17 Spellbinding things to do in Stone Town, Zanzibar

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.

While largely Islamic, it’s a melting pot of Indian, European, Arab and Swahili cultures.

Stone Town is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with a rich and storied past.

We visited Zanzibar after a safari in Zambia, spending 4 nights in Stone Town.

You may be tempted to head straight to the beaches of Zanzibar.

Things to do in Stone Town, Zanzibar

1) Get lost in Stone Town

Don’t worry though.

One of the best things to do in Stone Town is simply to let your feet follow your curiosity.

See locals shopping, vendors selling food on the streets, the devout going to pray at mosques…

And if you get lost – which you will – you’ll find your way again pretty soon. Stone Town isn’t that large, and it can easily be explored on foot.

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!

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

One of the saddest places to visit in Stone Town is the old slave market and whipping post.

Now the purposefully-chosen site of the Anglican Cathedral, it clobbered us with reminders of man’s cruelty.

Zanzibar was once the center for the East African slave and ivory trade.

At its height in the 18th and 19 centuries, some 45,000 slaves, captured on mainland Africa, were shipped from Zanzibar to Brazil, India and Arab countries.

One dank chamber we climbed down to see (smaller than a single car garage) reputedly imprisoned 50 slaves awaiting auction for days at a time.

Rusty shackles and chains are still attached to the stone walls as grisly artifacts.

5) Meander through Darajani Market

Browsing the Darajani Market is a must to put on your list when planning what to do in Stone Town.

To visit the market, we had to gingerly step across dirty wet floors, picking our way around toothless vendors squatting on the ground, weighing yellowfin tuna, ringed by local bidders.

Clouds of flies buzzed around bloody slabs of beef, liver and goat hanging from hooks.

But oh, how interesting!

We saw dried octopus and strange Durian fruits.

It was all very colorful and unchanged from days gone by – but not for the squeamish!

7) Browse Forodhani Garden’s night food market 

Near the Old Fort is Forodhani Gardens.

At night, Forodhani Gardens comes alive, with strings of tiny overhead lights adding a certain charm.

This is when food sellers hawk their wares from small stalls and carts. Discover “Zanzibar” pizza, kebabs, roasted corn, freshly-squeezed sugar cane juice and more, geared to locals.

We didn’t eat or drink here – and we’d caution against trying the seafood. But it’s a fun place to check out!

8) Shop for souvenirs

There are dozens of little shops and stalls in Stone Town.

Look for handmade cinnamon-scented soaps, colorful sarongs, palm-leaf bags and coasters, beaded jewelry, hand-crafted wooden animals and spices.

Don’t forget to bargain!

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.

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.

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.

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