🇫🇷 Paris Charles de Gaulle → 🇪🇹 Addis Ababa · 2 weeks

Join a traditional coffee ceremony at a local home or neighbourhood café — not a hotel demonstration. Ask your guesthouse to connect you with a family who hosts travellers; the 45-minute process of roasting, grinding, and three-round brewing over frankincense smoke is the real Ethiopian welcome. Budget ETB 100–200 for the experience.

National Museum of Ethiopia on King George VI Street — go straight to the basement where Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis, 3.2 million years old) is displayed with her actual fossil cast. Come on a weekday morning before school groups arrive. Entry is around ETB 200 for foreigners.

Merkato market — the largest open-air market in sub-Saharan Africa spans multiple city blocks. Go with a local guide (ETB 1,500–2,500 for a half-day) hired through your guesthouse rather than street touts; they'll take you to the unroasted coffee vendors and the traditional textile section that tourists rarely find.

Holy Trinity Cathedral (Kidist Selassie) on a Sunday morning — arrive by 7 a.m. for the outdoor liturgy where hundreds of white-robed worshippers gather around the cathedral grounds. Emperor Haile Selassie and Empress Menen are buried inside; the stained glass and carved ceilings are extraordinary. Dress conservatively.