16 Best Places to Shop in Chiapas and Tabasco, Mexico

The government-run Casa de las Artesanías sells wooden toys, ceramics, embroidered blouses, bags, and handwoven textiles from throughout the state. You'll also find honey, marmalade, and locally made liqueurs.

The range of crafts in San Cristóbal extends far beyond those made by indigenous groups. Arte Sandía has a wonderful array of housewares, including plates and dishes covered with the store's namesake watermelon. (It's a popular theme in this country, as the watermelon has the three colors of the Mexican flag.) You'll find plenty of women's clothing here, too.

Casa Penagoes has an eye-popping collection of colorful clothing from indigenous groups.

Sharing a courtyard with several other shops, Chilam Balam has travel, archaeology, and art books about Mexico. There are a few titles in English.

Chocolatería Kakao Natura is stocked with fresh chocolates made from scratch on-site (from the grinding of the cacao itself!).

Emili Ambar makes up for its diminutive size with a helpful staff. Here you'll find a small selection of amber often with an insect suspended inside.

When locals want to spend money they head to Galerías Tabasco, the best known of Villahermosa's shopping malls.

Íconos Mayas carries beautiful weavings, especially shawls, produced by the renowned El Camino, a nonprofit group that supports women weavers and their families. You can make an appointment to see a wider selection of El Camino's weavings by email ([email protected]).

Librería Soluna has a good selection of guidebooks, as well as English language books on history and culture in and around Chiapas.

Near the main square, Libros y Arte has a wonderful collection of books, including coffee-table volumes on the art and architecture of Tabasco. There are also plenty of maps and travel guides, a very few in English.

Avenida Juárez has small crafts stores, but for the mother lode, head to the Mercado de las Artesanías just east of the main square.

One of the city's most memorable shops is Nemi Zapata, which stocks crafts from local villages. Many of these communities were sympathetic to the Zapatista cause, which is reflected in the art. Most interesting are the servietas (cloth napkins) with hand-embroidered portraits of rebel leaders.

Sensaciones carries jewelry made of turquoise and other stones in funky designs.

Among its excellent selection of wares, Sna Jolobil, the regional crafts cooperative of 800 weavers from 20 indigenous communities, has hand-dyed wool sweaters and tunics, embroidered pillow covers, and pre-Hispanic-design wall hangings. Quality is high and items are priced accordingly. The name means "Weaver's House" in the Tzotzil language. The cooperative is housed in the former Santo Domingo convent, adjacent to the church of the same name.

A unique indigenous co-op in an old colonial San Cristóbal home sells top-quality crafts and lets you observe artisans at work. Look for handmade journals, boxes, postcards, and writing paper fashioned from plants.

Tierra del Ambar has two storefronts not far from each other. The original pieces by Philippe Catillon are lovely.