Bole Road is the city's busiest and most cosmopolitan street, running south from the city centre toward Bole International Airport. This is the Addis of the 21st century: glass towers, shopping malls, international hotels, expat cafes, and the kind of street-level energy that comes with a rapidly expanding African capital.
The area around Bole Medhanialem Church and the nearby streets is packed with restaurants, bars, and cafes serving everyone from UN workers to Ethiopian diaspora returnees. Bole is where you go for reliable WiFi, international food, and a sense of the city's emerging middle class. It lacks the atmosphere of Piazza or the rawness of Merkato, but it is the most practical neighbourhood for most visitors.