![]() |
City Guide - Mexico City - Shopping | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shopping Mexico City offers everything from upmarket department stores to trendy boutiques, and from shopping malls to street hawkers. Fixed prices prevail in the upmarket shops and department stores, but it is commonplace to bargain in the markets. Favourite shopping areas include Polanco and La Zona Rosa. Shop opening hours are generally 0900/1000-2000/2100. The larger department stores remain open late into the evening. Smaller stores often close between 1400 and 1600, then reopen until 2000. The largest department stores are Sanborns, Liverpool and Palacio de Hierro. The original stores are in the Centro Histórico but all have branches in suburban shopping malls. Particularly interesting is the Casa de Azulejos (House of Tiles), between Avenida Cinco de Mayo and Avenida Madero (tel: (5) 510 9613), a beautiful building, dating from 1596 and covered in handmade blue and white tiles. On the inside, it sports a beautiful mural by Orozco and a Sanborns department store and restaurant. Centro Santa Fe, Vasco de Quiroga 3800, in the western part of the city, is the largest shopping centre in Latin America and boasts 285 shops, with department stores, boutiques, restaurants, play areas for children and ten cinemas, although there is no metro nearby. There are a number of markets selling Mexican artesanías (handicrafts). The Bazar Sábado (Saturday Bazaar), Plaza San Jacinto 11 (tel: (5) 616 0082), in San Angel, is located in a colonial mansion and is a showcase for some of Mexico's finest handicrafts, although prices are high. Artisans display their crafts every Saturday 1000-1900. Mercado de Curiosidades Mexicanos San Juan (San Juan Market of Mexican Curiosities), at Ayuntamiento and Dolores in the Centro Histórico, is a handicraft venue open Monday-Saturday 0900-1900 and Sunday 0900-1600. Nearby, the Mercado la Ciudadela, on the corner of Balderas and Dondé (tel: (5) 512 5064), is a covered market with a wide variety of artesanía from all over Mexico. Prices are fair but expect to bargain; open daily 1030-1830. For more unusual fare, the national pawnshop, the Monte de Piedad (Mountain of Compassion), Avenida Cinco de Mayo (tel: (5) 521 6176), opposite the Catedral Metropolitana, is also worth a look. It was opened in 1775 as a charitable organisation and still helps finance school construction and retirement homes with its profits. Open Monday-Friday 1000-1600, Saturday 1000-1300. |
|