Ibanda is the most central of Bukavu's three communes, occupying the spine of the long peninsula that pushes into Lake Kivu. The Avenue du Lac runs the length of it, and most of the city's banks, ministries, hotels, and restaurants are scattered along its length. If you are staying anywhere with a lake view, you are almost certainly in Ibanda.
The architecture is a mix: tall mid-century Art Deco blocks left from the Belgian period, sleeker 1970s buildings, and a great many lower brick or breeze-block houses behind walls of bougainvillea. The cathedral and the Place de l'Indépendance are the obvious orientation points.