Luanda's seafront boulevard curves round the bay under royal palms, with the city's towers on one side and the Ilha on the other.
Avenida 4 de Fevereiro, the Marginal, curves about three kilometres round the bay, from the port to the causeway for the Ilha.
Rebuilt in the 2010s, it has royal palms, cycle lanes, joggers and kiosks. Behind it stands the pink colonial dome of the national bank.
The western extension, the Nova Marginal, is where Carnival parades pass. It also hosted the November 2025 celebrations of fifty years of independence.
Walk it in the last hour of light. It is among the city's safest places by day; avoid the empty stretches after dark.
An hour's stroll, ending at sunset.
Start under the Fortaleza, with the old city behind you.
Pass the colonial national bank and its museum of money.
Coffee, a cold Cuca and the city's joggers.
Watch the light over the spit as the sun drops.
Take a taxi on to dinner rather than walking after dark.
Any taxi or ride-hailing car will drop you on the Marginal.
Busy and policed by day; after dark stick to the lively stretches or take a car.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons and Pexels under their licences, and our own.
