Grand Marché

The rebuilt Grand Marché — locally still called the Rood Woko, "the big market" in Mooré — sits on Avenue de la Nation in the centre of town. The ground floor is given over to food, household goods and second-hand clothing; upstairs are textiles, leather, Mossi jewellery, and stalls of bronze and brass figurines from the Bobo and Lobi regions.

Bring small change and small bills. Prices are quoted high to foreigners; expect to pay roughly half the first asking. The market is at its busiest in the mornings and shuts down for prayer around lunchtime.

things to do market shopping
A story
The original Grand Marché — the largest covered market in Burkina Faso — burned down in a single night in May 2003, with thousands of stalls destroyed. The current building was completed in 2009 after a long delay. Many of the traders who lost their stocks in 2003 never returned, and the new market is correspondingly smaller and less chaotic than its predecessor.

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