368 Best Places to Shop in Mexico

This shopping mall is lively and full on weekends and evenings, even when others are dead. Its anchors are the Soriana supermarket and the second-floor casino. Surrounding these are tiny stores dispensing electronics, ice cream, fresh flowers, and more. This is also a good place for manicures and haircuts. Adding to the commercial center's appeal is the six-screen Cinemex movie theater.

The Plaza de las Artesanías Miguel Alemán market on the Paseo de Malecón purveys high-quality goods, including leather and jewelry, with high prices to match. It's open daily 11 to 8.

Shopping in the maze of antiques stores of Plaza del Angel is at its liveliest on Saturday. Combine a trip here with one to the Mercado Insurgentes, the crafts market across the way, for a full day of shopping.

An outdoor mall conveniently located across the street from San José del Cabo’s string of resorts, Plaza del Pescador offers guests an alternative to hotel dining. You'll find everything from sushi and gelato to tapas and a wine bar. Among the 25 shops and restaurants are a bookstore, jewelry store, fitness gym, and coffee shop.

Around 80 shops that sell mainly clothing, jewelry, and souvenirs fill this small mall, but the Outback Steakhouse and Bubba Gump restaurants are the main attraction for many visitors.

In addition to housing about 30 shops and restaurants, this mall also hosts art exhibits and other cultural events. While parents shop, kids can enjoy the games arcade and play area.

Near the convention center, the large Plaza la Fiesta probably has the Zona Hotelera's widest selection of Mexican goods, including jewelry, clothing, handicrafts, alcohol, and other assorted souvenirs. Look carefully at what you buy, though: not everything here is made in Mexico. There are some good bargains, but this is not a place to haggle.

Nuevo Vallarta was in dire need of a proper, non-tourist-oriented shopping center, and that's exactly what Lago Real is—an unpretentious mall featuring a wide array of shops and services including Walmart, Cinépolis, Telcel, a food court, and several banks.

With 100-plus shops, several big department stores and restaurants, two movie theaters, a video arcade, and plenty of fast-food outlets El Centro's shopping mecca will—for better or worse—make you feel right at home. The mall is intolerably crowded on weekends.

This pleasant mall houses more than 114 stores and eateries (including Sears and McDonalds) plus the Cinépolis movie theater complex.

This family-friendly mall features restaurants, shops, and cinemas.

One long block south of the airport, this mall has several banks with ATMs, a dry cleaner, a photo-developing shop, a pharmacy, a café, an Internet café, and several bars and shops. The whole place is anchored by the Mega Soriana supermarket and a McDonald's.

This small mall in the heart of the marina district is home to a number of fine-home-furnishing shops, several classy clothing boutiques, and, just behind it, a few good, casual restaurants.

This Mexican-colonial-style outdoor mall in Playacar sells handcrafts, clothes, jewelry, and specialty items like tequila and cigars. There is also a Starbucks.

This fancy, multilevel shopping mall is across from the downtown cruise-ship dock. A covered pedestrian walkway leads over the street from the ships to the center, which houses several jewelry, sportswear, and souvenir stores, as well as ice-cream shops and chain restaurants and bars such as Hooters and Señor Frog's.

Flowers, piñatas, produce, and plastics share space in indoor and outdoor stands with souvenirs and lesser-quality crafts. Upstairs, locals eat at long-established, family-run restaurants.

Though you probably didn't come on vacation to go to the mall, it's quite nice to have one as conveniently located as Puerto Paraíso, which sits pretty right on the marina. There are some practical stores that may come in handy in a pinch (like an AT&T and MacStore for electronics), as well as many places to buy beachwear and accessories. There's also a bank (Scotiabank), which is a safe place to withdraw cash in pesos, and a grocery store (Selecto Súper Chedraui), should your place have a kitchen that you'd like to stock up. Or if you just need to catch your breath after disembarking a boat, the mall is ready and waiting with its refreshing air conditioning and public restrooms.

Known for her feminine color palette and extravagant silhouettes, Raquel Orozco is part of the new guard of Mexican fashion designers. This Polanco boutique is her flagship store, stocked with a full range of clothing and accessories. Pieces can also be found at the Palacio de Hierro department stores in Polanco and Santa Fe and at a second boutique in Antara Fashion Hall.

One of a few shops around Roma where you can find vinyl LPs, this funky little shop has an especially impressive selection, including hard-to-find treasures from Latin America and Europe. And you can listen before you buy on a handful of turntables in the store. Prices are fair, and the cheerful staff is very helpful.

The helpful owners of this boutique ceramics shop will help customers choose among the different types of Guanajuato majolica ceramic ware, mostly smaller items in finely rendered and tasteful designs. Prices are very reasonable. It's open daily 10 to 8.

One of the better vintage shops in town, this small but well-stocked boutique is part of a small collection of stores run by curator and stylist Nata Paniagua. You'll find a range of fashionable goods here: retro T-shirts, leather jackets, designer labels, jewelry, sunglasses, cowboy boots, and much more.

Rubio Jewelers carries fine gold, silver, and platinum jewelry. It's also Mazatlán's exclusive distributor of Sergio Bustamante's whimsical ceramic and bronze sculptures.

With a superb selection of small-batch mezcals, this tiny shop is a must if you're looking for a great sippable Mexican souvenir or gift. The staff is extremely knowledgeable and helpful, and you'll find (and can sample) some truly special, and spendy, bottles here, but others are more in the 400 to 600 pesos range. You'll also find a few other specialty food items, such as Oaxacan coffee and sal de gusano, salt with ground agave-fattened worms.

Sagitario's Gift Shop features clothing and a variety of crafts, including wood carvings, baskets, rugs, and Talavera tile.

Everything in this eco-boutique is locally sourced, from stylish beach clothing to notebooks shot and bound by a local photographer.

San Miguel Shoe features a delightful selection of locally crafted shoes and sandals in a rainbow of colors, all designed for walking on cobblestones. Look for them in other boutiques throughout town as well.

A countrywide institution, Sanborns is a good place to find English-language newspapers, magazines, and books; basic cosmetics and toiletries; and high-quality souvenirs. There are three Acapulco branches in total, but this one is the most accessible.

For silver jewelry, check out Santa Prisca.