Parakou's grand marché is one of the largest markets in northern Benin and the commercial heart of the city. It spreads across several blocks near the centre, with sections devoted to produce, meat, textiles, hardware, and the sprawling motor-part stalls that service the lorry traffic passing through on the trans-Saharan routes.
The textile section is the most interesting for visitors. Bariba and Dendi weavers sell their work here alongside imported cloth from Nigeria and Burkina Faso — you can find hand-woven cotton strips, embroidered boubous, and the vivid wax-print fabrics worn throughout West Africa. Prices are negotiable and significantly lower than in the tourist shops of Cotonou. Go in the morning when it's at its most animated; by mid-afternoon in the dry season, the heat drives much of the activity indoors.