Find places in Burkina Faso

Must-Haves

• Grand Marché Rood Woko (Centre)
  The rebuilt central market, packed with cloth, spices, shea butter and everyday Ouaga life.
• Village Artisanal de Ouagadougou (Ouaga 2000 road)
  Bronze casters, weavers, leatherworkers and carvers under one roof, with fair fixed prices.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Centre National d'Artisanat d'Art (Centre)
  A government crafts centre selling Faso Dan Fani cloth, bronzes and leather goods.
• Marché de Sankaryaré (Sankaryaré)
  A busy local market for fabrics, food and household goods away from tourist eyes.

Off the Beaten Path

• Bronze Foundries of Niogsin (Niogsin)
  Watch bronze casters use the lost wax method in the traditional casters' quarter.

Must-Haves

• Musée National du Burkina Faso (Boulevard Charles de Gaulle)
  The best introduction to the country's peoples, masks, costumes and crafts.
• Musée de la Musique Georges Ouédraogo (Centre)
  A small museum of balafons, drums and string instruments behind Burkinabè music.
• Place des Cinéastes (Centre)
  The film camera monument that celebrates Ouaga's role as Africa's capital of cinema.
• Cathédrale de l'Immaculée Conception (Centre)
  The red brick cathedral at the heart of the old city, impressive on Sunday mornings.

Fun for Everyone

• Grande Mosquée de Ouagadougou (Centre)
  The city's main mosque, a landmark best admired respectfully from outside.

Must-Haves

• FESPACO (Citywide)
  Africa's best-known film festival, held every other year with screenings across the city.
• SIAO International Arts and Crafts Fair (SIAO grounds)
  A huge crafts fair in alternate years, gathering artisans from across Africa.
• Kundé d'Or Music Awards (Centre)
  The country's biggest music awards night, a showcase of Burkinabè stars.

Fun for Everyone

• Festival Jazz à Ouaga (Citywide)
  A spring music festival bringing jazz, Afrobeat and blues to stages around the city.
• Waga Hip Hop Festival (Citywide)
  A youth festival of rap, dance and graffiti that shows Ouaga's modern side.

Off the Beaten Path

• Moro Naba Ceremony (Palais du Moro Naba)
  A short Friday morning ritual at the Mossi king's palace that visitors may watch quietly.

Fun for Everyone

• Stade du 4 Août (Gounghin)
  Catch a football match with the Étalons or local clubs in a lively crowd.
• Faso Dan Fani Weaving Workshops (Citywide)
  See the national woven cloth made on traditional looms.

Must-Haves

• Ouaga Craft Shopping Day (Centre)
  Combine the crafts village and the national crafts centre for gifts.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Moped City Watching (Centre)
  Watch the moped tide at sunset from a terrace, Ouaga's great free spectacle.

Fun for Everyone

• Parc Urbain Bangr Weoogo (Centre)
  Shady walking paths, a small zoo and a welcome green escape from the heat.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Barrage de Ouagadougou (Tanghin)
  The city's reservoirs, edged with market gardens and birdlife at dawn.

Great for Date Night

• Le Zaka (Centre)
  A garden restaurant and stage with regular live music in the heart of the city.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Jardin de la Musique Reemdoogo (Gounghin)
  A music garden built for local bands, with concerts and rehearsals in a calm setting.

Must-Haves

• Brakina Beer at a Maquis (Citywide)
  The local lager, the classic companion to an evening of grilled meat and music.

Great for Date Night

• Le Verdoyant (Centre)
  A long-running favourite for wood-fired pizza and Italian dishes in a leafy courtyard.
• Le Gondwana (Zone du Bois)
  A restaurant decorated with African art, known for refined local and international dishes.

Must-Haves

• Riz Gras (Citywide)
  The national celebration dish of rice cooked in rich tomato and meat sauce.

Fun for Everyone

• Poulet Bicyclette (Citywide)
  Lean, flavourful free range chicken grilled or braised, a Burkinabè classic.

Must-Haves

• Hôtel Silmandé (Bangr Weoogo)
  A large hotel beside the lake and park with gardens, pool and strong security.
• Azalaï Hôtel Indépendance (Centre)
  A historic central hotel with a pool and garden, close to banks and restaurants.
• Ramada Pearl Ouagadougou (Ouaga 2000)
  An international chain hotel popular with business visitors in Ouaga 2000.

Fun for Everyone

• Splendid Hôtel (Centre)
  A central mid-range hotel with a pool, convenient for the market and museums.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Hôtel Les Palmiers (Centre)
  A friendly mid-range hotel with a garden and traditional style rooms.

