Alliance Française

Asmara


Alliance Française is a cultural centre useful for information and occasional performances, and has a library (membership nfa300) for literature-starved francophones. The cafe out back (4pm to 8.30pm) is planning to add crepes to the menu soon.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Asmara attractions

1. Capitol Cinema

0.34 MILES

This cinema building, now abandoned except for a few pool tables in a gallery off the lobby, was constructed in 1932.

2. Former Governor's Palace

0.42 MILES

The best place to start exploring the city is at the Former Governor's Palace, which stands majestically at the western end of Harnet Ave. Built in 1897…

3. National Museum

0.44 MILES

Asmara's strong point are its buildings, rather than its museums, but it's also worth popping your head into the National Museum, west of the former…

4. Asmara Piscina

0.47 MILES

The 1940s Asmara Piscina is currently closed to swimmers, but there's nothing stopping you from badgering the attendant for a peek inside the modernist…

5. Italian Cemetery

0.56 MILES

Final resting place to generations of Italians, this lovely little cemetery is still used by the few immigrant families that remain. It's uphill off…

6. Odeon Cinema

0.62 MILES

Just off Harnet Ave near the EriTel building, the quirky Odeon Cinema and its attractive art deco exterior from the late 1930s is all but closed, so you…

7. Opera House

0.67 MILES

The Opera House, completed around 1920, is one of Asmara's most elegant early–20th-century buildings. It's free to have a look around during the resident…

8. Ministry of Education

0.69 MILES

Adjacent to the elegant Opera House, the 1930s Italian-era Ministry of Education, with its massive stepped tower, is strikingly austere. Because it's a…