Ouaga is a city for walking and watching — the sights are few but the energy of the streets is worth its own kind of attention. The Grand Marché on Avenue de la Nation, rebuilt after the 2003 fire, remains the commercial heart of the city; upstairs are stalls of fabric, leather, and Mossi craft. Next to it, the Cathédrale de l'Immaculée Conception is a plain but striking mud-and-brick church.
The National Museum of Music, housing traditional instruments from across West Africa, is small but excellent. The Village Artisanal de Ouaga on the southeastern edge of the city brings together craftspeople working in bronze, leather, wood, and textiles — both a shop and a place to watch the work being done. If you're here in late February of odd-numbered years, the FESPACO film festival transforms Ouaga into the centre of African cinema for a week.