Comerciales

What this section covers. The commercial side of the city's experiences — shopping, markets and the places where buying something is the point of the visit.

The four circuits, and they are genuinely different. Crafts: the Ciudadela market, the most comprehensive collection of folk art from every Mexican state, with haggling expected and cash preferred; the Museo de Arte Popular shop for provenance; and the Mercado de Sonora for alebrijes, invented a few streets away in La Merced. Markets: La Lagunilla on Sundays for antiques, San Juan for specialist ingredients, Jamaica for flowers before eight in the morning. Design: the Roma and Juárez for independent Mexican designers, concept stores and bookshops. Luxury: Polanco, and Avenida Presidente Masaryk in particular, the most expensive shopping street in Latin America.

What to buy that is actually from here. Talavera from Puebla, Oaxacan black clay and alebrijes, Michoacán lacquer and copper, Chiapas textiles, Huichol beadwork, mezcal, and vanilla from Papantla.

Practical notes. Markets are cash and haggling; shops and malls take cards. Ask about shipping before buying anything fragile, and about export rules for anything that looks antique. Malls here stay open to 21:00 or later.