Yared Zema International Hotel

You'll find a few decent dining options right on the premises. The restaurant may lack character, but it caters for large numbers in a capacious dining room (doubling as an excellent dance floor), and serves regional and Italian fare. There's also a cafe and bar for coffee and drinks, and lighter bites. The terrace is the perfect spot for a sunset cocktail. A well-equipped gym helps you stay fit, and an on-site spa offers massage and beauty treatments.

The 60 rooms are functional and comfortable, appointed with standard hotel furnishings. They are distinguished one from the other in their size and bed configurations, ranging from a Standard Single Room to a King-Sized Double Room and a Junior Suite. Most have city views, all have wi-fi (which generally works) and mini-fridges, and en-suite bathrooms include walk-in showers and hot water (usually). The Junior Suite has an extra dose of space and a Jacuzzi bathtub. You'll be comfortable.

Axum's ruins, including the stelae fields, obelisks and tombs with elaborate carvings, have long been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These objects of antiquity offer a window into another time, and are well worth a full-day's exploration. Other interesting sights are the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in town, rumoured to have once housed the Ark of the Covenant, and the well-laid-out Archaeological Museum, with its displays of objects, everyday and sophisticated – found in the tombs.