Banfora is a base, not a destination — the things to do are out in the surrounding countryside. The Cascades de Karfiguéla, the Dômes de Fabédougou, and Lac de Tengréla form a triangle of natural attractions within twenty kilometres of town and can be combined in a single day with a hired moped or a guide.
In town itself, the Saturday market is the main attraction, busy with traders from across Comoé Province and over the border from Côte d'Ivoire and Mali. The town has the slightly busy, slightly improvised feel of a southern Burkinabé country town — wide dusty streets, mango trees, motorbike traffic, a small mosque, and the inevitable Catholic cathedral on the main avenue.