed these gallant birds. The experience is always satisfying and exciting especially for children.
Within the Village there is also a tented camp available for accommodation.

Visit the Giraffe Centre

  1. Location: Karen
  2. Distance: 15Km from CBD
  3. Duration: Half day depending on points of interest

The centre has been ostensibly established as a breeding ground for the endangered Rothschild Giraffe.Information about the Giraffe is provided and an elevated feeding platform was installed to give visitors the opportunity to hand feed the giraffes.

Visit Daphne Sheldrake Orphanage

  1. Elephant Orphanage
  2. Location: Karen
  3. Distance: 10Km from CBD
  4. Duration: 1 to 2 hours depending on points of interest

Elephant calves orphaned by poachers or natural occurrences are brought here from all over the country. They receive extremely specialized treatment and personalized care from highly dedicated staff.
The orphanage is open to the public during the calves feeding times where they can interact with calves and watch them being fed while they are informed about how the calves came to be at the orphanage.
There is also an option for visitors to choose to adopt an elephant where they will be in charge of the elephants care at the orphanage.

Visit Nairobi Arboretum

  1. Location: Kileleshwa
  2. Distance: 3Km from CBD
  3. Duration: Half day depending on points of difference

The arboretum occupies 30 hectors and holds over 350 different species of trees. It is home to over 100 migrant and resident birds. The arboretum is one of Nairobi’s few remaining green spaces, with jogging trails, walking paths and picnic lawns.

Visit Bomas of Kenya

  1. Location: Langata
  2. Distance: 10Km from CBD
  3. Duration: 3 – 4 hours depending on points of interest

It was established by the government in 1971 as a subsidiary company of Kenya Tourist Development Corporation as a tourist attraction.
Bomas of Kenya is a living museum celebrating the colorful tribes of Kenya. Visitors here can learn about the lifestyle, art, music, crafts, and their culture.
The complex encompasses recreated traditional homesteads or Bomas built in the traditional style, each one reflecting the culture of a major ethnic group. Every afternoon, a team performs traditional dances and songs in the large theater.

Visit Kitengela Glass

  1. Location: Kitengela
  2. Distance: 7Km from CBD
  3. Duration: 3 – 4 hours depending on points of interest

This is a glass blowing factory. The workers create handmade glass bottles from renewed and recycled raw materials, such as scrap windows, glass bottles and other glassy material. The finished products are stylish products, made through functional art and inspired design.

Visit Kazuri Beads

  1. Location: Karen
  2. Distance: 10Km from CBD
  3. Duration: 1 – 2 hours depending on points of interest

Kazuri creates hand shaped and painted ceramic jewelry which is made in Kenya by over 300 local women and sold all over the world.

Visit Karen Blixen Museum

  1. Location: Karen
  2. Distance: 10Km from CBD
  3. Duration: 1 – 2 hours depending on points of interest

This is the home of farmer Danish author Karen Blixen made famous by her book and the movie based on the book “out of Africa” which chronicles her life at the estate.

Visit Kenya National Archives

  1. Location: Along Moi Avenue in the city center
  2. Duration: 1 -2 hours depending on points of interest.

It houses the Murumbi Gallery, dedicated to the late Joseph Murumbi, Kenya’s second vice-president from May 1965 – August 31, 1966. He and his wife Sheila were avid collectors of African art.
Murumbi’s collection has been described as Africa’s best-known collection of priceless heritage and artifacts. He left behind 50,000 books and sheaves of official correspondence.
The national archives department has set up a library containing some of the 8,000 rare books (those published before 1900) entrusted to them upon the death of Murumbi.

Visit The Maasai Market

  1. Location: varies throughout the week
  2. Duration: Within the CBD
  3. Duration: 1 – 2 hours depending on points of interest.

Here visitors can buy and view different art designs by Kenya’s. The designs are mainly to do with Kenya.
The market also moves around the city visiting different malls and locations selling their products.
Monday: No market
Tuesday: Off Kijabe Street near Text book centre
Wednesday: Capital Center, Mombasa Road
Thursday: The Junction Mall, Ngong Road, 3rd Floor parking
Friday:  Village Market, Upper car park
Saturday: Low court parking CBD, Adams Arcade, Ngong Road
Sunday: Yaya shopping Centre, Car park Adams Arcade, Ngong Road Safari Park Hotel, Thika Road

Things to do in Nairobi

Things to do in Nairobi: Monuments

Tom Mboya Monument

It is located in the city centre on Moi Avenue. It was erected in 2011 in honor of Tom Mboya, a charismatic pan-Africanist and freedom fighter known for his African airlift projects and helped in the formation of the oldest party in Kenya (KANU) and the labor movement, he was assassinated in 1969 while still serving as a minister.
The monument stands twenty meters from where he was murdered. Nyayo Monument Built in 1988 on Uhuru Highway to commemorate 25years of independence, the marble monument shows the lowering of the British colonial flag and the raising of the Kenyan flag.

National Monument

It stands in Uhuru gardens on Langata road and it is where Kenya’s first flag was raised on 12th December 1963.

Dedan Kimathi Statue

Located on Kimathi Street opposite the Hilton Hotel. Dedan was a leader of the Mau Mau which led an armed military struggle known as the Mau Mau uprising against the British colonial government in Kenya in the 1950s. Kimathi, clad in military regalia, holds a rifle on the right hand and a dagger on the other, symbolizing the last weapons he held in his struggle.

Jomo Kenyatta Statue

The Jomo Kenyatta statue is an 80-year-old British sculptor’s masterpiece by the name James Butler. The intricately double life-size, 12-foot, seated statue of President Jomo Kenyatta in 1969 with every detailed aspect to a birthmark on the president’s face and his trademark peep toe sandals sits at the center of KICC.

War Memorial Statues

It is a statue of three African soldiers standing next to each other who fought and died in both World War One and World War Two.

Bizarre Monument

It’s a statue of the white man who devised the road system in Kenya. It is located on Kenyatta Avenue just next to the main post office (GPO).

Fun Places and Things to do in Nairobi

It is located in the town of Banana Hill, just north of the famous Village Market in Nairobi. They exhibit some of East Africa’s most stunning paintings and sculptures with an emphasis on contemporary African art from painters and sculptors in East Africa.

Located at the intersection of Kenyatta Avenue / Uhuru Highway in the heart of Nairobi City is the Nairobi Gallery. Built in 1913, this was the Old PC’s office building fondly referred to as ‘Hatches, Matches and Dispatches’ because of the births, marriages and deaths that were recorded here. Today, the building is a National Monument and serves as a museum holding temporary art exhibitions.
The Murumbi Gallery which is dedicated to the late Joseph Murumbi, a former Kenyan vice-president and a collector of African art is housed in Nairobi Gallery. His collection has been described as Africa’s best known collection of priceless heritage and artifacts

Paa ya Paa Arts Centre

Located on Ridgeways Road (Off) Kiambu Road. It is a place for inspiration and development for indigenous artists and art lovers. The arts centre programs include; visual arts, music, dance, theater and photography. Opened everyday from 9am to 5pm.

The GoDown Arts Centre

The Centre provides the first Kenyan multi-disciplinary space for arts and host organizations representing a variety of art-form and also residence programs. The GoDown also has an exhibition gallery where exhibitions can be shown, and meetings or performances held.

Nairobi Railway Museum

It is located in an old railway building along Uhuru Highway. It provides answers to many unanswered questions concerning the early history of the rail and Kenya’s development.
The museum consists of the Main Gallery, the Resource Center, the auditorium and an outdoor collection of locomotives, wagons and coaches. The Museum is opened daily from 8am to 5pm.

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