The Best Markets in Brazil

Antiques Fair (São Paulo): Every Sunday from 10am to 5pm there's an antiques fair in the open space beneath the MASP building on Avenida Paulista. Dealers are registered, and the quality of the wares is often good.

Japanese Market (São Paulo): One of the largest Asian street markets takes place every Sunday on the Praça da Liberdade (next to the Liberdade Metrô stop) in São Paulo's Liberdade neighborhood. The city's Japanese residents celebrate their heritage with an excellent and inexpensive selection of Japanese cuisine and arts and crafts.

Mercado Modelo (Salvador; tel. 071/3243-6543): Souvenir junkies will think they've died and gone to heaven. In the former Customs building, this market has around 300 merchants selling a large variety of souvenirs: leather goods, hammocks, instruments, masks, carvings, paintings, lace, terra-cotta figurines, and jewelry.

Mercado Adolpho Lisboa (Manaus; tel. 092/3233-0469): This beautiful iron-and-glass market hall is a great place to see exotic Amazonian fish, fruit, and vegetables. A number of stalls have indigenous handicrafts at reasonable prices.