3 Best Shopping in Moscow, Russia

This bustling outdoor market surrounds a covered circus-shaped hall. Inside are meats, spices, vegetables, pickles, flowers, and pyramid-shaped displays of goods from Central Asia, especially dried fruit in extravagant quantity and combinations. In the outdoor stalls you're likely to come across porcelain Uzbek tea sets, woven baskets, and hand-knit wool socks.

This large covered hall is next to the outdoor Veshchevoy Rynok (literally, "Market of Things," which is certainly an apt name). Inside are rows of vendors hawking homemade cheese and milk products, honey, flowers, and produce of all kinds. Against one wall are sellers of pickled goods, an understandably popular form of conservation in this land of long winters; you may want to sample some of their cabbage and carrot slaws, salted cucumbers, or spiced eggplant or garlic. Many Moscow chefs buy ingredients here.

In terms of choice and value, this is really the best stop for those looking for traditional Russian souvenirs in Moscow. Matryoshki (nesting dolls) come in a variety of styles here, and the stalls are also stacked high with amber, lacquer boxes, linens, used books, and Soviet memorabilia (such as authentic army belts and gas masks). Connoisseurs may find the real treasures in the antique aisles, such as Soviet porcelain figures or fully functional 19th-century music boxes. The flea market is open daily 9–6, but many stalls are only open on weekends. It's best to go early.