Karen is a leafy suburb in the south-west of Nairobi, named after Karen Blixen, whose coffee farm occupied much of what is now the neighbourhood. The streets are wide and lined with mature trees, the houses are set in generous plots, and the overall pace is slower and calmer than the CBD or Westlands.
The suburb contains several of Nairobi's best-known tourist attractions — the Giraffe Centre, the Karen Blixen Museum, the Giraffe Manor, and the Bomas of Kenya — and good restaurants with outdoor terrace seating. The proximity to the Ngong Hills makes Karen a useful base for walkers.
Karen is predominantly residential and middle-to-upper class, popular with Nairobi's expatriate community and established Kenyan families. A taxi from the CBD takes about 30 minutes in ordinary traffic.