Addis is one of Africa's cheapest capitals if you skip the taxis and eat where civil servants eat. A shared blue minibus costs under 20 birr, a plate of shiro fills you for 80, and the city's best views — Entoto ridge, Meskel Square — cost nothing at all.
The cathedral itself charges 200 birr, but the walled grounds, Italian-massacre memorial and graves of Sylvia Pankhurst are free to wander. Walk 15 minutes south to Menelik II Square for the emperor's equestrian statue and St George's exterior mosaics. Open daily 08:00-17:00.
The small unnamed injera houses on the lanes behind Taitu Hotel serve shiro wat (chickpea stew) with unlimited injera for 70-100 birr. Fasting days (Wednesday and Friday) mean beyaynetu — a vegan platter of six stews — for around 120 birr, the best value meal in the city.
Haile Selassie's former palace on Sidist Kilo campus, with his bedroom and bathroom preserved. Entry 100 birr for foreigners — the cheapest serious museum here. The wooded campus grounds, lion statues and student cafeteria coffee at 15 birr are open to all.
The vast concrete amphitheatre where a million people gather for the September Meskel festival doubles as the city's free public gym. From 17:00 hundreds of Addis runners sprint the terraced steps. Sit at the top for a free panorama over Churchill Avenue.
Locals' alternative to Merkato — smaller, safer for a first visit and where Addis families actually buy spices. Berbere and mitmita sell for 200-400 birr per kilo, roasted green coffee beans for around 350 birr per kilo, half the price of airport shops.
Kategna — injera toasted with berbere and butter — is the cheapest Ethiopian snack at 40-60 birr and fills a stomach. Add a small tibs (fried beef strips) for 250 birr. The backstreets off Bole Medhanialem church have a dozen versions of this place.
The blue-and-white share taxis are the cheapest city tour on earth. A conductor (weyala) shouts the destination out the door; fares run 10-25 birr per leg regardless of distance. The Megenagna-Arat Kilo-Piazza run crosses the whole colonial-era spine.
Honey wine is served in a berele, a round-bottomed flask, at unmarked tej houses marked only by a plastic cup hung outside. A half-litre berele costs 60-100 birr in Kazanchis, against 400 in Bole tourist restaurants. Strength varies wildly by house.
At 3,200 metres, Entoto looks down on the whole capital through eucalyptus planted by Menelik II. Minibuses from Shiro Meda cost about 30 birr; the ridge walk and viewpoints are free. Entoto Maryam Church and its small museum charge 200 birr together.
At the foot of Entoto, hundreds of stalls sell hand-woven cotton netela shawls and habesha kemis dresses. A plain netela with a coloured tibeb border starts around 500 birr — a fraction of Bole boutique prices, and you watch the looms working behind the stalls.
The 1961 hall where the OAU was founded holds Afewerk Tekle's 150-square-metre stained glass 'Total Liberation of Africa'. Entry to the UN compound is free with a passport at the gate; guided visits run weekday mornings by prior arrangement.
Ghion's colonial-era gardens off Ras Desta Damtew Street are open to anyone buying a 40-birr macchiato under the jacarandas. Next door, Friendship Park charges 100 birr for landscaped lakes, fountains and the best evening light on the city skyline.