Great for Date Night

• Garden Café at the Institut Français (Centre)
  A shady terrace for coffee, juice and a quiet hour between sights.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Bissap and Gingembre Juice Stands (Citywide)
  Chilled hibiscus and ginger juices sold in bags from street coolers.

Must-Haves

• Grande Mosquée de Dioulassoba (Dioulassoba)
  The city's icon, a mud-brick mosque bristling with wooden beams.
• Musée Communal Sogossira Sanon (Centre)
  A small museum of masks, costumes and the traditions of the west.

Fun for Everyone

• Gare de Bobo-Dioulasso (Centre)
  The Sudano-Sahelian style railway station, one of the city's most photographed buildings.
• Maison de la Culture Anselme Titianma Sanou (Centre)
  The city's main stage for concerts, dance and festival events.

Great for Date Night

• Institut Français de Bobo-Dioulasso (Centre)
  Concerts, films and exhibitions in a pleasant garden setting.

Must-Haves

• Kibidwé Old Quarter (Dioulassoba)
  The oldest part of Bobo, explored with a neighbourhood guide who explains its customs.

Off the Beaten Path

• Koro Village (Koro)
  A hillside village of stone and earth houses overlooking the plain.

Fun for Everyone

• Mango Season (Citywide)
  Taste dozens of mango varieties in the city's markets from spring into early summer.
• Bobo Railway Heritage (Centre)
  The line from Abidjan shaped the city, and the station still anchors the centre.

Must-Haves

• Grand Marché de Bobo-Dioulasso (Centre)
  A large central market for cloth, spices, baskets and mangoes in season.

Must-Haves

• Semaine Nationale de la Culture (Citywide)
  A national culture festival held every other year with music, dance and crafts.

Off the Beaten Path

• Fête du Dodo (Citywide)
  A Ramadan season street festival of masked children's parades in the west.

Off the Beaten Path

• Mare aux Poissons Sacrés de Dafra (Dafra)
  A sacred pool of catfish reached by a rocky walk through the hills.
• Mare aux Hippopotames de Bala (Bala)
  A UNESCO biosphere reserve lake where hippos gather in the dry season.

Fun for Everyone

• Forêt Classée du Kou (Nasso)
  A shady gallery forest with springs and a swimming spot locals call la Guinguette.
• La Guinguette Swimming Spot (Kou)
  A clear stream in the forest where families swim and picnic at weekends.

Must-Haves

• Mango and Kapok Shaded Avenues (Centre)
  Walk or ride the leafy avenues that make Bobo the country's greenest city.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Dolo Cabarets of Bolomakoté (Bolomakoté)
  Taste millet beer in neighbourhood cabarets in the city's famous music quarter.

Must-Haves

• Hôtel L'Auberge (Centre)
  A central hotel with a pool and a terrace restaurant, a long-standing Bobo favourite.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Street Coffee Stands (Centre)
  Sweet Nescafé and bread with butter at roadside kiosks, a Bobo morning ritual.

Must-Haves

• Soumbala Seasoned Sauces (Citywide)
  The fermented néré seed that gives Burkinabè sauces their depth.

Must-Haves

• Cascades de Karfiguéla (Karfiguéla)
  Waterfalls stepping over rock ledges, at their fullest after the rains.
• Dômes de Fabédougou (Fabédougou)
  Rounded sandstone towers rising from the plain, glowing at sunset.
• Pics de Sindou (Sindou)
  A jagged ridge of sandstone needles sacred to the Sénoufo people.

Fun for Everyone

• Lac de Tengréla (Tengréla)
  A lake known for its sacred hippos, seen by pirogue with local fishermen.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Marché de Banfora (Centre)
  A lively regional market for fruit, rice, sugar cane and cloth.

Must-Haves

• Hôtel La Canne à Sucre (Centre)
  A well-known hotel with a garden restaurant and simple, comfortable rooms.

Off the Beaten Path

• Sugar Cane Plantations (Banfora)
  The green cane fields that give the town its sweet reputation.

Must-Haves

• Cour Royale de Tiébélé (Tiébélé)
  The royal compound of earthen houses painted in bold Kassena designs.

Fun for Everyone

• Kassena Architecture Tour (Tiébélé)
  Guided walks explain each house shape, from round houses to figure of eight homes.

Off the Beaten Path

• Kassena Wall Painting (Tiébélé)
  Learn how women paint the houses with earth, chalk and néré varnish.

Must-Haves

• Ranch de Gibier de Nazinga (Nazinga)
  A protected area once famed for its elephant herds near the Ghana border.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Marché de Pô (Pô)
  The main market of the Nahouri province, busy on market days.

Off the Beaten Path

• Annual Repainting of the Royal Court (Tiébélé)
  The yearly community repainting after the rains.