Harare, formerly known as Salisbury is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe and has an estimated population of 1.6 million people. The city is its administrative, commercial and communication center of the country, as well the trade center for tobacco, maize, citrus fruits and cotton. Manufactures include textiles, steel and chemicals, and gold is mined in the area.
Harare is a beautiful modern city with many spacious parks and gardens within the city limits. Getting round in the city isn’t any problem, its north to south streets are named ”Streets” and its east to west streets are named ”Avenue/Road”. Besides the many taxis meters will bring you where ever. Walking through the narrow shopping streets which are colored by season you will notice a mixture of beggars and musical street bands which create an African sociable environment. In Zimbabwe the summer falls in the winter months with a lot of heat and sunny days, a unique street view are many the ice cream street vendors selling ice cream under red neon lights and a negligent setup Christmas tree.
If you enjoy strolling a local market with African products the Public Gardens are the place to go, each Sunday its market day filled with African music, tasty Zimbabwean and other African dishes, street vendors selling clothing, jewelry and hand wood. Not to far from the market is its National Gallery, where often art galleries take place showing International arts but also African. The museum is free for anyone to enter.
Nationals worldwide require a valid passport and visa to enter Zimbabwe from Harare International Airport. Travelers are advised to look after their belongings and don’t walk alone at night time, petty crime and theft are part of Harare’s daily activities against tourists and locals due to poverty.
