Windhoek is the capital of Namibia. With a population of less than 200,000 you would only call it a city by Namibian standards — but it is quite a laidback, clean, and easy-going place, with a few good sights, decent restaurants, and lively bars. In short it is a fine place to start exploring Namibia.
Set at the geographical heart of the country, Windhoek serves as the road and rail crossroads and the nerve centre of business and commerce. At first glance it looks clean and pretty but a little dull, and the dry, empty mountains surrounding it seem much more interesting. The Auas range to the south and the Khomas Hochland to the west give the city a stark, beautiful frame. There is almost no rainfall to make the buildings decay; even the old ones look new.
The colonial architecture clusters along Independence Avenue. The Lutheran Christuskirche is the most photographed building in the country, and the German fortress Alte Feste and parliament Tintenpalast sit a short walk away. Above them, the glass tower of the Independence Memorial Museum tells the story of liberation from the SWAPO perspective. Down the hill, Post Street Mall holds the public display of the Gibeon Meteorites, and out in Katutura township the city's other half — its black-majority, post-apartheid heart — lives and works.
In the evening, Joe's Beerhouse is the near-compulsory introduction to Namibian game cooking, and Heinitzburg castle is the most romantic option for a drink at sunset. Just outside town, Namibia Wildlife Resorts operates the small Daan Viljoen Resort with zebra, kudu, and walking trails — a useful warm-up for the wildlife in the rest of the country.