Djibouti City
Djibouti · Africa
About Djibouti City
Djibouti (also called Djibouti City and Jibuti in early Western texts) is the capital city of the Republic of Djibouti. It is located in the coastal Djibouti Region on the Gulf of Tadjoura.
Djibouti has a population of around 780,000 inhabitants, which counts for 73% of the country's population. The settlement was founded in 1888 by the French, on land leased from the ruling Somali and Afar Sultans. During the ensuing period, it served as the capital of French Somaliland and its successor the French Territory of the Afars and Issas.
There is evidence of human settlement on the eastern coastline of Djibouti dating back to the Bronze Age.
From 1862 until 1894, the land to the north of the Gulf of Tadjoura was called Obock and was ruled by Issa and Afar Sultans, local authorities with whom France signed various treaties between 1883 and 1887 to first gain a foothold in the region. The exchange of Franco-British diplomatic notes of 2 and 9 February 1888 fixed the territorial limit between the colonies of the two countries; leaving explicitly under French authority the southern coasts of the Gulf of Tadjoura, including a peninsula composed of insubmersible plateaux, Ras...
Djibouti City travel guide
Understand
The city was founded in 1888 and was designated the capital of French Somaliland three years later. The city has some beaches along its eastern shore. Today it's mostly notable for its harbour, which accounts for much of the local economic activity.
Getting there
By plane 1 Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport (JIB IATA). There are regular flights by Air France (to Paris-CDG), Ethiopian Airways (Addis Ababa) and Kenya Airways (Nairobi via Addis Ababa) flights. There are also regular flights with Fly Dubai (to UAE-Dubai-DXB terminal 2).
By train There are passenger trains from Addis Ababa via Dire Dawa every second day. Journey time for the full trip is about 12 hours. The new trains are comfortable and there is a dining car on board. Tickets are sold at the station and should be bought at least few days beforehand. Additionally, there is a ticket office in central Djibouti.
2 Nagad railway station (10 km south of city centre). (updated Jun 2019)
Getting around
Get around by Green TaxiCabs. Some people will tell you to avoid taxis whose drivers are chewing khat, which is a natural, amphetamine-like stimulant. It gives the local Djiboutians and Somalis something called Merran, which is the Somali word for 'energy'. Taxis cost from 500 Fdj to any amount, depending on distance. For example: Camp Lemonier to the city centre cost 1,500 Fdj. Negotiate and you may get a lower price, but there are better things to do than to argue over 500 Fdj.
Do
1 Aden Bay Casino, Sheraton Djibouti, ☏ +253 356549. Open F-W 18:00-04:00, Th 18:00-05:00. The casino in the Sheraton Hotel has 40 poker machines, black jack, poker and roulette tables. 2 Bawadi Mall, Rue De Venice, ☏ +253 21 35 28 40. Mall that is also home to a Geant hypermarket, a movie theater, and several western style fast food outlets (ie Burger King, Pizza Hut, ChicKing). (updated Aug 2023)
Eat
Melting Pot, Heron (At Bernard Street), ☏ +253 21350399. 11:00-23:00. A fusion cuisine restaurant a few hundred metres from the port. On the menu are camel meat, sushi, sashimi, fish, lobster, crab, excellent steaks, beers and mojitos. Nice atmosphere with outdoor and indoor setting. US$4-30. (updated Jul 2016) 1 La Mer Rouge Restaurant, Ambouli Street Nelson Mandela, 534 (in the Golden Airport), ☏ +253 21340005. 11:00-23:00. A pricey seafood restaurant. Nice outdoor and indoor settings. On the menu are live crabs, lobsters, fresh fish, clams and other food from the Red Sea. The fish is cooked in a traditional Yemenite clay oven on acacia wood. (updated Jul 2025)
Drink & nightlife
Club Hermes. Underground club, low key. Good security at the door. 1,000 Fdj per beer. Club Menelik. Inside the Menelik Hotel, security is good here. Drinks are 1,000 Fdj/beer & 1,500 Fdj/mixed drink. The music ranges widely, but often consists of 1990s to current hip-hop & R&B. La Galette. An underground club. 1,000 Fdj for beer, 1,500 Fdj for mixed drinks and 1,000 Fdj for sheesha (hookah). La Oasis. Nice place with a second, smaller bar upstairs. Le Maries. Nice place with a dancefloor in the front alongside a bar. In the back are some couches for sitting and smoking Sheesha smoking (1,000 Fdj to participate).
Sleep
Budget There are no budget options in Djibouti city because accommodation is very expensive for what you get.
Mid-range 1 Golden Airport Hotel, Nelson Mandela, 534, ☏ +253 213 496 10. 30 guest rooms and 2 suite rooms. International buffet restaurant. 2 minutes from the airport. WhatsApp +253 774 901 73 Double €105. (updated Jul 2025)
Splurge 2 Djibouti Palace Kempinski (Ilot Du Heron), ☏ +253 325555. (updated Jun 2019)
Overview adapted from Wikipedia, travel guide fromWikivoyage (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.