If you'd like an old-fashioned Puerto Rican market, something likely to be found in a small South American country, visit this offbeat curiosity. In a West Indian structure, the central market is filled with "botanicas" hawking everything from medicinal herbs to Puerto Rican bay rum alongside the housewives crowding elbow-to-elbow bargaining for their daily bread. The Mercado Santurce itself has been active for almost a century. Merchants once would teeter atop heaps of fruit and vegetables with a pair of scales and a fistful of cash. Today the vibe is a little more subdued, but it’s still one of the most atmospheric places in Puerto Rico to forage for local fare, like giant avocados, guineitos (small and very sweet bananas) and mameys.
This is your best chance to pick up some patchouli roots. What are they used for? In religious observances and to kill unruly cockroaches.
Several little cantinas here offer very typical Puerto Rican dishes for lunch, including roast pork, and you can also order the best mango banana shakes on the island. The seafood and criollo restaurants are some of the best in the city, at affordable prices. Stay on into the evening for an off-beat Friday night happy hour that attracts both the buttoned-up and the bohemian looking for a lively time.
The market is located in the heart of Santurce in the metropolitan area of San Juan in a neighborhood known as La Placita. La Placita is a worn world of Creole porches with brightly colored storefronts and cheap beer and cocktails sold in plastic cups along the street.
. Open daily 6am-6pm
GPS COORDINATES: 18.450355, -66.070538
This is your best chance to pick up some patchouli roots. What are they used for? In religious observances and to kill unruly cockroaches.
Several little cantinas here offer very typical Puerto Rican dishes for lunch, including roast pork, and you can also order the best mango banana shakes on the island. The seafood and criollo restaurants are some of the best in the city, at affordable prices. Stay on into the evening for an off-beat Friday night happy hour that attracts both the buttoned-up and the bohemian looking for a lively time.
The market is located in the heart of Santurce in the metropolitan area of San Juan in a neighborhood known as La Placita. La Placita is a worn world of Creole porches with brightly colored storefronts and cheap beer and cocktails sold in plastic cups along the street.
. Open daily 6am-6pm
GPS COORDINATES: 18.450355, -66.070538
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