Mercado de Artesanías La Ciudadela

The Mercado de Artesanías La Ciudadela is Mexico City's best-known crafts market, set on a 1.6-hectare site on Calle Balderas, on the north side of the Plaza de la Ciudadela in the south-west corner of the Centro Histórico. It takes its name from the neighbourhood's landmark, La Ciudadela, a late-colonial royal tobacco factory turned citadel where José María Morelos was held, later a stage of the Decena Trágica of 1913 and since 1944 the Biblioteca de México. On Sundays the plaza opposite hosts open-air danzón dancing to live music.

The market grew out of a series of fairs. In 1965 the city government and the municipality of Zacatlán, Puebla, staged the first crafts exhibition on the site; for the 1968 Olympics artisans were invited from all over the country to show their work here, and the artisans' union that still runs the market was formed that year. The 1970 World Cup brought another round of souvenir sales, and the success of both led to a permanent market, the first of its kind in Mexico.

Today more than 350 vendors from across the country fill its covered aisles, and the range is about as complete as it gets in one place: alebrijes and cartonería skulls, painted ceramics and clay cookware, lacquered trays from Olinalá, embroidered clothing, textiles and rugs, hammocks, glassware, tile-framed mirrors, silver, jewellery, furniture, sombreros, traditional toys and musical instruments. It is cleaner than the city's food markets and pitched at Mexican and foreign visitors alike, so prices are higher than at a village market, but it saves a lot of travelling. Many stalls are small family businesses that take cash only, so bring pesos. Combine it with the Mercado de San Juan or a walk to the Alameda Central.