Mike and Sharon in West Africa
From personal experience I suggest a change of clothes in your hand luggage.
French, Hausa, Djerma, Fula, Tamashek.
Businesses: 8-12:30, 3-6:30, M-F
and Saturday morning.
Currency exchange:
Currency can be exchanged at the airport as well as at main banks and hotels.
# National Museum
Avenue de la Mairie, T-Sun: Nov-Mar 9-12, 3:30 -6,
April-Oct, 9-12, 4-6:30, admission 100 CFA francs
Exhibition pavillions, zoo, crafts center, village of Nigerien housing styles.
Jewelry, weapons, handcrafts, musical instruments.
# Grand Marché
Boulevard de la Liberté, daily until sunset
One of West Africa's finest markets with modern architecture and fountains, food, fabric, crafts.
# Petit Marché
Rue du Président Luebké and Avenue de la Mairie
Mainly food, but also fabrics and crafts.
# Wadata Arts and Crafts Village
9-12:30, 3-6.
Watch artisans work, boutiques.
# Yantala Corniche
Along the Niger River
Canoe rentals.
# Grande Mosquée
One mile north of the Grand Marché, open to visitors.
Intricate mosaics.
# Boukai Market
Flea market.
# Oumarou Ganda Cultural Center
Boulevard Mali Béro
Tel: 227.74.09.03
Open-air amphitheatre, concerts of traditional music, ballet, theatre, films.
# American Cultural Center
Avenue du Général de Gaulle
Tel: 227.73.28.61
American news programs, movies, special events, library.
# French-Nigérien Cultural Center
Across from National Museum, T-Sat 9-12:30, 4:30-7:30
Tel: 227.73.42.40
Exhibits by local artists and craftsmen, dance and theatre performances & films.
Near Niamey:
# Boubon Island: 15 miles northwest of Niamey, pottery-firing, birdwatching, local market on Wednesdays, canoe rides out to restaurant on island.
# Kouré: 36 miles from Niamey, some of the last giraffe herds in West Africa.
# Baleyara: 58 miles northeast of Niamey, Djerma sttlement, large Sunday market with animals, Fula and Djerma woven blankets, leather goods, carved calabashes.
# Filingué: 110 miles northeast of Niamey, a Hausa settlement, administrative town, Sunday market, traditional architecture.
# Ayourou: day-trip from Niamey. Sunday livestock market from November-April. Canoe rides, hippos in the river.
# Hôtel de l'Amernokal
BP 10224
Tel : 227.72.34.00
Fax : 227.42.33.47
25 rooms, air-conditioning, restaurant, bar, pool, excursions.
W National Park
95
miles south of Niamey, this trans-national park is on the western bank
of the River Niger, stretching over 2200 square kilometers in Niger
alone. Open December-June: elephants buffalo, antelope, baboons,
warthogs, hippos, 300 bird species, 450 plant species. No hunting is
permitted.
Hôtel de la Tapoa (Relais Sofitel)
Edge of the reserve
Tel : 227.73.34.00
25 rooms, 10 bungalows, air-conditioning, restaurant, bar, pool, excursions.
Tapoa Reserve: an extension of the main park, open from November-May.
Tourist Office:
Rue Luebké, BP 612, Niamey
Tel : 73.24.47
Fax : 72.33.47
Photography:
Visitors are asked to refrain from photographing the Presidential residence, airports, all administrative and military buildings, and private citizens without their permission.
Bookstores:
Camico, avenue de la Mairie
Papeterie Burama, rue de la Copro
Indrap, rue de Martin Luther King
Ascani, near Score supermarket
Newspapers:
Government: Le Sahel, daily
Independent papers and magazines: Kakaki, Alternative, Haske, La tribune du Peuple, Le Démocrate, Le Républicain
Radio and Television:
La Voix du Sahel, broadcasts in French and national languages
Télé-Sahel, evening broadcast
Cinemas:
Le Studio: 73.37.69 : (center)
Vox: 73.32.19 - outdoor : (center)
Cinema Soni Ali-Ber : (Haut-Niamey)
Cinéma Zarbakan, avenue de l'Entente : (Poudrière)
Cinéma HD : (Yantala)
Discotheques/Nightclubs:
Kakaki, Hôtel Gaweye
Fofo, Hôtel Sahel
Takoubakoye, near the Rivoli
Hi-Fi, rue du Coulibaly
Jet-7, near Score supermarket
Niamey Club, rue du Coulibaly
Hilly, near Hôtel Maourey
El Raï, Hôtel Gaweye
Extase
Takaï
Dancing Gaskama
Hippopotame Bleu
Izé Gani
L'Ermitage, Boulevard de la Liberté
Supermarkets:
Score, avenue de la Mairie
Peyrissac
Pharmacies:
Pharmacie Kaocen, rue du Coulibaly: 73.54.54
Pharmacie Nouvelle, rue Luebké
Grande Pharmacie Centrale: 73.29.79, fax 73.31.00
Pharmacie du Plateau: 75.31.94, fax 75.23.62
Pharmacie Populaire Rive Droite: 73.54.40
Pharmacie Vétérinaire MEDIVET: 73.63.55
Pharmacie Carrefour Sixième: 74.18.18
Pharmacie As-Salam: 75.31.25
Pharmacie du Rond-Pont
Pharmacie Grand Marché
Hospitals:
Niamey National Hospital: 72.22.53
Lamordé National Hospital: 73.47.26
Public Health Clinics:
Lahiya: 74.09.68, fax 74.26.56
Issaka Gazobi: tel. 73.35.50
Pro-Santé: tel: 72.26.50
Private Health Clinics:
Clinique Pasteur: 72.50.16
Clinique d'Iran: 72.50.84
Clinique de Gamkalé: 73.47.61
Clinique du Plateau: 75.46.39
Clinique Kaba: 73.26.52
Clinique Médicale Madamdi: 74.18.65
Clinique Privée Talfi Idrissa: 73.31.54
Institut Médecine Physique: 73.44.20
Institut de Diététique de Nutrition et d'Hygiène: 72.48.03
Post Offices:
Main Post Office (PTT), Rue de Kabekoira, 73.23.99.
