Kampala's main attractions cluster on its famous seven hills. The Kasubi Tombs, burial place of the Buganda kings, is the cultural headliner — a UNESCO site and the centre of a kingdom that still wields considerable influence. The Uganda Museum on Kira Road is a small but rich ethnographic collection with a standout room of traditional musical instruments. Across the city on Mengo Hill, the Kabaka's Palace and the grim Amin-era torture chambers beneath it are a chastening reminder of recent history.
On Old Kampala Hill, the Uganda National Mosque — still widely called the Gaddafi Mosque — is the largest mosque in East Africa and offers some of the best views over the city from its minaret. Rubaga Cathedral and Namirembe Cathedral face each other across the valley from their respective hills, Catholic and Anglican, a reminder of the 19th-century missionary rivalry that shaped modern Uganda. The Bahá'í House of Worship on Kikaya Hill — one of only eight in the world — is worth the short ride out for the architecture and the quiet. The Ndere Cultural Centre is the best place to see traditional Ugandan music and dance performed well.
The Independence Monument in central Kampala marks Uganda's 1962 independence and is a useful starting point for a walk through the city centre. The Owino Market nearby is the city's great mercantile spectacle — not aimed at tourists, but endlessly interesting.