Bamako is an interesting capital city, but it's best saved for the end of your trip. If you're traveling around Mali for a while, the true sites are in the rural area. The country itself is incredibly diverse, so you want to spend as much of you time as possible seeing the diverse landscape, people, and culture. Focus your trip on the areas outside of the city. Then, at the end of your trip, you'll probably be exhausted. Splurge on a comfortable place to sleep and some nice meals while you're in Bamako. You'll appreciate the comforts at this point in your trip.

Also, if you're flying out of the Bamako Airport, don't get there too early. The waiting area of the airport is not air conditioned, and they won't let you into the back into closer to your flights time. Do yourself a favor and wait until close to your flight to arrive.