The Palace of Abba Jifar is the city's defining attraction — a 19th-century royal compound on a hill north of town that gives the best surviving glimpse of the pre-imperial Oromo kingdoms. The Jimma Museum, housed in a separate building within the palace grounds, holds royal artefacts, traditional weapons, and Oromo ceremonial objects.
In the city centre, the Coffee Pot Monument is the unavoidable symbol of Jimma's identity as the heartland of coffee. Awetu Park along the Awetu River is the best green space in town. Jimma University is one of the most respected institutions in Ethiopia and its large campus, with colonial-era buildings at its core, is worth wandering.
Lake Boye, a reservoir a few kilometres south of town, is the top birdwatching spot in the area — pelicans, grebes, and various herons gather in numbers. The old village of Jiren, once the royal capital of the Kingdom of Jimma, sits on the city's northern edge and still has a few structures dating from the kingdom era.
Thursday market is the main market day and draws traders and farmers from across the surrounding highlands. Coffee, spices, and hand-woven baskets are the things to look for.