Eating out in Kinshasa is very variable as far as food and price are concerned. Eating off the street is fairly cheap and one will find traditional cuisine typically consisting of dishes that include Manioc, nuts, maize and beans.

However in addition to traditional markets and roadside stalls that often sell bush meat, Kinshasa is also equipped with modern shops and restaurants, which can be quite pricey. One can also eat at the restaurant at the hotel in which you stay, but this can also be fairly expensive depending on the hotel.

The ambiance of an uninterrupted feast

The pulse of Kinshasa city is the ?cite?, the main artery being Avenue Kasa-Vubu, running perpendicular to the Boulevard du 30 Juin. When you arrive at le Rond Point Victoire, 4km down Kasa-Vubu, you?ll be in the heart — the commune of Matonge.

This is the vibrant quarter of the ?cite? where you find cheap hotels, lively bars, traditional Congolese cuisine and the music groups or bands on which the country stakes its reputation. Matonge invites the visitors to experience, not ?see? the city. Kinshasa?s night life is lively to say the least!

Kinois are known for their friendliness, music, their European fashion branded clothing and their love of dancing. Unlike much of the modern western world, Kinois rarely have a taste for simplicity. From architecture to music, dance and dress — they prefer excess to any kind of understatement.

In Matonge you can walk into a variety of colorful night spots and hear famous musicians any night of the week. It is said that no other city in Africa has as much live entertainment as Kinshasa. Every evening the bars and discos transform the ?cite? into the city centre. After the city centre has fallen still, life throbs at the heart of these different older quarters endowed each with its own ?Matonge?, the hub of the dance bars.

Recommended night clubs include Ibiza Bar Jazz, which is a live music bar where dancing starts around midnight. Chez Ntemba is also a hopping place that gets going late into the night.

The marketplace

The marketplace is a great place to peruse the local arts and crafts of the Congo. The market, Le marche des valeurs is sometimes called marche des voleurs. The first expression means market of value, the second, in changing only one letter, means market of thieves, which is quite appropriate when considering the fact that the vendor is likely to ask the buyer for at least double the amount that they actually expect. For a more formal art experience visit the Academie des Beaux Arts or Symphonie des Arts.

The Grand Market (Zando) is the largest market in Kinshasa and the place where inhabitants from other districts prefer to do their shopping because of the variety of products available and low prices on offer.

As a tourist, this is a good place to practice your bargaining, which goes without saying in any transaction on the street. This market is a site of constant hustling between consumers and vendors with vendors normally always open to bargain for as little as 50 percent of their initial asking price.

At this market you can find everything from fresh food like meat, fish and vegetables to clothes, electrical appliances, jewellery, crafts and souvenirs to take home. Vendors shout loudly to get the attention of potential buyers as young boys weave between the crowds carrying trays with sachets of cold water on their heads — one of the most demanded products in the market because of the intense heat.

A more relaxed way to buy street art is to do so while enjoying a drink at a bar on the street off the Boulevard du 30 Juin. Sit down and have a drink and artists will come to your table with all kinds of artwork for sale.

Another great way to spend a day is to rent a boat for the day. With a driver and all the necessary gear included (tables, chairs, a sun tent and a barbeque) the trip will set you back around $150 at the Yacht Club Kinshasa. The boat can take eight people and is a truly unforgettable experience.

Why visit?

Kinshasa is a city that truly represents what Africa is all about. With its many natural attractions, wonderful people and lively nightlife, it is a vibrant African city that one simply cannot give a miss. To enter the Democratic Republic of Congo, a yellow fever vaccination certificate is essential.