mercado central

Nothing exceptional. Just another regular popular market. You will find another option on the beach. Special prices for tourists.

Our Cruise ship provided free shuttles to the Mercado Central. This is a 3 story circular building, 500 stores inside, size of a cubby hole. Although the prices were cheap, but they all sell the same thing; T shirt, bikinis, sandals and nuts. Nothing interesting. We what to buy a soccer jersey for my son, we asked around a few stores but none of them don’t have large sizes. I wonder why?? The staff in the stores didn’t seem to care for our business, so we didn’t buy anything. We spent our money in Salvador.

If in Fortaleza you have to go to the Mercado Central, which is a circular building and you wind your self up over about three floors. It is full of bikinis, T shirts, flip flops and various other stuff. As a European, fill your suitcases with bikinis and flip flops (havainas brand) they are silly cheap compared to European prices.

When you're on a cruise, you can choose your itinerary, sure. But sometimes they'll throw a port that makes sense for the ship, but not for you. Fortaleza is one of these places. It's pretty clear that for the tourist, Fortaleza is a place to stretch your legs and hold onto your purse (or wallet) and your reales. Our ship provided free shuttles to the Mercado Central, which is a 5 or 6 story building a little like Water Tower Place in Chicago...without the stores, the merchandise or the glamor. This place, some 25 minutes by bus from the waterfront, invites visitors to wander from stall to stall looking for something Brazilian and nice. Not an easy task. Lots of junk, lots of sandals of questionable origin, maybe a pair of sunglasses if you forgot to pack some, and lots of tacky knick-knacks. But if you are fond of cashews, you are in luck. There are cashews in nut form, wine form and other forms. Go for it. You'll never see so many cashews in one place again.

The Mercado Central (Central market) sure is a place to see. A place to spend a few ours checking the biggest variety of Fortaleza’s handicrafts, lots of things to buy from an incredible variety of clothes, shoes, leather bags and foods, as cashews and Brazilian nuts, plus the cocadas (coconut candy) are awesome . But what I consider a find is a juice place on the parking area of the central market. Just where you pay for parking. Fantastic the quality of the juices and very cheap. If you go there don’t miss this find.

Mercado Central is a good place to go in Fortaleza if you want to see most of what is available in Fortaleza all in one place. But, atmosphere wise I prefer to shop at the booths down by the beach on Beira Mar. As far as I could tell the prices weren't very different, if at all, between the two places. There are also some good tourist shops downtown on the other side of the big Catholic Cathedral from Mercado Central and are within walking distance of Mercado Central. I also would highly recommend the CeART store which is at Av. Santos Dumont, 1589, Aldeota. I think it is run by the government of Ceara (the state Fortaleza is in), and is meant to promote art in the state. I thought the prices were very reasonable and the items were more artisitic, unique and I think they are all handmade. CeART is actually my favorite place for souvenir shopping in Fortaleza. If you don't have a lot of time for shopping, I would just go to the booths on Beira Mar and to CeART and would skip the Mercado Central all together. I've spent quite a bit of time in Fortaleza because my parents live there and I've done a lot of shopping, so trust me on this one. Overall, the Mercado Central is okay, but there is better shopping in Fortaleza.

A big circular market with four floors crammed with small shops that offers very good prices on mostly Brazil-made goods. Clothes dominates - T-shirts, shorts, dresses, bikinis, shirts, shoes, bags, towels... you name it. All to very reasonable prices and still margins for haggle!Normal price for a T-shirt here is about 3 US dollars and beautiful tulle dresses for little girls for less than 9 US dollars.Also there is a lot of hammocks in different shapes for sale.Two restaurants with local food is in operation and in the basement floor you find a suco-stand that produes tasty juices of any kind on the spot.A great place to visit at least one time during a Fortaleza stay. Open all days, but on sundays the number of open shops is reduced and the prices might be higher - especially if you are just arrived and not has got the suntan in place yet...

O Mercado Central, é bem diferente; é um local limpo, onde as lojas vendem produtos típicos da região e artesanato; com destaque para redes, pimentas, castanhas...

Se vc não tiver controle gasta muito...muitas opções, muitas coisas em conta...algumas um pouco caras, mas sempre consegue um valor bom com pechincha...uma maravilha pra comprar lembrancinhas.

Nao se impressionem com a insistencia dos vendedores em te fazer comprar, e nao acredite que o que vendem é couro de jegue ou jumenta, é couro reciclado.

Quem quer conhecer um pouco mais da cultura local e fazer compras baratas e de qualidade, com a marca registrada do cearense, precisa visitar o Mercado Central de Fortaleza. Um imensa variedade de produtos regionais, desde castanha de caju às famosas redes cearenses, bonitas e confortáveis. Detalhe, como a competição das lojas e feiras próximas tem sido cada vez maior, é importante estar atento às negociações na hora de comprar, ou seja, o famoso choro do cliente. Se não chorar, vai comprar mais caro, mas se der uma chorada legal, consegue o melhor preço da cidade, com certeza. Então, vá preparado.

Um grande lugar com vários andares para compras de produtos típicos nordestinos, encontramos pimentas, castanha, artesanatos/lembranças, produtos em couro... os preços são justos.

O mercado central é enorme, conta com escadas e passarelas e lá você vai encontrar de tudo, desde roupas, cachaças, artesanatos gerais, sandálias e bolsas de couro, e também restaurantes.

Nesta última viagem de férias em Fortaleza fizemos um passeio ao Mercado Central e à Feira do Meireles. Me arrependi de não ter comprado tudo quanto é lembrança lá no mercado. Preço melhor e pessoal mais solícito que na feira. O assédio é grande.. mas dá pra rodar tranquilamente, é tanta loja que você não consegue ver tudo. O doce de caju é muito bom. Vale a visita! Abs

É um excelente local para turistas. artesanatos a perder de vista, uma comida tipo caseira e localizado num ambiente ótimo para quem quer fazer compras.