The city name Limbe is generally held to originate from a mispronunciation of the name of a German engineer called Limburgh.

In 1982, a presidential decree signed by president Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo changed the city name from Victoria to Limbe.

Initially, Victoria and its vicinity were not part of the new German colony Kamerun and remained under British administration.

On May 7, 1886, Great Britain and Germany agreed to exchange Victoria and its vicinity for German rights at the Forcados River in Nigeria and at St Lucia in Natal.

The current site (Bimbia) is being restored for tourists, who would like to understand how slaves made their way from far distances to the coastal city.

Black sand beaches make Limbe one of two coastal towns (Kribi being the other) that are popular among Western tourists.

Limbe was served by a terminal station of a 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) gauge plantation railway from Soppo, near Buea, of the West African Planting Society Victoria.

Limbe is also home to a small port which offers ferry services to Calabar, Bakassi and Douala.

[tone] Limbe is a sport-loving city especially football which is the most loved and supported sports discipline in the nation.

[citation needed] Limbe City Council organizes an annual Festival of Arts and Culture.