Good markets exist in Bobo Dioulasso, Dori, Gorom-Gorom, Ouahigouya and Ouagadougou. Bargaining in traditional marketplaces is recommended. Purchases include wooden statuettes, bronze models, masks, worked skins from the tannery in Ouagadougou, jewellery, fabrics, hand-woven blankets and leather goods and crafts ranging from chess sets to ashtrays. The Grande Marché in Bobo Dioulasso is much smaller and less cramped market.
As in many West African countries, the currency of Burkina Faso is the Franc of the Communaute Financiere Africaine CFA. There are 480 CFA to 1 US Dollar Feb., 2010, and it's fixed to the Euro; â¬1 = 655.957 CFA francs.
Credit cards are rarely accepted, but cash may be withdrawn with a card at certain banks in all major towns Ouaga, Bobo, Banfora, Dori, and Ouahigouya are confirmed. In general, most bank machines will accept only VISA cards, with a PIN or a CarteBleu. Mastercard and Maestro no longer have partner banks in Burkina Faso. Make sure you have a PIN for your credit card in order to access money from the bank machines. Travelers' checks better luck in euros than in dollars can usually be cashed at local banks in Ouaga and Bobo, but with large change fees.