Branch office - Plateau
Poste and fax restantes are reliable; phone service.
Packages- 73.24.58
Money orders - 73.31.99
DHL: Hôtel Gaweye Sofitel: 74.18.06
Business Hours:
Banks : 7:30-11:30, 3:30-5:30, M-F.
Government: 7:30-12:30, 3:30-6:30, M-F.
Businesses: 8-12:30- 3-6:30, M- F, and Saturday morning.
Bus Station:
SNTN
Corninche de Yantala
Tel : 227.72.30.20
Ticket office: 7:30-12:30, 3:30-6:30, M-F, 8-9 Sat, 8-12 Sun.
Car Rental:
Niger-Car Voyages, Airport and Immeuble El-Nasr, Tel : 227.73.23.31
Avis, Tel : 227.22.33.33
Sanuto, Tel : 227.73.31.64
Tiguidit (Agadez), Tel : 227.44.03.66
Niger Tourisme, Tel : 227.73.23.79
Nigercar-Voyages, Tel : 227.73.23.31, Fax : 227.73.35.39
Avis, Tel : 227.22.33.33
Transcap Voyages, Tel : 227.73.32.34
Niger Ténéré Voyages, Tel : 227.73.56.50
Africatour, Tel : 227.73.41.18
Tour Niger, Tel : 227.73.55.25
Satguru Travel X Tours, Tel : 227.73.68.75
Concord Travel Service, Tel : 227.73.73.85
Aligouran Voyages (Agadez), Tel : 227.44.00.94
Aïr Voyages (Agadez), Tel : 227.44.04.95
Tidene Expeditions (Agadez), Tel : 227.75.21.92
Tamak Voyages (Agadez), Tel : 227.44.04.95
Temet Voyages (Agadez), Tel : 227.74.41.18 / 44.00.51
Fadel Voyages (Maradi), Tel : 227.41.01.82 / 41.05.25
Game Hunting:
January - March
Gun permit necessary
Taxes per head of game
Group prices available
Sport Fishing:
Nigerien National Center for Tourism
BP 612, Niamey
Tel: 227.73.24.47
Director of Fauna, Fish, and Pisciculture:
Ministry of Hydrology and Environment
Niamey
Tel: 227.78.41.12
Accomodations in Niamey
Camping and Budget Hotels:
# Camping Touristique
Route de Tillabéri
Tel: 227.73.42.06
# Mission Catholique
north of the Cathedral
Tel: 227.73.32.03
# Hôtel Le Dé
Boulevard de la Liberté and rue du Maroc.
# Hôtel Moustache
Avenue Soni Ali Ber, BP 2145
Tel: 227.73.42.82
17 rooms, air-conditioning, restaurant, bar.
Moderately Priced Hotels:
# Hôtel Rivoli
Rue Nasser
Tel: 227.73.38.49
# Hôtel Maourey
Rond-Point Maourey
Tel: 227.73.28.50
Air-conditioning, restaurant.
# Hôtel le Sahel
Rue du Sahel
Tel: 227.73.24.31
Restaurant
# Hôtel Terminus
Rue du Sahel
Tel: 227.73.26.92
Bungalows, pool, tennis courts, jazz club, restaurant.
# Hôtel les Rôniers
Rue Tondibia
Tel: 227.72.31.38
Bungalows, restaurnt, pool, tennis courts.
Expensive Hotels:
# Grand Hôtel
Place de la Fraternité, BP 471
Tel: 227.73.26.41 / 42 / 43
31 rooms, 5 suites, 35 bungalows, air-conditioning, pool, restaurant, bar, terrace on Niger River.
# Hôtel Gaweye Sofitel
Place Kennedy, BP 11008
Tel: 227.72.34.00 /01/02
Fax: 227.72.33.47
240 rooms, air-conditioning, pool, tennis courts, two restaurants, two bars, nightclub, conference room, boutiques.
# Hôtel Ténéré
Boulevard de la Liberté, BP 10734
Tel: 227.73.20.20
Fax: 227.73.39.19
55 rooms, air conditioning, pool, conference room, restaurants, bar.