Niamey

Niamey sits low on the Niger river, a wide sandy capital of single storey buildings that far outgrew the sleepy administrative post the French left behind. The Grand Marché is the real centre of the city, a covered maze of cloth, spices and hardware that draws traders from every region. The national museum keeps a small zoo and a crafts village on the same grounds beside its collections. A single road bridge carries most of the traffic across the river. Kidnapping risk affects the whole country now, and the security situation should be checked directly before any visit.