18 Best Shopping in Venezuela

One area that continues to draw crowds, even if it is somewhat seedy and unsavory, is the Bulevar de Sabana Grande. Once a main traffic thoroughfare, this is a bustling promenade where Caraqueños converge to browse in the tiny shops or chat over a marrón grande (large coffee) in one of the many cafés that line the streets. The area can be crowded, so beware of pickpockets.

The Central Comercial Ciudad Tamanaco, east of Las Mercedes in the suburb of Chuao, attracts crowds with its upstairs cinemas, fast-food restaurants, and swanky boutiques.

Centro Sambil, the largest mall in South America, is a five-level behemoth packed with more than 500 shops, restaurants, theaters, and even amusement-park rides.

El Buzcón is a fantastic book shop in the basement of the Paseo Las Mercedes Mall. You can find used art books, reading material about Venezuela, calendars with photographs of local animal life, and even colorful journals.

El Recreo is the newest of the large-scale malls and boasts the best food court in the city.

Galeria Tierra y Arte, on the third floor of the Mercado Principal, has some great wooden pieces among some ghastly artwork—take your time and you can score a few gems.

On the same floor of the mall you'll find a great little chocolate shop called Kakao —choose an artistic little box emblazoned with artwork by local artists, and fill it with the elegant chocolates behind the counter. Flavors range from Earl Grey to parchita (passionfruit), ron (rum), and even culo de bachaco (literally "ass of the ant"), a spicy concoction that really is filled with ground-up ants—a traditional delicacy in some parts.

Sift through the cheesy mass-produced stuff to find great handicrafts by local artists at La Calle Mayor, on the third floor of the Mercado Principal.

La Casa del Paramo is great one-stop shopping for Andean souvenirs: there are three rooms filled with local wood carvings, paintings, sculptures, and jewelry to peruse.

For gift-worthy jams, jellies, pickled goods, dried fruits, and sweets, go past the fruit-and-vegetable section on the first floor to Labrantía.

Besides its restaurants and clubs, Las Mercedes is overflowing with fancy boutiques and fashionable shops. The most exclusive are often tucked into side streets. Avoid its main strip, Avenida Principal de Las Mercedes, which has an overwhelming collection of cheap clothing stores.

One of the most popular markets is the Thursday- and Saturday-morning Mercadito de Chacao, where you can stroll through the stands overflowing with fruits and vegetables. It's a block from Avenida Francisco de Miranda in the Chacao district.

The best souvenirs to be found in Mérida are the traditional carved wooden sculptures (often depicting saints, Simóon Bolívar, or angels) made in small surrounding mountainside villages such as Tabay. If possible, head straight to the source—driving around Tabay looking for streetside vendors and "artesanías" (crafts) signs pointing toward homes is our favorite way to go—but you can also have a look around the nearly 500 stalls of the Mercado Principal de Mérida, which offer everything from flores (flowers) and frutas (fruits) to crafts and recuerdos (souvenirs). Begin your morning by sampling traditional Andean pasteles (pocketlike pastries) filled with pork, chicken, or beef. You can take home a cuatro (traditional four-string guitar) or a supposedly hand-loomed blanket from any of the dozens of shops that crowd the top two floors. The quality here has taken a nosedive in recent years (though it's still great fun to explore these stalls), so consider making your big purchases elsewhere.

Morera, if tiny, has some of the best textile work in Mérida. In the back hallway on the second floor of the Mercado Principal, this glass-enclosed shop twinkles with possibility: choose between turquoise, magenta, chocolate-brown, and ivory woven throw pillows; handmade silk scarves; lush throws; and intricate, mixed-fiber table runners. You can't go wrong here. If you really fall in love with the shop, take a short cab ride to their mountainside outpost (Pedregosa Alta, Via Principal, Km 3.6 0274/266–1545 and shop with a view.)

Las Mercedes has its own sprawling shopping complex, Paseo de Las Mercedes.

Rattan is great for everyday shopping such as clothing, imported goods, sunscreen, sunglasses, and bug spray—this is Margarita's answer to Target.

Sambil is a chain of Venezuelan malls with a 250-store outlet on the island. You can find some great bargains here.

San Ignacio is a mall in La Castellana with fine shopping (such as Merrell, Dockers, Swatch, and Guess, plus much more interesting boutiques) and even better nightlife.