Find places in Mali

Must-Haves

• Musée National du Mali (Avenue de la Liberté)
  West Africa's finest museum of textiles, masks, archaeology and Dogon and Bambara culture.
• Musée du District de Bamako (Quartier du Fleuve)
  Small museum telling the story of the city and its founding families.
• Palais de la Culture Amadou Hampâté Bâ (Badalabougou)
  The national cultural hall on the river, used for concerts, theatre and festivals.

Off the Beaten Path

• Musée Muso Kunda (Korofina)
  A museum dedicated to Malian women, their crafts, clothing and roles in society.

Fun for Everyone

• Institut Français de Bamako (Centre)
  Concerts, films, exhibitions and a library in a leafy cultural centre.

Fun for Everyone

• Parc National du Mali (Avenue de la Liberté)
  Shady botanical park with walking paths, playgrounds and a calm break from the heat.

Off the Beaten Path

• Niger River riverbank at Quartier du Fleuve (Quartier du Fleuve)
  Evening walks along the river to watch pirogues and the sunset.
• Bamako Zoo (Avenue de la Liberté)
  The restored city zoo next to the National Park, popular with families.

Must-Haves

• Grand Marché de Bamako (Centre)
  The pink-walled central market and the crowded streets of cloth, spices and goods around it.
• Maison des Artisans (Centre)
  Jewellers, leatherworkers and woodcarvers working and selling in one compound.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Marché de Médine (Médina Coura)
  A vast local market for food, fabric and household goods where Bamako really shops.
• Marché de Dibida (Dibida)
  A busy market known for bazin, wax prints and tailoring supplies.

Off the Beaten Path

• Marché aux Fétiches (Centre)
  Stalls of traditional medicine and charms that show a side of Malian belief few visitors see.

Must-Haves

• Grande Mosquée de Bamako (Centre)
  The city's main mosque, a landmark of the old centre, best admired from outside.

Fun for Everyone

• Monument de l'Indépendance (Boulevard de l'Indépendance)
  The city's best-known monument, a striking piece of post-independence architecture.
• Tour de l'Afrique (ACI 2000)
  A tall monument to African unity at a busy roundabout in the business district.
• Pont des Martyrs (Niger River)
  The old bridge across the Niger with views of fishermen and river gardens.

Off the Beaten Path

• Point G Hill (Point G)
  The hill above the city with wide views over Bamako and the Niger.

Must-Haves

• Rencontres de Bamako (Various venues)
  The biennial of African photography, one of the most important on the continent.

Fun for Everyone

• Tabaski celebrations (Citywide)
  The festival of sacrifice, when families gather in their finest bazin.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Street weddings and baptisms (Citywide)
  Weekend celebrations with griots, drums and dancing, where much of Bamako's best music happens.

Great for Date Night

• San Toro (Hippodrome)
  A Malian restaurant decorated with crafts, serving local dishes with live kora at times.
• Restaurant du Radisson Blu (ACI 2000)
  A secure hotel restaurant with buffet and international dishes.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Dibiterie stalls (Hippodrome)
  Street grills selling grilled mutton with onions and mustard late into the night.
• Riz gras canteens (Médina Coura)
  Simple canteens serving big plates of riz gras at lunchtime.
• Capitaine grills by the river (Badalabougou)
  Riverside stands grilling fresh capitaine fish from the Niger.

Must-Haves

• Pâtisserie Amandine (Hippodrome)
  Croissants, cakes and coffee in one of the city's favourite bakeries.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Grin tea circles (Citywide)
  Join friends drinking three rounds of strong sweet green tea in the street.
• Dégué sellers (Citywide)
  Sweet millet and yoghurt dessert, perfect on a hot afternoon.

Great for Date Night

• Terrace bars of Hippodrome (Hippodrome)
  The neighbourhood's open-air bars, busiest on weekend evenings.

Fun for Everyone

• Live music nights at Palais de la Culture (Badalabougou)
  Concerts by major Malian artists when they are in town.

Must-Haves

• Radisson Blu Hotel Bamako (ACI 2000)
  A secure international hotel with a pool, garden and backup power.
• Azalaï Hôtel Salam (Quartier du Fleuve)
  A large riverside hotel near the centre with gardens and a pool.

Great for Date Night

• Sheraton Bamako (ACI 2000)
  An international hotel with a rooftop view over the city.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Hôtel Olympe International (Hippodrome)
  A mid-range hotel near the restaurants of Hippodrome.

Off the Beaten Path

• Hôtel Mandé (Cité du Niger)
  A riverside hotel on the Niger with garden views.

Must-Haves

• Ségou riverfront (Centre)
  Sunset walks along the Niger, with fishermen and pinasses at work.
• Ségou Koro (Ségou Koro)
  The old royal village with the tomb of Biton Coulibaly and mud-brick mosques.

