7 Best Shopping in Minas Gerais, Brazil

The wide range of crafts by regional artisans—including tapestries, embroidery, jewelry, and sculptures—makes this center within the Palácio das Artes complex well worth a visit.

This shop in the Barra neighborhood carries unique sculptures and opens by appointment only, generally in the evenings.

This is one of the best gem shops in town, especially for the rare imperial topaz.

In the more than 400 stores in this beautiful old market dating from 1929 you can find typical products from Minas Gerais such as cheese, guava and milk sweets, arts and crafts, household trinkets, medicinal herbs and roots, and countless varieties of cachaça, the Brazilian sugarcane spirit. Everyone from municipal workers to local celebrities stop by the popular bars inside the market to drink beer and sample the notable appetizers, such as liver with onions. The market is particularly crowded on Saturday.

At the daily handicrafts fair in front of the Igreja de São Francisco de Assis, vendors sell various decorative objects carved in soapstone. Paintings and wood carvings can also be found here.

The small, quiet village of Vitoriano Veloso, more commonly known as Bichinho, is recognized in the region for the quality of its arts and crafts and reasonable prices. It's a good option for a day trip. All artisans are based on the same road that cuts through the village. If you want to see artisans at work, head to Oficina de Agosto, the workplace of Toti Bech, an artist who created the craft tradition of Bichinho some 15 years ago.