Niamey

Niger · 4 sights · guided virtual tour

Welcome to Niamey, the capital and largest city of Niger, lying mostly on the left bank of the Niger River in the west of the country. Before the French developed it as a colonial centre, this was a place of villages of Fula, Zarma, Maouri and Songhai people. A French military post was set up in 1901, and Niamey has been the capital since colonial times. The Zarma and Hausa languages are both used as lingua francas here. Niamey is also one of the hottest major cities in the world, and the Niger River is its only permanent river. Let us begin.

Sights

1. Musée national Boubou-Hama ▶ Listen

   

   Welcome to the Boubou Hama National Museum, the national museum of Niger, founded in 1959. It lies in a park that is popular for recreation, and it mixes cultural and scientific sections with a zoo of fifty species. Walk past five traditional houses belonging to the Fulani, Hausa, Songhai, Tuareg and Zarma peoples. The most famous exhibit is the Tree of Ténéré, whose remains have been here since 1974 and which has had its own mausoleum since 1979.

2. Grand Mosque of Niamey ▶ Listen

   In front of you is the Grand Mosque of Niamey, the largest mosque in the city, standing on Islam Avenue. This Sunni mosque was built in the 1970s with money from Libya. Its minaret has 171 steps from bottom to top. All Muslim prayers are held here, including Friday prayers and the great prayers of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, which important figures of the country often attend.

3. Kennedy Bridge ▶ Listen

   

   Now we stand at the Kennedy Bridge, the main crossing of the Niger River in Niamey. Built in 1970 and named after the American president John F. Kennedy, it allowed the city to grow onto the right bank of the river to the west. The bridge also holds a solemn memory: on 9 February 1990 a confrontation between university students and police here left 20 civilians dead, and it hastened the end of the military regime of General Ali Saibou.

4. Niamey Grand Market ▶ Listen

   

   Welcome to the Grand Market, the largest market and shopping centre in Niamey, right in the city centre. Its neighbourhood is even named Grand Marché after it. The market was built within a colonial-era park that once divided the European and African sections of the city. A uniform market building first went up in 1950. After a fire in 1982 destroyed it, the market was rebuilt and reopened in 1987 with some 4,000 shops, from simple stalls to modern stores.

All 138 virtual tours →