Benguela is a port city on Angola's Atlantic coast, about 700 kilometres south of Luanda. Founded by the Portuguese in 1617, it was one of the main departure points for the transatlantic slave trade and later a hub for the Benguela Railway, which ran inland to the copper mines of the Congo.
The old colonial centre has some handsome Portuguese architecture in various states of repair — the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Pópulo and the fortress above the harbour are worth seeing. The waterfront promenade has been renovated and is pleasant for walking. Benguela is quieter and more manageable than Luanda, and the beaches to the south — particularly Baía Azul, about 30 kilometres away — have clean sand and warm water.
The Benguela Railway, one of Africa's great rail lines, was rebuilt with Chinese investment and reopened in 2015, running east to Lobito and beyond toward the border. Lobito, just 30 kilometres north, has the better natural harbour and a long sandbar beach. The two cities are close enough to visit together. Angola remains an expensive and bureaucratically challenging destination, but Benguela is one of its more approachable cities.