Ask a Local: Where to Go in Nairobi According to Runner Emily Chepkor

A slice of history

“The McMillan Memorial Library is a perfect little time capsule of Nairobi, architecturally and literally—it’s currently being renovated by Book Bunk, founded by two Kenyan women committed to restoring our public libraries,” she says. “I also love the Nairobi Gallery, home to Point Zero, the spot from which all distances in Kenya are measured.”

Escape to the countryside

“Tigoni is a small town only 30 to 40 minutes from Nairobi, but it feels much farther away. The city gives way to rolling tea plantations and narrow country roads. I start at Brackenhurst with coffee from Muna Tree Cafe on the terrace, then rent a bicycle and ride through the plantations, stopping wherever the view is too good to pass.” Back at Brackenhurst, she’ll spread a blanket on the lawn to read, maybe doze off, then finish with tennis or a walk through the Indigenous forest. “It’s the itinerary I’m proudest to take an out-of-towner on,” Chepkor says.

Coffee time

“Sigiria Coffee House is my default—small, intimate, and full of dogs on Sunday mornings. On tennis mornings it’s Waitabit, same easy vibe.” For souvenirs, she sends visitors to two spots near each other: “Spinners Web has beautiful rugs, a café, and a used-books library. Just up the road, Tribal Gallery has grander pieces—restored Swahili doors, oversized mirrors—alongside smaller suitcase-friendly finds like ceramics and jewelry.”

Lunch, three ways

“Fig & Olive in Tigoni is part bodega, part restaurant, with a lawn where no one blinks if you swap your chair for the grass. In the city, it’s the Tin Roof Café in Karen—moving from table to grass and back, especially post-run, and the salad bar is iconic. For something dressier that still softens outdoors, Matteo’s: white tablecloths, al fresco seating, and little intimate corners I’m still discovering.”