74 Best Places to Shop in Mexico City, Mexico

Named for the late novelist and screenwriter Elena Garro, this huge bookstore occupies an early-20th-century mansion that's been enclosed within a stunning contemporary glass-walled, two-story addition. You'll find a terrific selection of literary and artistic titles as well as concerts, lectures, children's events (from puppet shows to storytelling), and other cultural programming. There's also a café with an enchanting garden seating area.

It's worth visiting San Ángel on a Saturday just to visit this upscale artisan market that's been going strong 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. (Just be warned that more than a few businesses around Plaza San Jacinto, perhaps misleadingly, include the word "Bazaar" in their name.) Inside, on two levels that encircle a beautiful courtyard, are the generally top-quality—although higher priced—goods, including alebrijes (painted wooden animals from Oaxaca), miniature ofrendas, glassware, pottery, jewelry, fashion, furniture, kitchenware, 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 many shops sell their wares online and will ship abroad.

This upscale department store is mostly filled with high-end designer collections. While it is a local chain, this location of El Palacio de Hierro stands out from the rest of the stores, thanks to its floor after floor of designer goods for men and women. You'll likely find something here you won't be able to get anywhere else. After making your way up to the top floor, stop at the La Terraza Palacio for a quick bite or a cocktail in the extensive food court.

With volumes in multiple languages, Jorge Cuesta Librería de Paso is a great spot to find academic writing on any number of subjects in Mexico, as well as out-of-print copies of international and Mexican literature. The bookstore, named after a Mexican poet and scientist, is packed to the gills with antiques, too (some of which are for sale), on which nary an inch is spared for all the books within its walls.

Visit this shop to check out the extensive collection of Mexican-made clothing and textiles in stunning, colorful patterns, from folk-art-print T-shirts, caps, and boots to beautiful handbags and ceramics. There’s a nice mix of items for all ages, including young kids. There are a few additional locations around the city.

Set in fashionable building with a small cluster of art- and design-related spaces, this small, beautiful bookstore specializes in titles related to art, architecture, fashion, and photography. You'll also find a selection of handmade stationary and paper goods as well as interesting locally made gifts, including artisan chocolates. Casa Bosques often hosts signings and readings as well.

This market is 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, you will almost certainly find something special to take home.

Although it's not as big as some of the city's other markets, this lively mercado just a couple of blocks from Frida Kahlo's house is one of the most popular with visitors, in large part because of the famous food stalls at its center doling out plates of delicious ceviche, octopus, shrimp, chicken tinga, picadillo, and other fillings for about MP40 to MP50 per portion. But you'll also find aisles of the usual fresh juices, produce, spices, candies, and other goodies typical of Mexican markets as well as a number of souvenir and homeware vendors (mostly near the northwest entrance) and many other food vendors. Arguably even better than the tostadas are the quesadillas sold from a tiny little stand at the west entrance, directly across from pretty Jardín Allende, a small landscaped park with benches and pathways; on weekends, artists sell their wares in the park and a DJ spins traditional Latin music, which locals of all ages dance to---it's great fun to watch. For a sweet treat, stop by Chocolate Mexicano Dulce Olivia, which serves sipping chocolates and carries a vast array of artisan chocolate bars produced by small, often family-run makers from throughout the country.

Over the years, this traditional neighborhood market has refashioned itself as the city's gourmet food market. Its stalls are crowded with edible flowers, wild mushrooms, fresh seafood flown in from the coast, and spots that specialize in insect snacks like chicatanas (a species of flying ants) and gusano de maguey (agave grubs). Notably pricey, this is not a place where most people come for their daily shopping, but it's atmospheric nonetheless, with its cheeses, cured meats, and a great espresso bar in the form of Triana Café Gourmet that serves good drinks with a smile over a bright orange counter.

In collaboration with artisans all over Mexico, Onora sells handmade homewares and textiles that you might recognize from the city's chicest boutique hotels. The store was founded in 2014, with a minimalist yet luxurious philosophy and a commitment to elevating fine Mexican design. If you're looking for Mexican handicrafts that are a step above what you might find in the local markets, Onora is the right place.

