Kinshasa is the capital and the largest city of the Democratic Republic of Congo from which the famous Congo River can be seen. Although rural in nature, Kinshasa has an urban area that occupies a small part of the far western end part of the province. Together with town of Brazzaville, the inhabitants total to about 12 million.
Kinshasa is also the largest city in the sub-Saharan Africa and the third largest in the whole African continent after Cairo and Lagos. The reason why the name of the city may not ring a bell so much is because it was known as Zaire from 1971 to 1997. It was also formerly Leopoldville in French and Leopoldstad to the Dutch.
Kinshasa is divided into four districts and is home to several higher-level education institutes which specialize mostly on civil engineering, nursing and journalism. The University of Kinshasa, Congo Protestant University and Allhadeff School are only a few of these.
The city’s notable features include SOZACOM Building and the Hotel Memling. Other great tourist attractions include the central market, the Kinshasa Museum and the Kinshasa Fine Arts Academy. The country’s national stadium, Stade des Matyrs is also situated in Kinshasa. But the place that people often go to is the Boulevard du 30 Juin. It’s a place that links the city’s main areas and this is where the La Gombe district is located. La Gombe is the heart of the city.
There are lots of restaurants that accommodate foreign taste. Supermarkets and internet cafes surround the place, so getting around is never a problem.