The Old Town market is the commercial heart of the original Lilongwe, clustered along the Lilongwe river in the southern half of the city. This is the real Malawi: chaotic, loud, colourful, and completely lacking in tourist packaging. Fish from Lake Malawi arrive early in the morning; livestock, secondhand clothing, vegetables, and Indian dry goods are spread across covered stalls and pavement.
The market is genuinely worth a visit — not for shopping particularly, but for the texture of daily life in a Malawian city. Exercise standard urban caution with bags and electronics, and be prepared for persistent vendors near the entrance. The surrounding streets of the Old Town, with their small shops, mosque, and Indian trading houses, are also pleasant to wander. The market is most lively in the morning; by early afternoon it begins to thin out.