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Cinema Impero

Cinema Impero

Place · Harnet Avenue & Cinema Impero

Photo: sailko, CC BY-SA 3.0
ሲነማ ኢምፐሮHarnet Avenue & Cinema Impero, Asmarago at hour · late afternoon or evening, for the light on the facadeadmission: unknown

Go by day for the Art Deco facade, or in the evening when the marquee is lit: a short stop on the Harnet Avenue walk, not a destination on its own unless a film is showing.

Time on site20–30 minp95 45 min
PriceFreeadult, 2026 estimate
Best hourlate afternoon or evening, for the light on the facadequietest window
28″ bagsPainful WarningHarnet Avenue & Cinema Impero
Step-freeYes OK
  • Go late afternoon or evening, for the light on the facade
  • Free entry
  • Mostly indoors

Highlights come from Voykit's own data and desk notes, not from reviews. Hover a tag to see its source.

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More
Map & directions
Directions

Add your hotel to get directions from it. · stays in this browser; shared with the pocket card.

Plan

Open now, best time to go, opening hours

Go now?

hours and prices: check on the day
Open
Hours not on file: check the official site.
Tickets
  • Adult: Free
Time to spend
20–30 min · up to 45 min if you linger

Best time to go

Quiet during the day; more people out on the avenue in the evening.

Opening hours
Note
Screening times, if any, are not published in English; the exterior is viewable at any hour.

Weather here, next 7 days

Loading forecast…

Forecast: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0), model data for this point.

Not checked in the last 12 months (no check date on file).

On the ground

Getting in, access, sensory load, what to bring, and where to go if it does not work

Getting in

Stop
On Harnet Avenue, walkable from most central hotels
Ticket
free · official site
Stairs
Not recorded
Shoes
Shoes on.

Accessibility

  • YesStep-free entrance
  • NoLifts
  • Check firstAccessible toilet
  • YesWheelchair
  • YesStroller

Sensory load

  • Sensory load2/5 Low

Exposure: low

Bailouts

  • rain: cafe-harnet

Nearest rescue anchor: A — Avenue promenade benches

Not checked in the last 12 months (no check date on file).

Map and nearby

Where it is, how to get there from your hotel or from where you stand, and what is around it

Cinema ImperoCinema Impero

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Directions

Add your hotel to get directions from it. · stays in this browser; shared with the pocket card.

The pin marks the centre of Harnet Avenue & Cinema Impero: this place has no exact entrance point on file.

More places in Harnet Avenue & Cinema Impero

Eat in Harnet Avenue & Cinema Impero

More detail

Everything else we know about this place

Tickets, prices and entry

Know before you go

  • Opened in 1937, Cinema Impero is considered one of the best-preserved Art Deco cinemas from Asmara's Italian colonial building boom, with a striking symmetrical facade and a large neon-lettered sign.
  • It still operates as a working cinema on and off; screenings, when they happen, are mostly in Tigrinya or Italian, so most visitors come for the building rather than a film.
  • The facade is best seen either in soft late-afternoon light or once the marquee lighting comes on after dark.

Tickets & entry

2026 estimate · check the posted board
Where to buy
  • No ticket needed.

Official site ↗

Time on site, inside and your plan

Time on site

minutes

Minimum

15min

Worthwhile

20min

Typical

30min

p95

45min

How much time do you have?

from the time-on-site figures above

Enough for a typical visit (30 min).

Visit times are typical figures, not promises; queues and closing times can change them.

Step-free check, who it suits, facilities

Step-free check

wheelchair: ok
  • Step-free entrance: yes · yes
  • Lifts: no · no
  • Accessible toilet: check · check
  • Wheelchair: yes · yes
  • Stroller: yes · yes

Level pavement on Harnet Avenue.

Facilities on site

WhatStatusWhere / note
Toiletscheck—
Café nearbyyesHarnet Avenue cafés are a short walk in either direction.

Who it suits

TravelerFitWhy
Architecture fansgoodOne of the best-known single buildings of Asmara's Modernist City listing.
Combine with

Combine with

nearest first
  1. —Fiat Tagliero Building (short taxi ride)

Walk the Harnet Avenue & Cinema Impero area · the cluster page has the walking order, rescue stops and after-dark notes

Best photo time

Best photo time today

sun times for the area

Sun times for today load in your browser.

SpotWhenRule on the spot
Facing the entrance from across the avenueLate afternoon or after dark with the sign litDo not photograph any uniformed staff or officials nearby without asking.

Deep dive

Questions, photos, and where our facts come from

Questions and answers

Questions and answers

Can I go inside?

Only if a film is showing and you buy a ticket; otherwise the facade is the visit.

Answers come from Voykit editors, not from other travellers.
Photos
Deep dive

Sources

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Directions
26 pages, for the metro and roaming-off days
Not saved offline