285 Best Shopping in Mexico

Located in one of the grand mansions from the early 20th century on Paseo de Montejo, this establishment caters to well-heeled visitors and locals. The 10 boutiques housed here include an outpost from top Mexican designer Carla Fernández, Xinú (a Mexican fragrance line), and Casa Lima, which has an excellent selection of charming gifts that will fit easily into your luggage. There's also a café serving pastries and small bites with tables overlooking Paseo Montejo.

It's hard to ignore the huge, chunky rings, bracelets, and necklaces here. In the back of the shop there are more delicate items of pure silver set with various stones in artful ways. All are unusual.

It's worth visiting San Ángel on a Saturday just to visit the upscale artisan market that's been going strong there since 1960. Before you even make it into the grandiose colonial mansion, you'll encounter dozens of vendors selling crafts, wood carvings, embroidered clothing, leather goods, wooden masks, beads, amates (bark paintings), and trinkets at stalls just outside and around Plaza San Jacinto and adjacent Calle Benito Juárez. Inside, on two levels that encircle a beautiful courtyard, are the (generally) better-quality—and higher-priced—goods, including alebrijes (painted wooden animals from Oaxaca), glassware, pottery, jewelry, fashion, furniture and housewares, and a smattering of gourmet goods and beauty products. There's also a decent traditional Mexican restaurant in the courtyard, which has a massive tree looming over it. The bazaar is open only on Saturday, but if you're unable to visit in person, check out the website, where you can purchase many of the goods online (shipping is free in Mexico City for orders over MX$799 and can be arranged for international deliveries).

A 10-minute walk from the center of town, Fábrica La Aurora, which was established in 1902, was the principal source of fine-quality muslin in the region until competition forced its closing. It reopened in 1990 as exhibition spaces for dozens of art galleries and antique- and modern-furniture showrooms; also, many local artists have opened studios here.

The concentration of art galleries draws visitors in huge numbers, especially during the monthly art walk, Friday beginning at 5 pm. If you're shopped out and hungry, head for the Food Factory, with its old-world character and comfortable sofas under a covered patio. Or pick up a snack at the outdoor Café de la Aurora coffee shop.

Get your organic fix at the Mercado Orgánico every Saturday 9–3 between November and May. Jewelry, artwork, flowers, soaps, fruit, and vegetables are a few of the goodies you’ll find here. Food stalls serve everything from tacos to pizza, and entertainment is offered for kids. You will surely leave with a bag full of fresh veggies and local art.

Ceramicist Mayer Shacter and his wife Susan Page have an amazing collection of decorative and utilitarian folk-art pieces from all over Mexico in several showrooms. On the way to several hot springs, the pilgrimage center at Atotonilco, and the town of Dolores Hidalgo, the 5,000-square-foot gallery is a destination in itself, and not just a must for avid shoppers. In 2014 the editor of the art magazine series Artes en Mexico called the shop "without a doubt the finest exhibition and sale of Mexican popular art in the country." It's open by appointment only. If you are serious about high-quality folk-art pieces, make an appointment.

The 300 or so potters from the village of Mata Ortiz add their touches to the intensely—sometimes hypnotically—geometric designs of their ancestors from Paquimé. At this shop pieces range from about $60 to $10,000, with an average of about $400. Stop in during an afternoon walk through downtown.

Sergio Bustamante's work is in galleries around the world, but you can purchase his sculptures of humans, animals, and fairy-tale creatures in bronze, ceramic, or resin for less here. You'll also find his designs in silver- and gold-plated jewelry. Don't expect a bargain, however; most pieces range from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Classical, contemporary, and abstract works are displayed and sold in this 6,000-square-foot gallery—PV's largest—and sculpture garden. Check out the marvelous large-format paintings of Indigenous people in regional costumes by Juana Cortez Salazar, whimsical statues by Guillermo Gómez, and the work of nearly 60 other talented artists. 

La Cava, affiliated with Los Danzantes restaurant, sells a variety of quality mezcals along with regional wines and hand-rolled cigars in a cozy shop just off the Conzzati Park.

This is arguably the best farmers' market in the whole Puerto Vallarta/Riviera Nayarit region. It offers a balanced combination of good quality Mexican handicrafts and jewelry, as well as clothes, lamps, hammocks, cigars, organic products, and lots of delicious food. Everything is in a delightful environment with stunning views of the Marina Riviera Nayarit and Banderas Bay, and there's live music. It makes for a great way to spend a Sunday morning.

Enormous La Lagunilla has been the site of trade and bartering for more than five centuries. It's open every Sunday, when vendors set up along Confort Street and along the alley connecting to Paseo de la Reforma, selling everything from antique paintings and furniture to old magazines and plastic toys. Dress down, and watch out for pickpockets.

This is the best one-stop shop in Cozumel for Mexican crafts and art. Numerous display rooms, covering almost a block, are filled with clothing, furnishings, home-decor items, quality tequilas, and jewelry. There are smaller branches at Puerta Maya, the international pier (SSA), the Cozumel airport, Punta Langosta, and the gift shops of some hotels.

