Monuments to visit Bamako

With Sudanese architectural style, the pink market was, before it burned in 1993, the main tourist attraction in Bamako. Traders relocated to the market ruins and it is now being rebuilt in its original style. It is still the economic lung of the capital. This is where we come from business, as the Malian traders like to remind us. It is very pleasant to stroll along the stalls of this vast souk. Above all, we need to go for fabrics. Designers can make basin boubous, shirts and trousers for a small amount.

The craft industry in all regions of Mali is represented in this vast market. Each part corresponds to a body of trades (weavers, leather leather, jewellers, wood sculptors, Tuareg blacksmiths…). Craftsmen work in front of you. The first prize given by the seller is still too high: divide it by three or four! Tuareg crafts are cheaper in Bamako than in Timbuktu. This is not the case in the craft of Mopti and Dogon country. You can make custom shoes and have the correct copy of a jewellery or leather bag, if you have a model or photograph, at a competitive price. There is little regret: the somewhat invasive presence of young people who want to sell you necklaces, take you to a shop…

He specializes in food and used automotive parts. It is better to avoid walking after 15 h: meat and fish are starting to feel, and flies give their hearts.

The residence of the President of the Republic blew 100 candles in 2006. In 1903, Bamako became the capital of Mali. Work is then undertaken to accommodate administrative services.

In 1908, the governor moved to the palace, which was changed by its various residents. Even today, ATT is the cause of ongoing work to build new premises in this administrative city for the services of the Presidency General secretariat. The President's palace is regarded as one of the jewels of colonial architecture. It has all the characteristics of this type of architecture: large verandas with blinds, large pieces with huge ceilings, open on two fronts, east-west orientation for the shadow of facades… Besides the residence of the president and secretariat of the presidency, this set of administrative buildings also includes the banquet hall and the council of ministers, built by Alpha Oumar Konaré, the predecessor of ATT.

This market is more calm than the crossroads of craftsmen. Unfortunately it burned in 2009 and reconstruction is a little slow. Shops reappear one to one. Crafts are mainly reserved for professionals. While browsing well, the visitor should be able to find his happiness at much more interesting prices. Ask Baba Traoré's shop. Baba comes from a family of antique shops and turned into a pearl necklace. Ask him to take you to his gallery at the heart of the family concession (they are nearly cousins and cousins to live together!).

It is a modern, but desert market, because barely 10% of stores are open.

It is situated on a large sloping terrain between the grand stadium and the Hippodrome district. The visitor can take a walk in peace without unreasonable contact from both traders and other markets. It is also the cheapest market. Part of the market is devoted to coiffures: The women come to get plaiting and add mèches. This is a market for Malians: There may be fewer souvenirs (even though one finds one of the best fabrics at the best prices) but you can spend an excellent time, make pleasant encounters with a venelle. Inside the market, absolutely see the market for herbs. You can see a herbalist paid in traditional pharmacopoeia, or just admire the dispositions of dried plants. The open building is itself a real architectural success. Fabrizzio Carola, a renowned Italian architect, drew it. It also has the magnificent and confusing hotel Le Kambary de Bandiagara and part of the superb market of the artisans of Mopti.