The Marginal (Avenida 4 de Fevereiro) is Luanda's waterfront promenade, running along the bay from the commercial port in the north to the bridge to the Ilha do Cabo in the south. It was significantly upgraded in the oil-boom years of the 2000s and early 2010s, with a wide paved walkway, gardens, and restored colonial facades on the inland side.
The Marginal is at its best in the late afternoon and early evening, when the bay catches the setting sun and Luandans take their evening walk in numbers. The views across the bay to the Ilha are attractive, and the promenade gives a clear sense of the city's scale and ambition. The old low-rise colonial buildings along the landward side — some restored, some still crumbling — tell a different story about the pace of urban development.