Shopping · Mexico City · Mexico
Shopping in Mexico City
Shopping streets, markets and souvenirs worth the suitcase space.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Omar_sansi, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Mexico City is the best place in the country to shop for crafts from every region, from Talavera pottery and Oaxacan alebrijes to textiles and silver, plus designer boutiques in Roma, Condesa and Polanco. Best souvenirs: Talavera pottery, Lucha libre masks and Alebrijes.
Key facts
- Shopping areas
- 4
- Markets
- 4
- Top souvenir
- Talavera pottery
Where to shop
Avenida Presidente Masaryk
Polanco's luxury and designer shopping street.
Roma and Condesa
Independent Mexican designers, concept stores and bookshops.
Madero Street
The Centro's pedestrian shopping street, leading from Bellas Artes to the Zócalo.
San Ángel
Galleries and craft shops around Plaza San Jacinto.
Markets
Mercado de Artesanías La Ciudadela
A large crafts market near the Centro with goods from across Mexico.
Bazar Sábado
A Saturday art and craft market in San Ángel, with painters in the plaza outside.
Mercado de Jamaica
The city's huge flower market, especially colourful before Día de Muertos.
Mercado de la Merced
A vast, chaotic wholesale food market in the eastern Centro.
What to buy
Talavera pottery
Hand-painted ceramics from Puebla, from tiles to serving dishes.
Lucha libre masks
Sold outside Arena México and in markets across the city.
Alebrijes
Brightly painted fantastical creatures carved from wood in Oaxaca or made from papier-mâché.
Mezcal
Small-batch bottles from specialist shops and mezcalerías.
Silver jewellery
Sterling silver from Taxco workshops, stamped '925'.
Mexican chocolate
Tablets of stone-ground chocolate with cinnamon for making hot chocolate.
Streets and markets worth a wander
Market · Centro Histórico
Mercado de San Juan
This downtown market supplies the city's chefs with exotic fruit, cheeses, game meats and pre-Hispanic delicacies such as chapulines (grasshoppers) and escamoles (ant larvae).
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Food
- Off the beaten path
- Rainy day
Street · Juárez and Reforma
Paseo de la Reforma and the Ángel
The city's grand boulevard, laid out in the 1860s under Emperor Maximilian, runs from the Alameda past monuments such as the golden Ángel de la Independencia to Chapultepec Park.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Active
- Architecture
Food and drink to take home
Edible souvenirs travel best when they are dry or sealed: consider Churros and hot chocolate, Conchas and pan dulce, Pulque and Mezcal. El Moro, a churrería open since 1935 on Eje Central in the Centro, with branches across the city. Check your home country's rules on bringing food and drink back.
Shopping by neighbourhood
| Area | Price level | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Centro Histórico | $$ | The Zócalo, Aztec ruins, baroque churches and colonial palaces |
| Roma Norte | $$$ | Art Nouveau mansions, acclaimed restaurants, cafés and mezcal bars |
| Condesa | $$$ | Art Deco apartments, Parque México and pavement cafés |
| Polanco | $$$$ | Designer stores on Masaryk, fine dining and big museums by Chapultepec |
Paying and bargaining
Prices are in MXN. Tip 10–15% in restaurants, often by telling the server the amount to add when paying by card; tip a few pesos to supermarket baggers and petrol-station attendants, and to musicians you request songs from.
- Greet people with 'buenos días' or 'buenas tardes' before asking anything, in shops and on the street.
- Withdraw pesos from ATMs inside banks or shopping centres, and decline 'conversion' to your home currency on card terminals.
When to shop
Shops and markets are quietest in June; the busiest months are November.
- February: Zona Maco contemporary art fair (usually February)
- March: Vive Latino music festival (usually March)
- December: Posadas, Christmas processions and parties (16–24 December)
Staying near the shops
$$$$ · Best for luxury, shopping, families and food lovers
Polanco
Designer stores on Masaryk, fine dining and big museums by Chapultepec
Questions travellers ask
+What should I buy in Mexico City?
Talavera pottery, Lucha libre masks, Alebrijes and Mezcal.
+Where is the best shopping in Mexico City?
Avenida Presidente Masaryk: Polanco's luxury and designer shopping street.
+What are the best markets in Mexico City?
Mercado de Artesanías La Ciudadela, Bazar Sábado, Mercado de Jamaica and Mercado de la Merced.