368 Best Places to Shop in Mexico

Located on the main square—right next to the restaurant Atrio de Mayab—this small shop sells a well-curated and diverse selection of clothing, crafts, jewelry, pottery, and masks from throughout Mexico.

Near L.A. Cetto, Dona Lupe's store-meets-restaurant sells organic jams, chili marmalades, olive spreads, cheeses, salsas, oils, wines, breads, and other local delicacies. Products can be shipped to the United States.

This government-run craft store offers all kinds of items, both from the state of Yucatán and other parts of Mexico, at fair prices. There's a smaller location in front of the Palacio Cantón on the Paseo de Montejo, but this main branch offers the best selection.

The Cuban cigars for sale here start at around 85 MXN ($4) each and top out at about 4,000 MXN ($200) for a Cohiba Siglo VI (by order only; they don't keep these in stock). You can smoke your stogie downstairs in the casual lounge while sipping coffee or enjoying a shot of Cuban rum.

La Casa del Quijote is a one-stop shop for high-end gifts and handicrafts. There are two floors of merchandise, offering a huge selection of crafts from all over Mexico. The staff speaks English well and are happy to help customers learn about the store's wares, which emphasize jewelry and pottery.

Guanajuato's best-loved candy store has a large, organized selection of typical sweets of the region, and most come in a variety of sizes and presentations. There are samples throughout the store of most of the different caramels, fruit and coconut candies, and liqueurs, too. There's another branch at Plazuela de los Angeles 74 (Tel. 473/734–0203).

Opposite the east end of Plaza de Armas is La Cazzorra, a collectibles shop with authentic antiques, books about Zacatecas, Mexican handicrafts, rebozos (traditional woven wraps), embroidery, and a fine selection of jewelry from the local silver factory. The owners put on temporary exhibitions of different kinds of art or local handicrafts, and are a good source of information about the city.

La Florecita is a small shop that sells exclusively handmade clothing and fabric, including blouses and shawls, from 10 of Mexico's top textile-producing states. The friendly owner, Irma, often works in the store herself.

One of the few stores that stands out from the rest is La Fuente, with its huge assortment of women's resort wear as well as housewares and gifts.

The inventory of folk art and utilitarian handicrafts is large, and each piece is unique. Scoop up masks and pottery from Michoacán, textiles and shawls from Guatemala, hammocks from the Yucatán, and lacquered boxes from Olinalá.

Small but with a well-chosen selection of books, this fun and free-spirited bookstore puts an emphasis on art and architectural titles. It also has benches where you can enjoy a cup of coffee while you peruse any books you're thinking about purchasing. There's a nice assortment of decorative gifts and knickknacks for sale, too.

La Isla inches ahead of The Harbor when it comes to store selection, though both have pulled ahead of their competitors for the title of most-luxe mall in town. The department store Liverpool is the anchor at La Isla, but Zara and H&M are also big draws. The back of the mall has a row of restaurants overlooking a man-made lake. As with any of Mérida's malls, it may not be on your sightseeing shortlist, but if you have a longer stay in the city, air-conditioned window shopping may be appealing on warm days.

The largest, newest, and most modern shopping mall in Puerto Vallarta, La Isla features top-shelf boutiques, gourmet restaurants, and VIP cinema theaters. Its only con is that it's outdoors, which makes it hard to walk around in the heat of the summer or during rainy days.

This magical shop features the works of Arnulfo Mendoza, a top weaver. His rugs, made using hand-dyed silk and wool, have incredibly intricate designs. It's no wonder that some of his larger pieces sell for several thousand dollars. There's also a gallery showing the works of many Oaxacan artists.

La Querencia is a colorful cavern of Latin American art, clothing, and furniture—from the playful to the sublime and with prices to match.

La Sacristia has a fine selection of Talavera pottery, traditional and contemporary Mexican jewelry, blown glass, and contemporary paintings. The glassware is incredible.

This sophisticated Latin American design store offers a collection of pieces from Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. Here you'll find leather goods, ceramics, clothing, and accessories from emerging and established brands. The two-story space itself is similarly impressive, with six huge windows facing out onto the street and creative product displays inside.

The Mérida-based bookstore chain Dante, with a location on Plaza Grande as well as eight others around the city, has the best selection of Spanish-language books about the peninsula's history, culture, cuisine, and more. It is especially strong on books for kids and works dealing with Yucatecan flora and fauna. This branch is the largest of its locations, a little north of central Mérida on the Prolongación Paseo de Montejo.

Selling books in both English and Spanish—not to mention CDs and high-end gifts—the bookstore adjoins an independent coffeehouse.

This spot has an extensive selection of books on Maya culture, along with used English-language books. Profits from all English-language tomes are donated to Mexican schools to buy textbooks.

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.

Libros y Arte, near the zócalo, has a wonderful collection of books, including coffee-table volumes on the art and architecture of Veracruz, Mexican music, and plenty of maps and travel guides.

This boutique right in the center of town has an excellent selection of beach-chic essentials including wraps, swimsuits, beach bags, and flip-flops. Lolita also has jewelry and some home goods. Their men's offerings are not as extensive as their women's, but they do carry some trunks and shirts.

Go beyond Cuervo and Patrón at Los Barriles de Don Malaquias, which specializes in rare tequilas. The tequila selection is complemented by a good collection of Cuban cigars. Owner Rigoberto Cuervo Rosales is often on-site to offer tequila tastings.

Lupita's has been selling colorful women's apparel—including handmade pieces from Oaxaca, Yucatán, Chiapas, and Guatemala—for nearly 30 years. It's usually open Monday through Saturday (with a break for siesta from 2 to 5:30).