Mexico

Mexico shopping tends to revolve around folk art and indigenous handicrafts. Step into a good gallery, shop, or market, and you'll be hard pressed to leave empty-handed. Artisans around the country create collector-quality pottery, textiles, glassware, jewelry, masks, and more. For a good overview, visit Cancún's Museo del Arte Popular Mexicano, Cozumel's Discover Mexico, and Mexico City's Museo de Arte Populare. All exhibit works from Mexico's finest folk artistsand all have fabulous gift shops. Puerto Vallarta and San Miguel de Allende have the best overall shopping in Mexico, with galleries showcasing Latin America's most talented artists and artisans, along with silver and gold jewelry in pre-Hispanic and modern designs and clothing from emerging designers.

Oaxaca's rural villages are known for their shiny black or green pottery, woven rugs, and fanciful alebrijes (carved dragons), and it's also worth touring the crafts villages on the shoreline around Lake Pátzcuaro in Michoacán. Vibrant weavings and textiles with pre-Hispanic designs are sold at markets and galleries in San Cristóbal de las Casas. Taxco is the headquarters for all things silver, from delicate earrings to silver tea services. And then there's also the hand-painted Talavera pottery and tiles from Puebla or the handcrafted furnishings from Tlaquepaque and Tonalá outside Guadalajara. Thankfully, most good shops can ship your purchases home.