In Brazzaville, the Poto-Poto market exhibits and sells local craftwork: paintings, figurines, and sculpted masks. Foch Avenue is invaded by travelling salesmen. Basketwork and pottery can be bought in the villages nearby Brazzaville. Shopping hours : Monday to Saturday, from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Some shops close on Monday afternoon, others are open on Sunday morning.
Most restaurants have French cuisine, and excellent fish and seafood. In Brazzaville, a few Italian, Lebanese or Vietnamese restaurants offer their culinary specialities. The local dishes are piri piri chicken (hot), or mohambe chicken, fried in palm oil and accompanied by cabbage salad and cassava leaves.
In Congo, statuettes are the major items : they are carved out of wood, and destined for the cult of the ancestors and spirits. Each type of statuette has specific characteristics, such as knife blades and nails for the Kongo statuettes.
Apart from imperative professional or family reasons, you are advised to wait for definitive settlement of hostilities between the warring factions before visiting the country.