National Museum of Ethiopia

An unassuming concrete-block building marked by a simple sign, upon first impression it’s hard to believe that Ethiopia’s national museum holds arguably Africa’s most important discovery. Enter Lucy, a 3.2-million-year-old hominid fossil. Discovered in 1974, in Ethiopia’s remote Northwestern Afar region, the fossils are believed to be those of one of humanity’s oldest existing ancestors. The entire basement is dedicated to the story of Lucy, her discovery and the wider topic of human evolution. Along with two casts of Lucy (the original fossils are stored for preservation), the remains of Selam, an infant hominid believed to pre-date Lucy by more than 100,000 years, are also on display. The upper floors are also worth a look, particularly for the Ethiopian art, dating back to the 1300s (believed), and a host of artefacts, some of which pre-date the 1st century.