Tonalá

Lonely Planet review

This dusty, bustling suburb is about 13km southeast of downtown Guadalajara and home to even more artisans. You can feel this town beginning to take Tlaquepaque's lead, with a few airy, inviting showrooms and cafés opening around town, but it remains happily rough around the edges. It's fun to roam through the dark, dusty stores and workshops. Anything you can buy in Tlaquepaque, you can find here for much less, which is what attracts wholesale buyers from all over the world.

On Thursday and Sunday, Tonalá bursts into a huge street market that sprouts on Av Tonaltecas and crawls through dozens of streets and alleys and takes hours to explore. This is where wholesale meets retail. You'll browse stalls that sell masks, glassware, ceramics, furniture, toys, jewelry, handmade soap and DVDs. There are plenty of torta and taco stands and there's one michelada vendor. You'll have to sift through junk to find great deals and the best pieces are usually found at the workshops and warehouses, not on the street. Still, it's a fun scene.

To reach Tonalá, take bus 275 Diagonal or 275D (both around $4 ). The turquoise TUR bus marked 'Tonalá' has air-con and is more comfortable (around $10 ). All these buses leave Guadalajara from Av 16 de Septiembre; the trip takes about 45 minutes. As you enter Tonalá, get off on the corner of Avs Tonalá and Tonaltecas, then walk three blocks north on Tonaltecas to the tourist office (in the Casa de Artesanos). From the Casa de Artesanos, it's three blocks east and two blocks north to the Plaza Principal.