Cocody Marche des Femmes

Marche des Femmes sits in the leafy residential district of Cocody, one of Abidjan's more affluent neighbourhoods, and differs from the city's larger commercial markets in scale and clientele. Stalls are run predominantly by women traders, giving the market its name, and the layout splits roughly into a produce and cocoa-products corner near the entrance, a fabric section carrying wax-print and locally dyed cloth toward the middle, and a smaller artisan crafts and jewellery corner favoured by expatriates and visitors at the back. Goods sold are largely everyday household items rather than tourist souvenirs, so the ratio of authentic local product to trinket is high, though the crafts corner does stock some pieces aimed squarely at foreign buyers. Bargaining is expected on fabric, jewellery, and crafts, though fresh produce is usually sold at a fixed daily price. Payment is almost exclusively cash in West African CFA francs (XOF); small vendors cannot process cards, and there is no tax-refund scheme for market purchases in Cote d'Ivoire. The atmosphere is busier in the early morning when produce is freshest and quieter by mid-afternoon. A handful of food stalls near the market's edge sell grilled plantain, attieke, and cold drinks, making it possible to combine shopping with a light meal on-site.