Niamey, Niger

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Niamey has grown in leaps and bounds over the last two decades, and has a number of modern government buildings, streetlights, and tarred roads, all courtesy of the uranium-funded boom of the 1970s. But despite its modern veneer the city still has an African ambience and charm and as the city cools down at night it's easy to sit and shoot the breeze with someone, have a meal and a drink, and gaze at the stars overhead. As with everywhere else in the desert this is when you'll most appreciate being there.

Niamey is the only place in Niger you can get online. Mysteriously, access to Yahoo seems to be easier than Hotmail.

The Grand Marché in Niger is one of the best in West Africa. It's been completely rebuilt since being burnt to the ground in the mid 1980s, and funky architecture and tinkling fountains have replaced the old-style market. Your wallet can become considerably lighter with all the goodies on display - leather work, silver jewellery, clothing, crafts, batik - but what's truly spectacular are the couvertures Djerma, large bright strips of cotton lightly sewn together that make great wall hangings.

The Grande Mosquée is another new building, financed by Libya and open to both males and females. The Musée National du Niger is well worth a visit, particularly for its life size models of Tuareg, Hausa, Djerma, Fulani, and Toubou, alongside their traditional dwellings, and for the artisans' area that demonstrates traditional artistic techniques, along with the opportunity to buy any number of beautifully crafted pieces of jewellery or silver work.

The nicely designed Musée National du Niger is spread out on the slope opposite the expensive Hôtel Gaweye Sofitel. It has good displays of traditional costumes, the infamous Arbre du Ténéré (formerly the last surviving tree of the Sahara – felled by a Libyan truck driver in 1973) and an artisan centre where craft-workers produce silver jewellery and wood carvings. There is also a small zoo but it’s pretty horrific and should be avoided.

Niamey is a fairly large Sahelian city and getting lost is always on the cards. It's easier if you take your bearings by the main market and remember that the two main drags intersect here, and that most of the hotels, restaurants, or buildings that you may need are clustered south west of this intersection point. Going even further in a southwesterly direction will eventually bring you to the river. To the southeast of the intersection is a major roundabout, with roads to the airport, and out of town.

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