Shopping in South America
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Av Las Heras
Av Las Heras is lined with souvenir shops, leather shops, chocolate stores and all sorts of places to pick up cheap Argentine trinkets. Items made of carpincho (spotted tanned hide of the capybara, a large rodent) are uniquely Argentine and sold in many of the stores.
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Feria Municipal
There are an abundance of craft markets in the Feria Municipal. It also contains a municipal tourist office.
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Mercado Modelo
Make sure not to miss a visit to Mercado Modelo, one of Peru's most interesting markets. This place sprawls for several blocks and is a thick maze of fresh fruits and vegetables, woven goods, handicrafts, live animals, fish, meats and, most interestingly, the mercado de brujos (witch doctors' market) in the southwest corner.
This area is a one-stop shop for medicine men and has everything you might need for a potent brew: whale bones, amulets, snake skins, vials of indeterminate tonics, hallucinogenic cacti and piles of aromatic herbs. If you'd like to make contact with a brujo for a healing session, this is a good place to start, but be wary of sham shamans. It's best to…
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Barranco
This old hat factory has an interesting museum where you can see how panamas were made over the years and witness them being made in the present. Upstairs there’s a nice café and a cheesy exhibit where you can dress up as a chola cuencana – hat, skirt and all. Plenty of hats are for sale, and you can even custom order a panama (especially important if you have a big head).
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Artecampo
The best place to find fine artesanías (locally handcrafted items), this store provides an outlet for the work of 1000 rural cruceña women and their families. The truly inspired and innovative pieces include leatherwork, hammocks, weavings, handmade paper, greeting cards and lovely natural-material lamp shades.
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El Ateneo Grand Splendid
Though part of the El Ateneo chain, this is no ordinary bookstore – the Grand Splendid occupies a fabulous antique cinema and theater where Carlos Gardel, Argentina’s iconic tango legend, crooned on stage to an adoring crowd. Today, bookshelves crowd the mezzanine. Relive the theatrical magic with coffee on the 1920s-style stage.
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Perugia Bottier
In business for 50 years, this is one of Buenos Aires’ finest women’s shoe stores. The European-inspired designs are made from both Argentine and Italian leathers, and change seasonally. Shoes are handmade and take 10 days to finish; it costs about AR$650 a pair. An annex with different designs is two doors away.
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Papelera Palermo
This fashionable paper store is a dream come true for aesthetically minded writers. Stock up on handmade stationery, journals, stamped wrapping paper, stylish address books and beautiful postcards. Cowhide notebooks and tongue-in-cheek Evita photo albums also make unorthodox vacation mementos.
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Prüne
The Microcentro’s pedestrian thoroughfares are jammed with leather shops and outlets, but Prüne’s collection is easily the most sophisticated and contemporary. This downtown branch of the high-end line is one-stop shopping for distressed leather accessories from wide belts to shoulder bags.
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Guido Mocasines
Men have been coming to Guido’s for over 50 years, buying some of the highest-quality hand-made shoes in the country. Styles are a bit conservative, but they’ll make your feet the best-dressed at the office. There are a few women’s shoes, as well as some bags and belts.
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Centro Comercial Quicentro
Centro Comercial Quicentro Centros comerciales (shopping malls) are nearly identical to their North American counterparts and sell international brands. This mall is open every day (from about 10:00 to 20:30) and has fast-food restaurants inside.
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Draco Store
This menswear store specializes in stylish beachwear, including well-made swim-shorts. You’ll also find jeans, button-downs and T-shirts (in the R$50 to R$70 range) – the best of which bear the names of Rio neighborhoods (Copacabana, Ipanema, Arpoador).
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Casa Lopez
For boots and briefcases that’ll last a lifetime, head to Casa Lopez, a shop that’s been selling high-quality leather jackets, luggage, bags and accessories since 1943. Go elsewhere for youthful fashion – the style here is conservative and classic.
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Comercial Carrillo
For legitimately produced CDs (rather than the pirated versions that abound on the streets), try the small but well-crammed Comercial Carrillo, with a voluminous collection of Venezuelan folk and other styles from around the Caribbean.
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Puerto de Frutos
Check out the Puerto de Frutos, where vendors sell mostly housewares, wicker baskets and dried flowers, along with a modest selection of fruits. Weekends are best, when a large crafts fair sets up.
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Autoría
This cool designers’ showcase, stocked with make-a-statement silver jewelry, edgy art books and whimsical leather desk sculptures, brings a welcome taste of the avant-garde to this suit-and-tie neighborhood.
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Maqui
If you're interested in a finer 'panama' hat than those you see all over the Mariscal, visit the store of Miriam Kelz, who puts the finishing touches on some of Quito's most stylish straw hats.
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La Vega Central
Raspberries, quinces, figs, peaches, persimmons, custard apples… if it grows in Chile, you’ll find it at La Vega Central. Go early to see the hollering vendors in full swing.
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Plaza de Mercado
For a true locals’ experience, head to Plaza de Mercado, a bustling covered market where you can grab plenty of comida corriente, tamales and fresh-squeezed juices.
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Artesania Alpasuri
This humble family-owned shop sells handmade alpaca goods of all types, from sweaters to hats and mittens. If you're a knitting fan, you can even buy skeins of yarn dyed in natural colors.
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Parque Artesanía
On Loma de la Cruz, this is one of Colombia’s best artesanía markets. You’ll find authentic, handmade goods from the Amazon, Pacific coast, southern Andes, and even Los Llanos.
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Plaza Minorista José María Villa
Home to a huge, bustling undercover market with more than 2500 stalls, selling mostly food. It was established in 1984 to remove hawkers from the streets. Open daily.
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CC La Pasarela
CC La Pasarela is a two-story shopping center that’s elbow-to-elbow computers and parts. You’ll find great prices on laptops and repairs.
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Casa del Artesano
Casa del Artesano, on the south corner of the plaza, has a wide range of art souvenirs for sale in a somewhat secure environment.
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Mercado Praia de Pajuçara
The Mercado Praia de Pajuçara is an enclosed craft market on Pajuçara's waterfront selling lacework, hammocks, baskets and ceramics.
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