When the war ended, the FRELIMO government launched a program to revive the city's economy, and to clean up the city by forcibly removing criminals, squatters, and undocumented residents. Maputo has a number of landmarks, including Independence Square, City Hall, Maputo Fortress, the central market, Tunduru Gardens, and Maputo Railway Station. Maputo is known as an aesthetically attractive, if dilapidated, city. With wide avenues lined by jacaranda and acacia trees, it has earned the nicknames City of Acacias and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. The city is known for its distinct, eclectic architecture, with Portuguese colonial Neoclassical and Manueline styles alongside modern art deco, bauhaus, tropical modernism and Brutalist buildings. The historic Baixa de Maputo district is the downtown area. Maputo has a vibrant cultural scene, with many restaurants, music and performance venues, and local film industry. Maputo's economy is centered around its port, through which much of Mozambique's imports and exports are shipped. The chief exports include cotton, sugar, chromite, sisal, copra, and hardwood. In addition to trade, the city has robust manufacturing and service sectors. Several colleges and universities are located in Maputo, including Pedagogical University, São Tomás University, Catholic University of Mozambique, and Eduardo Mondlane University, the oldest in the country. On the northern bank of Espírito Santo Estuary of Delagoa Bay, an inlet of the Indian Ocean, Lourenço Marques was named after the Portuguese navigator who, with António Caldeira, was sent in 1544 by the governor of Mozambique on a voyage of exploration. They explored the lower courses of the rivers emptying their waters into Delagoa Bay, notably the Espírito Santo. The forts and trading stations that the Portuguese established, abandoned and reoccupied on the north bank of the river were all named 'Lourenço Marques'.

The existing town dates from about 1850, with the previous settlement having been entirely destroyed by the natives. The town developed around a Portuguese fortress completed in 1787. On 9 December 1876, Lourenço Marques was elevated to the status of village, and on the 10 November 1887 it became a city.

Isteg maputo