Colonia del Sacramento Shopping

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Before my visit of Colonia I did not imagine I would find any knitwear in Uruguay. While exploring Plaza Mayor area I passed by Penelope, an interesting boutique shop selling women's knitwear made mainly of wool.

And that was not all. When I entered the shop I immediately caught sight of a very beautiful purple zip sweater with the hood, just suchlike that I was unsuccessfully trying to find here for some time. And besides, the price was really good.

No need to say that later on that day I returned and bought the sweater. It is still my favourite one :)))

What to buy: woolen pullovers, sweaters and ponchos

What to pay: from 15 to 30 euros

I can't remember the name of the shop, but I ended up buying a few nice handicrafts at the place in this picture. It's a good idea to browse at a few shops in the historic center before you actually buy something. The quality seems to vary from shop to shop. The shops on the whole were very conducive to browsing with shelves stocked with really interesting little bowls and mugs and picture frames and interesting artistic objects.

What to buy: Whatever you can fit in your suitcase.

There are quite a number of shoe shop around Colonia. Most of them are located on the main road away from the old city.

What to buy: Leather Shoes are quite cheap, so far Colonia has the cheapest leather shoe that I have seen and I thought other place might be cheaper but I was wrong.

What to pay: USD10 for a leather loofers

The Buquebus boats all have duty free shops onboard, so if you just have to have that bottle of whiskey before you get to Colonia, feel free to buy it. You'll also find jewelry, clothing and other products here.

If you feel like fruit or something light then pop into the local supermarkets which is no more that your old fashioned corner shop. They are extremely helpfull even though they do not speak your language. was quite amazed at me buying some milk.

The handicraft market is an open air market with several different clusters of booths and kiosks. Many of the booths sell the same style things, so it would be best to walk around, compare quality, price and designs before you purchase.

What to buy: There are lots of typical souviners like t-shirts, post cards and trinkets. But there are also much more specifically local things like handmade mate tea cups and drinking spoon/straws. There are also many carved wood statues, collectors magnets, knitted clothes, etc.

What to pay: Prices are typically marked in Uruguayan Pesos, Argentinian Pesos and US Dollars. Bartering is not typical, but you may be able to work a discount. Cost is much less in the handicraft market than in the stores in the historical center.

I found this shop in old town on my first trip to Colonia. It is one of the more expensive shops but the quality of the goods is bar none. Uruguay produces a particularly high quality wool yarn that is thick and in wonderful jewel tones. This shop had dozens of items made with the Uruguayan yarn and the items were stunning.

I bought my mother a shawl and she absolutely loved it. She has had people stop her on the street to ask where she got it.

This is a don't miss.

Many shops to buy anything from home furnishings to local tourist junk. Many shops offer hand made wooden collectiable for your home. Others offer paintings and of couse leater items of good quility. Be sure to check them all out some offer supprises.