Rwanda’s ‘second city’, Huye, is a relaxed and sprawling town. It was the nation’s former capital. Butare, as it was known (and Astrida before that, in tribute to the 29-year-old Swedish wife of Belgium’s King Leopold III, who was killed in a car accident), was established under Belgian rule and still exudes an understated air of refinement through its reputation as the country’s intellectual and cultural capital.
Huye is home to Rwanda’s best history museum, and as a university town (the country’s first), it is infused with youthful energy from students from all over Africa. We stopped here for overnight and to visit the Ethnographic Museum, which Belgium gave to the city as a gift in 1989 to commemorate 25 years of independence. We walked to Rwanda’s largest cathedral, Our Lady of Wisdom Cathedral, which was built in the 1930s by the Belgians and is a good spot to see gospel choirs in full voice. We had a small chat there with Brother Celestine during choir rehearsal.
We parked next to E-Bis restaurant, where we had dinner and breakfast. We also tried the Chinese Restaurant on the main road and the popular Upendi Pub, a lively student hangout.
Parking location – Huye: 2.599716S 29.742305E (🚻,🅿️20000 RWF)