Arlit has few conventional tourist attractions — it is an industrial town built to service uranium mines, not to entertain visitors. What it offers is a raw, functional Saharan atmosphere and proximity to the Aïr Mountains. The Grand Marché gives a window onto the local economy; the uranium mine north of town is not open to visitors but defines the landscape. For anyone passing through on the trans-Saharan route, the town itself is the attraction — a reminder of how completely one commodity can create a place.