| The markets are spread out in
the city. You could combine their visit with the one of an historic
place or a museum.
 The
Mercado San Camilito
From the plaza Garibaldi,
going north, you will find the Mercado San Camilito (metro Garibaldi),
specializing in food. It is an excellent place for discovering the
local food. A string of typical Mexican restaurants offer the same
products : carne asada, tacos, enchiladas, pozole etc…The
decor is very colorful and you are sure to listen to music.
The
Lagunilla
Going northeast, on the side of Bolivar Allende,
you’ll reach the flea market of la Lagunilla, taking the street
Rayón. It is a covered market of 8,400 m2, with one thousand
shops. It is an excellent place for understanding Mexico and the
Mexican life. You will discover the art of dressing, the madness
of the wedding gowns, the astonishing suits of the groomsmen, every
brand and shape of boots from pure leather to iguana or lizard skin.
On Sundays, it is in la Lagunilla that you will discover all kinds
of old manuscripts, rare books from the Conquest
time, marble clocks, wooden or glass bibelots of all prices
and all origins. 
Here you could also buy, for a few pesos, Indian ointments, elixirs
of longevity, universal remedies that give back a sexual vigor,
stimulus of love and herbs against bad lots. It is a flea market
during the week end. It is formed with three huge buildings, the
first one offering flowers and food, the second one, clothes (don’t
miss the unbelievable collection of wedding gowns and princess dresses
for a majestic celebration of a 3rd, 4th or 5th birthday; price
of a dress with belt and umbrella: between 400 and 650 pesos for
3/5 years. There are numerous mini-heel shoes and diadems as well
as mini 3 pieces suits for young boys). The third building offers
furniture: it is an imbroglio of narrow passages where are stacked
up all kinds of furniture.
The
Mercado de la Merced
Another daily , very busy and important market is the Mercado
de la Merced (metro Merced, calle Ramón Corona) not far
from the monastery of Merced, of which remains only a nice
baroque cloister. Sweets, vegetable, petticoats, tortillas and
spices stands are next to itinerant vendors. The market is also
well-stocked with fabrics and crafts. The food market is under a
huge covered building from the fifties. It is a big shop where
you could find anything. There are also cobblers for fixing
pierced soles.
One
of the biggest on planet - Market La Merced
The
Mercado Sonora
Very close to the Merced, another daily market called the Mercado
Sonora (daily 8AM-7PM) offers the same colors and same diversity
but it is a little more exotic. You could find medicinal plants
and religious objects as well as healers, sorcerers or shamans,
vendors of animals : snakes, rabbits, pigeons, hens and all kinds
of cage birds. You even could see some witchcraft and white magic
! It is the most important market of traditional medicine in Mexico.
Some healers offer their services in the market shops. Try them
if you have head or stomach pains. You don’t take any chance
with medicinal herbs. And like in the previous one there are many
religious objects.
The
Mercado de la Ciudadela
Another daily market worth a visit is the Mercado
de la Ciudadela (metro Balderas, corner place of the Ciudadela and
Balderas): it is mainly a market of interesting crafts with reasonable
prices. It is huge and you could find all kind of crafts from everywhere
in Mexico (365 shops). Don’t hesitate to
bargain !
| |
Travel notebooks of
the Tienda Esquipulas : place of the Ciudadela (close
to the market la Ciudadela) in Mexico City,
the very old ritual of the dance of the rain is practiced
every Saturday as a sport ! |
The
market of San Juan
Three streets towards east, on Pugibet Street (North
of metro Salto del Agua), there is the covered market San Juan.
There is a vast choice of game, wild boars, quails, ducks etc…
as well as fish and seafood and vegetables, fruits, dairy products
and cooked meats. It is a market for fine gastronomy lovers : the
stands are very mouth watering.
The
"artesanias San Juan"
By the side, there is another covered craft market in a two floors
building : Artesanias San Juan, smaller than la Ciudadela but with
the same kind of products. In the entrance, a patio with a fountain,
where there are sometimes spectacles. Between these two markets
San Juan, a shadowed place with benches, very pleasant for resting
or strolling a little bit. Open daily from monday to saturday 9AM
to 7PM and on sundays 9AM to 4PM. For the handicraft, it is our
favorite market  .
 Click
here to display the selection of the photos about the markets of
the capital
Click
here to display the selection of the photos about the capital
Subwap map :
 
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