Municipal Crafts Market

The shops are overpriced and although some vendors are nice, others can be extremely rude. The owner of the shop pictured below told me "Too expensive for you" when I asked him the price of the coffee. Presumably this was because he overheard me trying to bargain with another shopkeeper. And he is only selling the same things you can find elsewhere for double the price. Absolutely unacceptable behavior. This place is meant for gringo tourists who will pay high prices because they are naive. The man in charge of the shop pictured below should not be allowed to have a stall here, he is a disgrace to the place. I would have taken a picture of him to upload if he hadn't escaped somewhere to hide.

I made my way in and of course every place is a hard sell. There is bargaining to be had there. Don't pay the asking price but searching around you might find some cheaper places. Careful of people crowding you. The average discount was about twenty five percent. Keep in mind these people are earning their living. Don't get gouged but don't bargain to hard. It's part of the fun. You can tell the real asking price Got a nice set of hardwood coasters for about ten dollars. There are some craftsman there. I'm sure it is better out in the country. But of course the vendor said some places in the country are not safe because of all of the refugees and drug trafficking , but you never know if that's marketing. But the driver I had also reflected not to walk around alone in the city center.

I did not enjoy this place. The aisles are very narrow, you get harangued about 70 times, and I don't enjoy every shop owner approaches me. If one shop would post clear prices and let a customer browse - they would be instantly the most successful booth. I'm a tourist that went here to spend money, and I ended up with nothing.

It's okay, small, if you've traveled around costa Rica nothing here will be of surprise or be something of interest. Will be pricier than elsewhere. Hard to browse because vendors are on you, but if you need last minute souvenirs you can get it here.

All the souvenir shops in one place. Nice products, friendly people ,little bargain and you buy !Very close to the Plaza de la cultura.

Good place to buy the souvenirs for home and friends. You have to bargain on anything, vendors will sell. A few vendors could speak English enough to do business and polite ( no pushing).

Some things are honestly priced. Others aren't. Do not buy your coffee and chocolate there. The choco and coffee I bought was half the price at Walmart... Definitely some collusion between merchants.

Excellent tourist souvenir market. Was not overly crowded on the weekday. Many stalls with similar items, so don't feel pressured to buy, can shop around and see which shop owner you like the best or can give a good discount. If you are a foreigner this is likely a good stop as it is on a main walking avenue in centro San Jose.