This market, a 10- to 15-minute walk from the Alameda, is your best bet for a one-stop shop for all the gifts, souvenirs, and keepsakes you might need. Loaded with stalls selling everything from hammocks to beaded Huichol jewelry to woven palm hats, Ciudadela is a mixed bag to say the least, both in terms of quality and prices. But with a little patience (and a high tolerance for bright colors), you will almost certainly find something that meets your needs.

This speakeasy-style bar gives you an adrenaline rush from the moment you ring the bell to gain access. Serving only mezcal from hundreds of glass bottles, the staff can offer you a three-variety tasting menu incorporating flavors and textures available only in individual mezcal-making villages, or you can feel free to choose your own and discuss your opinions with the regulars. More than a bar, this is an unforgettable experience in a mezcal museum.

This boutique has its own extensive line of bikinis, cover-ups, yoga pants, and some items for children (including sunglasses, bathing suits, flip-flops). There's a small line of jewelry, and Brazilian flip-flops for adults in a rainbow of colors.

Trusted, well-established Pama offers a wide array of imported jewelry, perfumes, watches, and watch repairs while you wait. Sales pitches are definitely low-pressure here, so take your time and enjoy looking around.

Upscale, open-air Paseo del Carmen has numerous boutiques—including Zara, Ultrafemme, and Old Navy. Seattle-coffee lovers can get their fix at the Starbucks that dominates the center of the mall. A cobblestone path makes this one of the area's most popular and pleasant shopping destinations.

Explore works of art by Mexico's top contemporary artists such as Eduardo Mejorada, Javier Guadarrama, Jorge Marín, Luis Filcer, and Trubaik, among others. All of the artists represented here are known nationally and internationally in important collections and museums.

Here the Huichol are treated as a people, not a product. At their downtown Vallarta shop, the owners— a Mexican-Canadian couple—are happy to share with customers their wealth of info about Huichol art and culture. They work with just a few farming families, providing all the materials and then paying for the finished products, amazing and colorful handicrafts that represent the most sacred elements of their culture. Huichol imagery is so colorful because they actually see these images when they eat peyote, an hallucinogenic cactus, as part of their religious rituals.

The owners, Betty and Fernando, are wonderful hosts at their gallery and mezcal-tasting room. The attractive decoration, variety of mezcals available, and excellent food make Piedra Lumbre one of the best new mezcal bars in Oaxaca.

The largest and most modern shopping mall in Guadalajara, Andares carries all styles of clothing in more than 100 stores, including designer retail shops. Both an indoor and outdoor shopping area, it has ice-cream shops and other quick bites, as well as sit-down restaurants along the main entrance. Generally speaking, prices tend to be high here.

This arcade on the Zócalo has attracted merchants since 1524. It's lined with jewelry shops selling gold (often by the gram) and authentic Taxco silver at prices lower than those in Taxco, where the overhead is higher. The best shop is Sombreros Tardán, which specializes in fashionable hats of every shape and style; it's more or less in the middle of the arcade.

This three-story plaza on Playa's main drag houses Sanborn's department store, Harley Davidson, Forever 21, Oakley, Hurley, American Eagle Outfitters, and much more. There's even a Häagen-Dazs where you can cool off with an ice cream before more shopping.

Internationally known Sergio Bustamante—the creator of life-size brass, copper, and ceramic animals, mermaids, suns, and moons—has a team of artisans to execute his never-ending pantheon of creative and quirky objets d'art, such as pots shaped like human torsos (which sell for more than $1,000). Paintings, purses, shoes, and jewelry are sold here as well.

Silvia Suarez is undoubtedly the mother of ethno fashion in Oaxaca. Her handmade designs have been shown and worn around the world and provide a modern, fashion-conscious take on the traditional indigenous textiles and techniques from the state of Oaxaca. Alongside her current collections, customers can see and buy examples of the highest-quality local clothing and artisan textile products. No visit to Oaxaca would be complete without a piece of clothing from this Oaxacan institution.

This store is a mine of perhaps the best silverwork in Mexico—jewelry, flatware, candelabras, museum-quality reproductions of archaeological finds, and bold designs by young Mexican silversmiths. The Masaryk shop is one of several in the city, including locations in the Four Seasons and Presidente InterContinental hotels and in the upscale Centro Santa Fe. Outside this Polanco branch, you'll find an Instagram-famous bright pink wall with a neon sign that sums up most visitors' sentiments: Mexico mi amor.

Exquisite truffles and molded chocolates are all stylishly arranged on immaculate glass shelves at this classic Canadian chocolatier. The chocolate itself is European; among the different mousse fillings are some New World ingredients, including lime, coconut, cinnamon, Kahlúa, espresso, and a few dozen more. Stop by after dinner for a fab dessert. During holidays, out come the molded Santas or Day of the Dead skulls, some packaged as pretty gifts.

Folks read books they've bought or traded at this outdoor café by the Hotel Eloísa, and there are almost always people playing chess. The large selection of tomes is organized according to genre and then alphabetized by author.

Although Abrazos also has napkins, place mats, pot holders, and baby bibs, the small shop is primarily known for dresses, blouses, men's shirts, and women's aprons in the store's outstanding cotton fabric, printed exclusively for the shop in Day of the Dead skulls and other iconic figures. The fabric is sold by the meter as well.