Africa on the Ground
Vendors at wooden tables piled with aubergines, tomatoes and squash, under a corrugated iron roof.

← All places

The Gambia · Banjul

Albert Market

A street market on Liberation Avenue in Banjul, built in the mid-nineteenth century.

Market

Atlantic OceanAlbert MarketKunta Kinteh Island
Approximate position on the River Gambia, coordinates from [4]. Outlines: Natural Earth.

A produce area of Albert Market, photographed in 2009. The photographer titled it Albert market, and Wikimedia Commons files it under Albert Market, Banjul. Photo: Demian, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources beyond UNESCO and Wikipedia: 5 (5 press). Check each source's status in the list at the end of the card. It was published without a prior review by people from the place. If something is wrong or missing, tell the project.

This card keeps two kinds of knowledge apart: what the documented record says, and what the people who know the place say. Each is labelled, so a reader always knows which one they are reading.

Jump to what people who know this place say

In the record

What it is

Albert Market is a street market in Banjul, on Liberation Avenue. It was built in the mid-nineteenth century and takes its name from Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, in the years when Britain controlled The Gambia.[1] A travel guide calls it Banjul's main hub of activity since it was founded, and a tourism magazine calls it one of the oldest markets in The Gambia.[2][3]

Kind
Street market[1]
Street
Liberation Avenue[1]
Built
mid-19th century[1][2]
Named after
Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria[1][3]
Former official name
Royal Albert Market[1]
Areas
household goods, produce, crafts[4]

The guide lists stalls of fabrics, hair extensions, shoes, household and electrical goods, a fruit and vegetable market, and drinks stalls and food shops inside.[2] The tourism magazine adds fish and herb sellers, and a craft market with woodcarvers and other artists working from purpose-built shops. It describes the stalls as laid out like a labyrinth, wide enough to walk through comfortably.[3]

A travel directory divides the market into three areas: household goods and clothing, a produce market selling fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and dried goods, and a tourist market for crafts. It lists opening hours of 8 AM to 7 PM.[4]

Timeline

  1. Mid-19th c.The market is built. The sources consulted give no more precise date.[1][2]
  2. Sep 2014A fire burns a large part of the main market structure and destroys many goods. The Point reports that the cause was still unknown that day, and that the chairman of the market committee said most of the affected traders had no insurance.[5]
  3. Feb 2026The market committee reports that D56,235 has been collected for victims of a fire at the market, from individuals, other market committees and the chairman. The article does not say when that fire happened.[6]

The two press reports were published twelve years apart. The 2026 article does not date the fire it refers to, so this card does not link it to the one in 2014.

Not yet sourced
  • A precise founding date and who built it. The sources read give only the mid-nineteenth century, and none comes from the city council or an archive.
  • The fire behind the February 2026 report: when it happened and how much of the market it affected.
  • The state of the market after the fires, including any rebuilding. A search result mentioned a new market complex for vegetable and fish vendors, but the page could not be read and was not used.
  • Opening hours, layout and coordinates come from an undated travel directory and have not been checked on the ground.
  • Who trades there and what daily life in the market is like. The guides are written for visitors.
  • What is sold mainly to visitors and what mainly to people in Banjul. Only the local voices on this card can answer that.

Sources

  1. Encyclopedia · to verify[1] Albert Market. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org retrieved 6 Oct 2026
    A very short article. Basis for the street, the name and the building period. Replace with a city council or archival source.
  2. Press[2] Albert Market. Lonely Planet. www.lonelyplanet.com retrieved 6 Oct 2026
    Travel guide entry, undated. Written for visitors.
  3. Press[3] Visit Banjul. My Gambia. www.my-gambia.com retrieved 6 Oct 2026
    Tourism magazine page, undated, in a promotional tone.
  4. Press · to verify[4] Albert Market in Banjul. Horizons Unlimited. new.horizonsunlimited.com retrieved 6 Oct 2026
    Travel directory entry compiled from other pages and undated. Gives the coordinates, opening hours and layout used here.
  5. Press[5] Njie Baldeh, Banjul Albert Market gutted by fire. The Point (Banjul), 24 Sep 2014. thepoint.gm retrieved 6 Oct 2026
    Written on the day of the fire, before the cause was known. Updated by the paper in August 2020.
  6. Press[6] Ismaila Sonko, Albert market committee chair Salifu K. Jaiteh calls for unity. The Point (Banjul), 17 Feb 2026. thepoint.gm retrieved 6 Oct 2026
    Refers to a fire at the market without saying when it happened.