Teguise market is a huge market that turns the whole city center of Teguise into a huge market and hangout place. Join us as we hang around, do some people watching and enjoying life amongst beautiful artwork and handicrafts. 

Teguise Sunday market – a place to be

Even before you enter the city center you get the feeling that this market is something special. About 500 meters from Teguise, there are people waiving you into the parking areas. If you don’t want to walk, you don’t need to take the first parking – there are a lot more coming the closer you get to the city center. We ended up at a parking about 100 – 150 meters from the market. The price for parking is 1,80 (whatever parking area you choose) and that is for the whole day.

And after a short walk, you are in the middle of it all. The hustle and bustle, arts and crafts. People telling you how cheap their stuff is to buy and loads and loads of tourists that are trying out their bargain skills. It is completely awesome! We have been to hundreds of markets over the years and we both feel that the market in Teguise is something special. Often while visiting a market it all becomes “same same” after a while, and even if the market in Teguise is not an exception, there is a lot of really nice things here.

Buying souvenirs and handicraft at the Sunday market

This is the perfect place for you to stock up on those souvenirs or gifts that you might want to buy. And there is room for bargaining too, just like it should be while visiting a market. Since Lanzarote is a volcanic island, there is a lot of jewelry made out of lava rocks. You can buy clothes and artworks that are made right in front of your eyes. Handprinted t-shirts that are super cute. Even if I’m not a handprinted t-shirt kind of gal, I can still appreciate the art and the work that is put into them.

Bandanas, scarfs, aloe vera products and camels with Lanzarote printed on them. It is a nice place to be even if it is crowded. And it feels safe. Sure, I hold on to my handbag at times but I feel that there is nothing to worry about. All the people that are here are here to enjoy themselves (I would hope). So I believe that the thefts are limited. But still, you need to be careful when it comes to valuables in a crowded place.

Cheap knockoff handbags in abundance

Everywhere you look, there are handbags and backpacks for sale. Unfortunately, they are all cheap knockoffs. I can understand that there is an appeal, being able to buy a product for the fraction of the price it would cost for an original bag but I am not supporting that market. First off, I can’t but help to feel bad for the designers that pour a lot of money and effort into their products, only to get ripped of by others that are looking to make a quick buck.

The handbags that they are selling are knockoffs of brands like Mulberry, Coco Chanel, Michael Kors and others. When asking for the price of a medium sized bag, they start at 35 euros. I believe that you can get away with paying somewhere between 25 and 30 euros. And yes that is a lot cheaper than, for example, a Mulberry that will set you back about 900 euros. So I am not judging, however, I do want to point out a few things that might make you think if it is a good idea!

Why you shouldn’t buy a fake bag at the market

• It might be illegal – Even if I can’t find anything about fake handbags or products being illegal in Lanzarote, there are some countries where it is illegal to buy them. There were a lot of police officers at the market so I believe that it is legal here. But it is important to inform you that there are places and countries where it is an offense to buy fake products.
• You might be contributing to child labor and human trafficking – According to Harpers Bazaars report (read it here), there is a downside and you might be contributing to organized crime. This might seem slightly over the top and extreme. But if you read the article, you will learn a lot that you might have missed.
• Think of the designers – Yes, their bags are expensive but at the same time it costs them a lot of money to come up with the designs and ideas. It is their product and not anyone else’s to steal. Not ok if you ask me!
• They look cheap – Let’s be real here. You could see from far that these were fake. I have seen fake handbags before that were very well made but these were not. And do you really want your bag to look cheap? My tip is to save your money and one day you might be able to buy the handbag of your dreams – a real one!

Aloe Vera museum in Teguise

So there are five different museums dedicated to Aloe Vera on the island. They are free of charge and it teaches you more about Aloe Vera and how to use it. The museum is very well maintained and I love the fact that you can come inside and walk around and read all the signs. There is a lot of interesting facts about Aloe Vera and you can even see the plant here.

Still, there is a vibe about this place being a glorified store. Because let’s face it. At the end of the museum, there is a store that are selling their products. And sure that is fine – but there is something about calling a place a museum when all it comes down to is selling more product. I don’t know, it kind off rubs me the wrong way. Since the museum is really neat and nice it is totally worth checking out and it might be perfect to enter there on a Sunday during the market in Teguise. On their website, they write that they offer free guided tours. During our visit to the museum, we saw nothing of that but maybe they were to busy?!

Information about the Aloe Vera Museum in Teguise

Address: Plaza la Constitución, 4, 35530 Teguise.
Opening hours: Monday – Friday: 10.00 – 18.00. Saturday: 10.00 – 17.00. Sunday: 09.30 – 15.00.
Entrance fee: Free of charge. 

What can you eat at the Teguise Market

The word foodcourt is not quite the right word to describe the foods at Teguise market. But there are some similarities. There are restaurants and cafés scattered around town and then there is a place where a lot of them are gathered and selling food (like in a food court). We chose to eat at The Little Britain Café. We bought two Doner Kebabs and two Fanta. It set us back 16 euros. The food was good but we would like it to be a bit more.

There is a lot of different foods to choose from. Churros, tacos, fish n chips, chicken – you name it. A lot of the restaurants are open just during the market so when the market closes at 14.00, the restaurants close to.

What do you buy at the Teguise Market

There is so much to buy here! And not only in the market itself but also in the stores that are in and around the city center. I can’t write this without letting you guys know that there is a store that is selling the worlds most comfortable flip-flops. The store is called Nomads Land Lanzarote and the brand of the flip-flops is Sanuk. They have the best shoes ever! I bought three pairs in Puerto Rico and I have been looking for them since.

Unfortunately for me, they were all out of my size so I was not lucky but you guys need to check them out. The address is: C/ Rayo 8 in Teguise. I did find a super nice oversized jumper that I bought for myself in a store called Kanuka. It was so weird because printed on the sweater was one of my pet peeve – animals dressed like humans. There are dressed up dogs all over this jumper but I kind of liked it. And last but not least, we bought a souvenir for the motorhome. It is the cutest ant or maybe a bee? Who knows but he (we named him Sune) is now a part of our family. That doesn’t sound like a lot of shopping but that is a lot for us. We usually never buy any souvenirs.
You can find Kanuka at Plaza Clavijo y Fajardo 1.

Information about the Teguise Market

Opening hours: Sundays 09.00 – 14.00.
Entrance fee: It’s free to enter the market but there is a parking fee of 1,80 euros if you come here by car.
What to buy: Check out all the artwork and handicrafts. Try on a pair of Sanuk at the Nomads Land Lanzarote store.
What not to buy: Maybe the fake handbags unless you feel otherwise.