Discover Ouagadougou

Which of these themes you want to shape your stay depends on the reason for your trip. The city can be explored through memorial sites, collections, events, craft traditions, and nature and environmental education.

Thomas Sankara memorial site

The Thomas Sankara Memorial in Ouagadougou includes a statue of Thomas Sankara, inaugurated in 2019, and a mausoleum honoring Sankara and his twelve companions. The statue’s inauguration year provides a specific historical reference; the mausoleum’s dedication explicitly includes the twelve companions. If memorial sites are among your interests, the memorial offers a clear thematic focus.

National Museum and collections

The Musée National du Burkina Faso is located in eastern Ouagadougou on a 29.94-hectare site. It has an ethnographic focus; its Sudanese-Sahelian-style facilities include exhibition halls and an open-air theater. Its collections include archaeological stone artifacts, ceramics, and metalwork, as well as ethnographic objects such as masks, clothing, and musical instruments. This range gives you a clear point of choice: you may be interested in both archaeological materials and ethnographic objects. This makes the museum distinct in focus from memorial sites and events. In the broader travel destination of Kadiogo, the Sudanese-Sahelian-style buildings of the National Museum also include an entrance hall, an administration building, and a large collection storage facility.

Events and handicrafts

Ouagadougou hosts the biennial Festival Panafricain du Cinéma et de la Télévision de Ouagadougou (FESPACO) and the biennial Salon International de l’Artisanat de Ouagadougou (SIAO). If you are considering attending an edition as the reason for your trip, check the specific dates of the event before setting your travel dates. This lets you plan a stay around one of these events without assuming a particular date.

Bronze working originated in the Niongsin neighborhood. Initially, three large families there specialized in copper and bronze working using the lost-wax casting technique. This identifies the neighborhood, materials, and technique as specific aspects of this craft tradition. The Village Artisanal de Ouagadougou offers young people training programs in craft skills. The two references highlight different aspects: bronze working connects the subject with Niongsin and a specific technique, while the Village Artisanal focuses on training young people.

Nature and environmental education

Parc Bangr-Weoogo serves to protect the park’s biodiversity and natural heritage. Recreation, relaxation, and environmental education are among the reasons visitors come. This adds a nature theme to Ouagadougou’s cultural and craft-related highlights. For choosing according to your interests, this combination offers a distinct point of reference: the park stands for the protection of biodiversity and natural heritage, while its visitor activities include recreation, relaxation, and environmental education.

For the broader travel overview: Kadiogo.