Search results for

Seoul’s Folk Flea Market is a place where you can buy anything, I mean anything! This scary contraption looks like an invention of a comic book super-villain, but for the small price of 5 dollars you could be tightening those crow’s feet and zapping imperfections in no time! Huzzah! This is truly a special market—with more random wingdings than your grandparents’ attic. To get to the flea market, head to Sinseoldong Station on the light green line, Line 2. I recommend exit 10. After exiting, execute a U-turn, then walk straight for about 20 feet, take a right and walk straight for 280m. Along the way you will see vendors on the street and signage guiding you to the main building.

During my first trip to Shenzhen, a Chinese friend brought us to this market one evening where he often stays for hours drinking and buying tea. You’ll find stall after stall of great quality and a huge variety of teas, as well as tea sets and accessories. The shopkeepers expect you to sit and drink, and don’t worry even if you don’t plan to buy.

Near the pontoon bridge in Handelskade in Willemstad, wooden boats from Venezuela dock alongside the canal, and vendors here sell just-caught fish and tropical fruits and vegetables (plantains, citrus, papayas, avocados) directly from the quay under the shade of tents. Mornings are the best time to visit, for the finest selection of produce, the cooler temperatures before the midday sun shines, and the pleasant ambience of the hours before the crowds arrive.

On a weekend morning, hop on Metro Line 10 to the Panjiayuan station and take exit B. Just down the road is the sprawling Panjiayuan Market, where hundreds of vendors sell their wares. It’s essential to bring cash, patience, and a willingness to bargain. While there aren’t authentic antiques here, you will find loads of curios from the 1950s onward, including a superb selection of colorful propaganda posters at a fraction of what they sell for in central Beijing shops, as well as lacquerware, teapots and cups, jewelry, chopsticks, and textiles. Larger items, like traditional carved-wood furniture and substantial framed paintings, can easily be stowed in one of the taxis that wait patiently near the entrance for happy shoppers.

Dried fruits, nuts and more at Djemaa el Fna, I didn’t know what most of the items were but was sure to try 90% of them and everything was delicious. Moroccan food is amazing but only when eaten in Morocco!

I favor several hotel brands in certain parts of the world. It’s The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota for a Florida beach location perfect for family fun and here’s why: The airport is a short ride from The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota and serviced by several carriers. The hotel will pick you up by prior arrangement (fee) making it even easier for you. The hotel’s Jack Dusty restaurant offers a beautiful breakfast but dinner is even more special with a seafood-focused menu that is creative and done right. Nearby, the upscale-casual Shore on St. Armands Circle is great too. A free shuttle to this appealing area famous for shopping and dining is provided by the hotel. The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota has a Ritz Kids (club) to keep the littles engaged. Or hop on the free scheduled shuttle to the Beach Club to enjoy a day at the kid-friendly pool or under an umbrella at the beach. Enough sun? Visit the inspirational Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, or see the Ringling Museum’s depiction of a circus and encampment via thousands of handmade figures created by one man over 50 years, or tour the Ringling mansion Ca’d’Zan to see a gilded slice of life. Parents should relax. Rooms redone in soothing ocean tones, an inviting lobby, a sleek Club Lounge, and sparkling event spaces invite you to slow down. Swim in the pool or paddle a SUP or kayak on the bay. The Spa has created a package of several treatments to relax you, so take advantage of it. For family fun, walk the Downtown Farmers’ Market. Don’t miss fresh-squeezed orange-strawberry juice from Jordan’s Farm. For lunch, try the locals’ favorite, Nancy’s Bar-B-Q, to get down with some of the best barbecue ever. Sun, beach, and making fun family memories, it’s all here in Sarasota.

In true Berlin fashion, flea markets are not hard to find. One of the newer fleas takes place every Sunday at Mauerpark. I arrived on the early side, around 10am, and the space was already buzzing with locals on the hunt for vintage items, second-hand bikes, and inexpensive clothes. I wandered aimlessly through the park for about an hour, just taking in the sights and sounds of the city. At 3 p.m., a live karaoke party breaks out. It’s the perfect place to release your inner diva. Both the U-Bahn and the S-Bahn stop at Schönhauser Allee, as does the M1 tram.

Every Wednesday morning in my neighborhood near Fatih Mosque, the traffic disperses, the roads are closed, plastic canopies are strewn from building to building, and thousands of stalls bursting with color and produce are set up across several blocks. It’s my favorite day of the week because not only do I get to rub shoulders with the locals, I can also grab a bargain of fruit and vegetables, cheeses, olives, herbs, spices, kitchen odds and ends, clothes, shoes, bags and haberdashery. Not all the fashions are geared to the western tastes, but wandering through the makeshift open-air markets is highly entertaining as vendors compete over offering the cheapest bargains with the loudest voice. It’s also an opportunity to better understand how the locals live—just keep in mind that the market is in a somewhat conservative neighborhood, so dress modestly to avoid becoming the main attraction.

