plaza civica

A large fruit and veggie market. A large poultry and meat market. A fish market. Handicraft market a block away. Clothing market, central to just about everything. Noisy, bustling, involved kinda reminds me of the sukhumvit night market in Bangkok. Enough to keep ou busy here for several hours.Good fun.

I think the reviews here can be misleading since there are multiple things being reviewed in one area. When looking at the photos for this, the large white building is the food mercado. There you can find hundreds of fruits and vegetables. This is where we shop exclusively when in Cuenca. Upstairs, you need to try the pork. You will see whole pigs with the heads staring at you, but the meat is wonderful.Outside the mercado are dozens of indigenous people selling their products and food items. Across the street, down an alley way you will find a few dozen wooden stands selling souvenirs, household goods and other things. These are three separate areas lumped into one category.

Worst place to visit, would never go back. If we won a free visit to this town, we would decline. The river is more like a stream and all the restaurants are enclosed, nothing with a view of the stream, the only decent part of the town. Not one restaurant on the river had a view or outside seating. Gorgeous piece of nature and no one can enjoy it while eating.

Barren and nothing but concrete. Nearby farmers market was crowded and nothing new. Noisy traffic, no shade or artwork and uncomfortable benches had me leaving the area after five minutes.

We really loved this zoo. As others have noted, be ready to climb. We were there to witness lunch for the lions, which was fun to watch.

The mercado is very good, huge and clean ; the atmosphere is pleasant, even though some vendedores really want you as a customer (if you're a gringo, everything will cost 1$, not less). We bought a lot of vegetables and fruits there, and it was excellent. When you are not familiar with exotic fruits, you can also try a lot of fun stuff

Cutest place for pottery, woven baskets and bags, simple woodwork furniture and utensils. Really cute kiosks. Everything is already well-priced but easy to negotiate.

Maybe visiting near Xmas is ill advised? Same stuff in each stall but great people watching that reflects Ecuador's diversity. There are other artisan shops nearby with similar & more varied selection.

This is great place to pick up local items to take back with you. You have a great advantage if you speak the language. Everything is negotiable.

This is a great, typical Latin America market with a bit of everything. As residents we often return here to buy various household items for the kitchen. They have lots of souvenir items at great prices (be sure to "haggle").

All that Cuenca is known for is found in the Civic Plaza including great historic buildings, good food and lovely surroundings.

Great place to shop for your local traditional arts and crafts! This is also located next to the 9 de Octubre mercado (market). I was glad we visited and did some last minute shopping!

This market serves both tourists and locals alike. You can't help but like the many examples of textiles and woolen blankets, sweaters, and ponchos offered by the many merchants. And if you are a local looking to buy a pair of knock off shoes or some kitchen supplies, you will surely find vendors hocking their wares. Bargain hard for the things you want. The vendors start off high expecting you to negotiate. While you are there, take the chance to get a snow cone topped with sweet juice flavored syrups capped off with some drizzled sweet condensed milk, served by men pushing a cart carrying the ingredients and a hand operated ice shaver. It is a different type of snow cone than I have ever tasted but it was really good. The cost to this "gringo" was 50 cents but locals pay less. Across the street is the Artesan's market that definitely serves the tourists and offers various examples of traditional Ecuadoran products such as leather goods, jewelry, and Panama hats.

Plaza Civica is a little out of the "Gringo Zone". The square itself is quite nice, but the area around is more interesting. From the middle of the square cross the street and go between two buildings (there was a Banos sign when we were there) and you will find the Artisan Market. Here you can get some real bargains if you haggle. On the opposite side of the square is the Mercado 9 de Octobre. Go inside as the market is quite clean and neat with loads of fruits and vegetables on the main floor, meats on the lower level and food on the upper level. Wander around the area and absorb the atmosphere.

Lots of great streets and night life. Better then the old city of Quito. People are out shopping and enjoying life. It felt safe, there are a lot of American's living in this city. So you'll notice the shops are more fancy and same with the coffee shops. Great Architecture we took tons of photos. Its good to have a guide to tell you the history of all the places in this city.