ScheduleScheduleScheduleWhen you have had enough of shopping on the busy Kalverstraat, head to the Nine Streets (de 9 Straatjes) for a more authentic and relaxing experience. In an area constructed in the first half of the 17th-century, the nine side streets, located a mere two minutes walk from Dam Square, connect the main canals between Leidsegracht and Raadhuisstraat. The names...

Is it Chatuchak, or Jatujak? The Weekend Market? JJ? It’s all of those; it just depends on which sign you’re reading, or whom you’re talking to. Whatever its name, the market is a colossal, fun, and chaotic destination. JJ also lends new meaning to the term “hot and crowded,” and this sprawling mammoth of stalls sells just about everything under...

Chain store Daiso specializes in cheap wares made in China for the Japanese shopper. Branches can be found throughout the world, and there are over thirty in Bangkok. They have everything your household does or doesn’t need, all for sixty baht per item. It’s hard to resist a face and foot massager to improve circulation, or tatami mats, or blue and white ceramic...

Watches for 50 baht, rhinestone frame glasses for 80 baht, a shop that deals in ribbons, leopard print baseball caps, pink terrycloth hot pads… cheap, gaudy costume jewelry by the boatload… no one really needs any of it. But come here on the weekend and you will be squashed by the mobs. Pity the poor men with hand trucks loaded...

Four major streets meet at Victory Monument but it feels more like fourteen. This is a major hub for travelers, with dozens of bus lines that stop here, minivans departing for the outskirts and other towns, and a BTS skytrain station. The circle of little streets and sidewalks around the Monument are busy with stalls selling food – everything from...

Yaowarat Road is the heart of Chinatown in Bangkok and a must-see for anyone who wants to immerse him or herself in Chinese culture. It’s bustling all the time. The street is lined with traditional Chinese pharmacies that sell herbal and medicinal remedies, gold shops, and dim sum parlors. There are some good hotels here, including Shanghai Mansion, which used...

Cadwell’s Downtown Flea Market opened in 1983 and is still going strong. Its 65 vendors offer a good variety of antiques and collectibles at good prices, from beer steins and vintage clothing to records and tools. There’s a lot to look at, making it easy to get waylaid here, but you’ll probably also want to browse the nearby Main Street...

This family owned and operated downtown dime store has been in business for more than 50 years. It’s absolutely packed with all kinds of novelties, practical items like glue and kitchen utensils, toys, things you haven’t seen in years, and things you have no earthly use for (but why let that stop you?). Who can resist bobbing-head figures, John Wayne...

Main Street Flea Market has 60 booths selling antiques and collectibles, including china, albums, quilts, glassware, books, dolls and much more. It, along with neighbor Cadwell’s Downtown Flea Market, makes downtown a good bet for people who like looking at things from our past and maybe even giving them a new home.

A little bit garage sale, a little bit flea market and a whole lot of fun. Dig for treasure through piles and piles (literally) of ‘stuff’, from the useless, to the useful, to the “what the heck is it?” All plopped on tables and on the ground at this, the oldest flea market in Brussels. Located in the Marolles district,...

Park the car and walk east of the rotary for this sampling of shops on Chatham’s Main Street => Main Street Pottery (508-945-0128), 645C Main Street. See Yellow Umbrella Books for books. Mark August Designs (508-945-4545), 490 Main Street. Functional and fun, creative and artsy decorative items for your house. Jewelry, too. Chatham Candy Manor (508-945-0825), 484 Main Street. Hand-dipped...

In recent years, the quality of Main Street stores in Falmouth has risen, sidewalks have been repaved, benches added, and flower beds and boxes are overflowing. You can pass a couple of hours here easily. To get you started => Maxwell & Co. (508-540-8752), 200 Main Street. Absolutely fine men’s and women’s clothing. Twigs (508-540-0767), 178 Main Street. Practical, decorative, and...

Here are a few shops you’ll find on or near Main Street in Hyannis, to whet your appetite => Artist Shanties (508-862-4678), Bismore Park, on the waterfront. Taking a page out of the playbook of Nantucket’s waterfront area, these little shacks are occupied by 15 juried artists, including one revolving one. Mediums vary from watercolors and pastels to tapestries and...

The sweet Lemon Tree Village in Brewster has 15 shops and eateries worth poking around, if you’re a real shopper. Of note: Lemon Tree Pottery (508-896-3065), for hand crafted wares; Brewster Birdhouse (508-896-1522), for fine feathered friend finds; and the Village Toy Store (508-896-8185), for kids of all ages.

Mashpee Commons, a former strip-shopping area, has been reverted back into an award-winning, “traditional” New England town center. The town planners are forward-looking here: Bent on preventing sprawl-inducing mistakes from perpetuating themselves, they created a more sustainable, and aesthetically pleasing, downtown district that has become a magnet for tourists and locals alike. Now an easy mixture of boutiques, restaurants, office...

This is just a tiny sampling on shops on Commercial Street in Provincetown => Womencrafts, #376, a Provincetown institution. Now Voyager Bookstore, #357, serving the community’s gay and lesbian book needs. Hersheldon’s Leather, #317, all the right jackets (or briefcases or shoes). Cabot’s Candy, #276, making its own saltwater taffy since 1969. Provincetown Bookshop, #246, with a good selection of...

The Gulabsingh Johrimal shop is wonderful place to wander into when the smell of the street gets a bit too much. Here they sell their own brands of incense sticks, incense oils, soaps and attar. Attar is the concentrated perfumes extracted from flowers, herbs, spices or bark. The most common ones come from roses, jasmine and sandalwood. The manufacturing side...

France boasts some of the best markets in Europe and many of these can be found in the South West. Arguably the finest of all is in the Dordogne at Sarlat. There are two markets throughout the week but the best is the Saturday event. This spreads right through the Old Town and along the main street, the rue de la...

For a perfect example of the sort of bizarre kitsch which Dubai does so well, head to the wacky Egyptian-themed Wafi leisure complex, complete with giant statues of assorted pharaohs, plus copious quantities of obelisks, pillars, pyramids, and heiroglyphs galore. The whole thing looks like it’s been airlifted straight out of Vegas (or perhaps the pages of Asterix), while the...

The “new market” dates from the 16th century. Though it once housed items such as wool, silk and gold, today it’s largely a collection of vendors selling shamelessly cheap (often Chinese-made) souvenirs, leather goods and seasonal flowers. The bronze Piglet Fountain (Fontana del Porcellino), on the south side, dates from the 17th century which is a copy of the original...