Unlike the smaller venues which typically host markets once or twice a week, the V&A Market on the Wharf is open daily. If you are staying at accommodation in the V&A Waterfront or Greenpoint area, the is a great market to grab a drink and snacks for a picnic in the park or up Signal Hill. You can find homemade biltong, dried fruits, Cape Malay spices, and artisanal cheeses. If all this talk of food makes your mouth water, several of the vendors sell prepared meals like wraps, pies, salads, etc. For good ice cream, stop by The Creamery’s stall. You can sit outside when the weather is nice, but there is also seating on the upper level (as well as a bar) which makes it a great winter activity, too.

For a relatively quiet town, Tlaxcala (population 73,000) boasts a booming and bustling municipal market that can occupy you for hours. Under the modern cantilevered metal roof you’ll find perhaps a dozen stalls making tortillas on the spot, and scores upon scores of vendors selling cooking utensils, dried chiles and beans, shoes and clothing, souvenirs, fresh vegetables and meats, and more. We picked up a pair of comals and a couple of wooden spatulas for the pesos equivalent of a few dollars. The market is just a short walk from the town-center zocalo, where you can take a break on a bench under huge shade trees or settle into one of the cafes that border the square.

On a street that looks a lot like one in the French Quarter of New Orleans sits one of the best markets on the planet. The Pan African Market is three stories of small shops filled with collectibles from all over Africa. My favorite section was on the second floor, full of masks and unique items I hadn’t seen anywhere else. I walked off with a weathered pink leather jewelry box from Nigeria. And while you decide if you really should buy the gigantic ceremonial headpiece made of purple feathers, take a rest at the cozy cafe on the second floor, decorated with African statues and random American paperbacks. Plop down on a comfy couch, order a tea, and watch the world walk by below.

Marché aux Puces de St-Ouen, aka Clignancourt, is Europe’s largest flea market and the city’s favorite place to find a bargain. Exiting the Métro at Porte de Clignancourt, those in the know pass by the counterfeit designer-goods hawkers, avoid the parking lot with camper vans full of cheap goods, and head under the overpass to Rue des Rosiers. Groups of stalls form smaller flea markets, each with its own specialty, so shopping can feel like walking through a museum where you can actually buy things. The market called Serpette draws serious dealers looking for mid-century marvels, but shoppers who head as far as Jules Vallès market may score some true bargains. Of course, this is France, where food matters, so there are plenty of local cafés to choose from. Ma Cocotte is trendy chic, La Chope des Puces has live jazz with moules frites, and Chez Louisette draws a crowd nostalgic for French tunes with its simple steak frites.

I’m generally more of a details guy, but now and again there’s a place for a high-level, 30,000 foot view of a place (and cheesy sociology jargon). Kota Bharu’s massive central market is not for the feint of heart - or the vegetarian. The central section, depicted here, is generally where you’ll find standard fruits and veggies. If you wander deeper into the bowels of the complex, you’ll find a rather intense wet market (men chopping beef flanks like a lumberjack would fell an oak, pig intestines hung like festive garlands, and unscrupulous vendors hawking sea turtle eggs). We visited with a few travel friends, and I think I was the only one from the group who could handle the sensory assault. I found parts of this market particularly disturbing (just a whole lot of things going on I’m not used to seeing anyplace else), but as a travel experience - whoa, yeah. I’ll never forget this one. I must have shot more than 400 photos in the couple of hours I dragged our party through this complex. I’ll focus on the details in a future post.

Night markets are a quintessential Taiwan experience. Young couples, families, retirees, and swarms of teenagers descend upon these markets to graze, gossip, flirt, play, and graze some more. Lately, the ones in Taipei have been over-run by camera-toting tourists. For a real local experience, head to the charming town of Tainan. Generally laid-back and filled with colonial relics left behind by the Dutch and Japanese, Tainan also has one of the liveliest--and most local--night markets I’ve been to in recent years. Plunge into the food stall section and try specialties like oyster omelets, hand-made mochi filled with peanut or black sesame, and sausages made with sticky rice. Then head over to the cacophonous games section and watch punters try their luck for an enormous stuffed animal. (The kiddie ping-pong version of pachinko is particularly amusing/perturbing.) Had enough? Push you way back through the crowds and if you’re in luck, you’ll find the vendor selling the most exquisite pink guava mixed with sour plum powder.

Street-food markets are all the rage the world over, and in Vienna you have the chance to visit one that’s been around for many centuries. Built literally over the channeled Vienna River, just beyond the Ringstrasse, the Naschmarkt is devoted to what its name happens to sound like in English: noshing. Whether you order a spicy wurst, browse the fish and cheese stalls, or purchase local products like pumpkin-seed oil and apple vinegar, the Naschmarkt is one of the city’s most enjoyable simple pleasures. In recent years, some gastronomic and ethnic food stalls have expanded into full restaurants. For decades, 400 dealers have set up their Saturday flea market next door, where shoppers hunt for bargains among books, record albums and CDs, and antiques.