17 Spellbinding things to do in Stone Town, Zanzibar

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Visit Stone Town, Zanzibar, and you’ll be gob-smacked by its twisted alleyways, crumbling limestone palaces, mosques and faded mansions.

Stone Town is the historic old part of the capital of Zanzibar.

Things to do in Stone Town, Zanzibar

Thankfully, we’d booked a guided morning walking tour for our first day in Stone Town, which helped orient us a bit.

You might want to do that too – your hotel can help set that up for you.

2) Marvel at the Zanzibari doors

When you’re out and about in Stone Town, be sure to make a point of looking at the elaborately carved Zanzibari doors.

Symbolic of Stone Town, these are no ordinary doors – they’re marvelous wooden masterpieces!

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Some, reflecting an Indian influence, are decorated with rosettes or brass spikes (originally a defense against elephants).

Others feature geometric Arab designs, with carvings of lotuses and pineapples.

3) Learn about sultans at the Palace Museum

The huge white palace on the Stone Town waterfront was once the sultan’s palace in the 19th century.

Now the palace is a museum. Eye the opulent thrones, dining tables and portraits that offer a glimpse into the past privileged lives of the sultan’s family.

The section of the museum dedicated to Princess Salme, daughter of Sultan Seyyid Said, is especially intriguing.

A self-educated young woman and a bit of a feminist, she fell in love with a German merchant, got pregnant and fled Zanzibar with him to settle in Hamburg.

Sadly, her husband died in a tram accident a few years later.

She ended up writing Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar, the first known autobiography of an Arab woman, to help keep her financially afloat. (Originally published in 1886, it’s now available on Amazon.)

4) Weep at the old slave market

9) Hamamni Persian Baths

It only takes a few minutes to look around the first public baths in Zanzibar (they’re also cheap to enter). They were built between 1870 and 1888 and used until 1920.

Use your imagination, and you can picture what a jewel this bathhouse must have been over a century ago!

10) Sip a sunset cocktail at Emerson Spice Tea House

What to do in Stone Town at sunset?

Climb a few flights of stairs, and you arrive at one of the most magical places to be at sunset – the Tea House at the Emerson Spice Hotel.

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The rooftop views are incredible, and the cocktails go down easily too.

You might want to stay for a romantic dinner as well. (Reservations recommended.)

11) See the Freddie Mercury House

So you loved the 2018 film Bohemian Rhapsody about Freddie Mercury, the flamboyant lead singer of the rock band Queen. But did you know he came from Stone Town, Zanzibar?

The house where he was born (and where he and his family stayed until they moved to England in 1963) is now the small Freddie Mercury Museum.

The museum covers Freddie’s birth and childhood in Zanzibar, displaying photos of Freddie and his signature yellow jacket atop a piano.

12) Stay in an historic palace hotel

True, you can visit Stone Town for a day from a Zanzibar beach hotel.

But then you wouldn’t get to experience staying in one of town’s historic palaces that have been turned into atmospheric boutique hotels.

They seem to be haunted by the fictional Scheherazade – and will have you dreaming of One Thousand and One Nights.

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13) Check out the Old Dispensary

On the waterfront, the Old Dispensary is a finely decorated building, complete with wood-carved balconies and stained-glass decorations.

Formerly a charity hospital, it now exhibits handicrafts by local artists.

14) Sample Indian food

With a strong Indian influence, Stone Town is home to several excellent Indian restaurants.

Here’s your chance to try different, authentically-made, popular Indian dishes like samosas and butter chicken.

15) Visit St. Joseph’s Cathedral

If you’ve been to Marseilles, you might think St. Joseph’s Cathedral looks familiar. That’s because it was designed by the same French architect behind the Notre Dame Basilica in Marseilles – sporting distinctive tall twin spires.

Dating back to the late 1800’s, St. Joseph’s Cathedral is especially worth popping into during mass, as the choir singers have heavenly voices!

16) People watch at Jaws Corner

Located near St. Josephs Cathedral, Jaws Corner is a mini square in Stone Town – said to be the “heart” of Stone Town – where men gather to sip coffee and play bao (an East African board game).

You’ll know you’re there when you see rows of red flags strung above, looking somewhat like Tibetan prayer flags.

17) Experience a sunset dhow cruise

So you’ve had sunset cocktails on a rooftop. Another way to catch the glorious pumpkin-orange sunset in Stone Town is to take a dhow cruise.

Traditional wooden sailing vessels, dhows were used by Arab traders to sail across the Indian Ocean to East Africa.

Sure, a sunset cruise is a bit touristy.

But then again, why not? The boats are timeless, and listening to the white sails flap in the breeze, as you gaze at Stone Town from the sea, is something you won’t regret.