Off the Beaten Path

• Kalabougou pottery village (Across the Niger)
  A village where women shape and fire large clay jars in open fires.

Fun for Everyone

• Markala Dam (Markala)
  The great dam that feeds the Office du Niger irrigation scheme.

Must-Haves

• Ndomo (Centre)
  A bogolan workshop where young people learn natural dyeing, and you can watch and buy.

Off the Beaten Path

• Centre Culturel Kôrè (Centre)
  The cultural centre behind the river festival, with exhibitions and concerts.

Fun for Everyone

• Colonial quarter of Ségou (Centre)
  Sudano-colonial administrative buildings along wide shady avenues.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Ségou Monday market (Centre)
  The big weekly market with pottery, cloth, grain and livestock.

Off the Beaten Path

• Bogolan sellers of Ségou (Centre)
  Small shops selling mud cloth, blankets and pottery.

Must-Haves

• Hôtel l'Auberge (Centre)
  A long-running hotel with a shady garden and restaurant.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Riverside fish grills (Riverfront)
  Freshly grilled capitaine and tilapia by the water.

Fun for Everyone

• Restaurant of l'Auberge (Centre)
  Simple Malian and European dishes in the garden.

Off the Beaten Path

• Pinasse trip on the Niger (Riverfront)
  A boat ride past fishing camps and villages along the river.

Must-Haves

• Port of Mopti (Harbour)
  The busy harbour where pinasses load and salt slabs are sold.

Off the Beaten Path

• Boat builders of Mopti (Harbour)
  Craftsmen shaping long wooden pinasses on the riverbank.
• Inner Niger Delta (Mopti region)
  A vast seasonal floodplain of birds, rice fields and fishing camps.

Fun for Everyone

• Sévaré (Sévaré)
  The twin town on the main road, with the airport and most hotels.

Must-Haves

• Komoguel Mosque (Komoguel)
  A fine Sudano-Sahelian mud-brick mosque restored with the Aga Khan Trust.

Off the Beaten Path

• Songho rock paintings (Dogon Country)
  Rock art linked to Dogon circumcision rites near Bandiagara.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Mopti fish market (Harbour)
  Dried and smoked fish from across the inner delta.

Must-Haves

• Mopti main market (Centre)
  A big market of cloth, crafts and goods from the whole region.

Off the Beaten Path

• Bozo fishing villages (Niger River)
  River villages of the Bozo fishing people, once visited by pinasse.

Must-Haves

• Bandiagara Escarpment (Dogon Country)
  The great cliff of Dogon villages, a UNESCO site now off limits to visitors.

Off the Beaten Path

• Dogon mask dances (Dogon Country)
  Masked dances performed at funerals and festivals, a famous Dogon tradition.

Must-Haves

• Great Mosque of Djenné (Centre)
  The largest mud-brick building in the world, seen from the square and rooftops.

Off the Beaten Path

• Djenné-Djeno (Near Djenné)
  The ancient city mounds, one of the oldest known cities in West Africa.

Must-Haves

• Djenné Monday market (Mosque square)
  The famous weekly market in front of the Great Mosque.

Must-Haves

• Crépissage of the Great Mosque (Centre)
  The yearly festival when the whole town replasters the mosque.

Fun for Everyone

• Old town of Djenné (Centre)
  Narrow lanes of mud-brick houses with carved wooden doors.

Off the Beaten Path

• Bani River ferry (Bani River)
  The short crossing that brings travellers onto Djenné's island.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Djenné street food (Centre)
  Rice dishes, river fish and fresh milk from Fulani herders.

Must-Haves

• Djinguereber Mosque (Djingareiber)
  The oldest mosque in Timbuktu, built around 1327 under Mansa Musa.
• Sankoré Mosque (Sankoré)
  The heart of the old university of Timbuktu.
• Sidi Yahia Mosque (Centre)
  A 15th century mosque named after a revered scholar.
• Ahmed Baba Institute (Sankoré)
  A major public collection of Timbuktu's manuscripts.

Off the Beaten Path

• Mamma Haidara Library (Centre)
  A family manuscript library whose collection was saved in 2012.

Off the Beaten Path

• René Caillié House (Centre)
  The house where the French explorer stayed in 1828.
• Heinrich Barth House (Centre)
  The house of the German explorer who spent months in the city.
• Gordon Laing House (Centre)
  The house of the first European known to have reached Timbuktu.
• Port of Kabara (Kabara)
  The old river port that linked Timbuktu to the Niger.

Fun for Everyone

• Flame of Peace monument (Centre)
  Marks the 1996 burning of weapons that ended an earlier rebellion.

Off the Beaten Path

• Sahara dunes near Timbuktu (Outskirts)
  Dunes at the edge of the city where camel caravans once arrived.