--- description: Find out why Kigali, Rwanda is on TIME's list of the world's greatest places of 2022. title: Kigali, Rwanda: World's Greatest Places 2022 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b9bd931dd52fcb4/698a3380cabb1dc1fce50736/Worlds-Greatest-Places-2022-KigaliRwanda.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Jul 12, 2022 # Kigali, Rwanda Building a better future by Michelle Tchea  Downtown Kigali, Rwanda. Downtown Kigali, Rwanda.Edwin Remsberg—AP Often described as the friendliest African city, the Rwandan capital of Kigali is pushing toward a green future, especially for its growing tourism trade. [GuraRide](https://www.guraride.com/ "undefined"), the new Rwandan bike-sharing app, provides easy, affordable access to scooters, road bikes, and e-bikes, with docks peppered throughout the city. Kigali is also [upgrading its roads](https://www.ktpress.rw/2022/05/the-new-roads-that-will-put-kigalis-beauty-to-greater-heights/#:~:text=The%20road%20network%20is%20part,which%20consists%20in%20eight%20roads. "undefined") as part of the recently launched yearslong Kigali Infrastructure Project, which aims to ease congestion, provide more direct connection among hard-to-reach neighborhoods, and reduce pollution. Newly created car-free zones, the most recent launched in [Gisimenti](https://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/gisimentis-weekend-only-car-free-zone-how-first-day-went "undefined"), let residents and visitors take back city streets on weekends. More investment has yielded more development in the tourism sector in the last year. The first 18-hole golf course in the city, at the new [Kigali Golf Resort and Villas](https://www.kigaligolf.rw/ "undefined"), hosted its first golf tournament last December. And the opening of the [Nyandungu Wetland Ecotourism Park](https://gggi.org/report/nyandungu-wetland-eco-park/ "undefined") early in January safeguards 121 hectares of endangered wetlands, including more than 70 bird species and a fig forest—viewable from walking routes and cycling paths. Located southeast of Kigali, Bugesera International Airport is set to open in late December, delivering more direct flights. And a new [Four Points by Sheraton](https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/kglfp-four-points-kigali/ "undefined") opened in Kigali in June, just in time to house attendees of the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194625/kigali-rwanda/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194625/kigali-rwanda/"},"headline":"Kigali, Rwanda","datePublished":"2022-07-12T11:06:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:04:31.983Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194625/kigali-rwanda/","keywords":["franchise","Magazine","World's Greatest Places"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b9bd931dd52fcb4/698a3380cabb1dc1fce50736/Worlds-Greatest-Places-2022-KigaliRwanda.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b9bd931dd52fcb4/698a3380cabb1dc1fce50736/Worlds-Greatest-Places-2022-KigaliRwanda.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194625/kigali-rwanda/","name":"Kigali, Rwanda"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The World's Greatest Places of 2022","description":"50 extraordinary destinations to explore","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/by8VqGWH/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2022-07-11T22:04:53.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/by8VqGWH.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194625/kigali-rwanda/","duration":"PT1M47S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194625/kigali-rwanda/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```