On the ground floor of a handsome Porfirian town house, this striking showroom displays the colorful furniture and housewares of celebrated designer Andrés Gutiérrez. These often chunky, curvy pieces, from lamps and bookends to end chairs and dining tables, are cast in eye-catching colors and make bold design statements. His pieces often look as though they'd fit perfectly in one of Luis Barragán's homes. 

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.

The mission of this beautiful little boutique is to promote and pay consistent and fair wages to artisans and clothing designers from throughout Mexico. The major draw here is women's fashion, including stylishly casual blouses, jackets, pants, and sweaters in earthy hues and constructed with natural fabrics. But there's also an extensive collection of goods for the kitchen and home, including pillows, candles, bowls, and planters. There's a second location in Condesa.

Peruvian designer Sandra Weil opened this shop, her first boutique in Mexico City, in 2012. Combining traditional craftsmanship with high-quality fabrics, including pima cotton, alpaca wool, and silk, her bold designs have become a go-to for the capital's trendsetters. Weil's dresses and separates can be found at stores throughout Mexico, as well as in Miami and Houston, but this one has the most extensive collection.

At this tree-shaded compound founded in 1964 and situated midway between Museo Frida Kahlo and Jardín Centenario, exquisite Japanese-inspired bowls, plates, vases, tea sets, and other ceramics are produced and sold at quite reasonable prices. Ceramics workshops are offered as well, and as you're browsing the wares, you can say hello to the owners' friendly cadre of xoloitzcuintlis (the distinctive hairless dogs that have been a part of Mexican culture for more than 3,500 years).

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 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.

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.  

Owner and chocolatier Luis Robledo, who trained with Daniel Boulud in New York and at the prestigious L'école de Grand Chocolat in Paris, was named best pastry chef in Latin America in a República del Cacao competition. In his light and cheerful boutique on Avendia Amsterdam, you can shop for exquisite bonbons in intriguing flavors (cardamom--chocolate ganache, calamansi, mezcal-sea salt, and pineapple-ginger), or have a seat and sip a lusciously rich hot chocolate or mocha. There's also a selection of cakes, cookies, and French macarons.

With a workshop in operation since 1824, Uriarte Talavera has been making the Talavera pottery emblematic of the town of Puebla for two centuries. If you can't make it to Puebla to see the workshop yourself, this store is a nice substitute, where you can still purchase original handmade Talavera.

This playfully named shop opened by a Cuban-American stylist who relocated to CDMX has been a beacon in the city's fashion community since 2007. Look to the unabashedly over-the-top boutique for carefully curated men's, women's, and unisex threads from top international design houses as well as shoes, bags, and home accessories. 

You could easily miss this tiny artisanal chocolate shop if you walked by too quickly, but there's a pretty good chance the brightly colored handmade bonbons in the display cases might catch your eye. These beautiful little gems with speckles and swirls that look like abstract paintings have distinctive fillings like passionfruit, pistachio, chipotle, and tamarind---more than 50 varieties in all. The boxes of assorted flavors make lovely gifts. You can also order hot chocolate, lattes, and teas to enjoy on one of the handful of sidewalk seats.

This boutique carries modish fashion for the city or the beach, much of it by young, Latinix talents. You can browse slick sunglasses by Mexican-born Miami designer Sunny Patoche, Mónica Márquez chunky women's boots, stylish Paruno men's shoes, and the store's own print tote bags and playful T-shirts. There's an interesting selection of skateboards, too, as well as books and other whimsical gifts.

One of only a few outdoor malls in the city, Antara Polanco has a collection of upscale stores that includes Carolina Herrera, Zara, Hugo Boss, and Coach as well as branches of several luxury stores that are also found along the neighborhood's ritzy Avenida Presidente Masaryk; there are plenty of dining options, too.

A shop, restaurant, and gallery, Artículo 123 first opened in this area otherwise dominated by electricians and hardware stores back in 2012. The food leans toward southeast Asian while the shop up front sells pretty keepsakes and gifts sourced from around Mexico, from carved stone mezcal glasses to cotton napkins and woven hats.