National Museum

One of the most important museums in sub-Saharan Africa, although the collection is poorly displayed. The star exhibit is Lucy (or Dinkenesh, meaning "thou art wonderful" in Amharic), the hominid whose fossilised remains dating back at least 3.2 million years were discovered near Hadar in northeast Ethiopia in 1974 to the excitement of paleontologists all over the world. A plaster cast of the little creature, half human and half ape, is on display in the basement of the museum. One floor up, a selection of artefacts testify to the pre-Aksumite, Aksumite, Solomonic and Gonder periods. The first floor is devoted to ancient, modern and contemporary religious and secular Ethiopian art, while the final section on the second floor contains a collection of traditional weapons, jewellery, clothing, musical instruments and other accessories attesting to the country's ethnic and cultural diversity.