Lake Managua (Lake Xolotlán)

In most cases, a city right on a lake - as Managua is right on Lake Managua - would be a city embracing its waterfront. In Managua’s case, for many years the lake was used as a dumping ground for sewage, so it’s only more recently that the waterfront and the lake itself are becoming more pleasant places to spend some time.

Lake Managua (or Lake Xolotlán, as it’s also known) is still too polluted for swimming (although some locals do actually fish in these waters), but the Malecón (waterfront) area was dredged and cleaned up in 2007, so progress is being made - albeit slowly. You can hop on a tourist cruise around the lake; these are roughly 45 minutes round-trip, and run Tuesday-Sunday. Pay a little more for an upstairs seat on the boat - you’ll have much better views during the tour.