Niamey, the capital of Niger, is a calm, fairly modern city of around 1.3 million (2020) on the banks of the Niger River surrounded by the Tillaberi region in the far southwest of Niger. It is the administrative, cultural and economic hub and hence generally offers good facilities for travellers, both budget and upmarket.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
The comparably fertile area around Niamey has been inhabited for millennia by tribes like the Gurma, also found in Burkina Faso, but the founders of the village would be the Maouri, who settled on an island called Neni Goungou facing the current Niamey in the late nineteenth century, before coming to settle on the left bank of the river. In 1898, the invading French found the village a suitable location for a military base and in 1905 the city, located in a stable region, became the capital of the Territoire Militaire du Niger (Military Territory of Niger).
Street addresses were not devised until the 21st century for most West African cities. Niamey implemented one of the most efficient plans in the region between 2001-2002. The city has been divided into 44 sections (named and based largely on existing neighbourhoods) and each was given a two-letter prefix (for instance, "GM" for "Grande Marché"). Since the vast majority of roads lacked names, numbers were assigned to each road (even if it has a name); streets running roughly parallel to the river were assigned even numbers and cross-streets assigned odd numbers. Over 100,000 street signs were installed to denote these roads at intersections.
1 Musée National Boubou-Hama and Zoo, Avenue Mitterrand, ☏ +227 20 734321. This complex was built in 1959 by the colonial French government as the L'Institute Francais d'Afrique Noire (French Institute of Black Africa), although the original museum was largely destroyed by fire in 1980. The museum is fairly small and run down. There are some Hausa-styled pavilions containing displays on Nigerien history & customs and exhibitions focusing on such things as traditional instruments, palaeontology/archaeology, costumes & uranium mining. The national zoo is depressing, mostly Sahelian animals.
The CCFN & CCOG (see above) frequently host concerts and with capacities of a few thousand, they can be quite lively. At the Centre Pour la Formation et Promotion Musicales (CFPM) there is a Rap Zone every Wednesday afternoon at 16:30. Often there are people just jamming underneath the trees. They sell instruments, and they give drum, dance, and guitar lessons. At the restaurant Djoumkoume in Chateau Un there is live music almost every night, starting around 20:00 or 21:00. Sometimes there is a CFA 1,000-2,000 entrance fee. To get there, take a taxi to Pharmacie Chateau Un.
Be sure to try all the local specialties rather than only sticking to ex-pat restaurants. Niamey food is incredible, unique and not-to-be-missed. You didn't come all this way to eat the same food you get at home. Le Gawlo senegalese restaurant (on the other side of the road of the nouvelle cité EAMAC in the Plateau quarter, next to a Tuareg jeweller which is worth the visit as well.), ☏ +227 94010342. The restaurant opens during the day. Serves excellent senegalese dishes (not the fatty, oil-saturated dishes that you often find) for CFA 1,500, They also offer a range of natural juices like bissap, jus de baobab and ginger for CFA 250 a glass.
Keep in mind that drinking alcohol is generally forbidden in Muslim culture, so take extra care to keep drunken inappropriate behaviour behind closed doors and out of the public eye. Most of the Western-style restaurants above also serve drinks, Cap Banga or Oxygène in particular have amazing river views, especially great around sunset. (See the "Eat" section) There are three Burkinabé millet or sorghum beer bars (called dolo or tchouk), all in Yantala Ancien, behind the French Embassy. The easiest place to start is to have a cab drop you off on the paved road that runs along the east wall of the French Embassy.
See the warning box in the Niger article for information on the security situation. General: Niamey is relatively safe, at least by Nigerien standards, but be aware of several things: Carry as little as possible. For men, watch your wallet in your back pocket. For women, be aware that they can cut the strap of your bag and run. The most dangerous places are anywhere the road crosses the ravine that runs through town, including next to the Stade (between the Stade and Katako), and between the Musée and Hotel Gaweye. Robberies are more common there because the perpetrators can disappear into the ravine. The water in the city is usually OK to drink, but sometimes not.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
In Aug, Niamey typically sees ~31°C daytime highs and 22 rainy days.
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