Krakow’s Market Square. Photo by Lars K. Jensen

People of Cheapo: low-priced communist-era souvenirs are legal for export from Krakow. After all, nothing will help you commemorate your trip to the city quite like a piece of Cold War nostalgia.

Collectables for comrades

Multiple open-air markets around the formerly-communist Krakow are a feast for bargain-hunters. Medals, pins, and statuettes featuring the many faces of Lenin can be found at affordable prices.

The Old Kleparz Market is nearest to the city center. On Tuesday and Friday, you’ll find interesting old trinkets for sale. (On other days, the market sells food, flowers and clothes.)

The vendor scene on Grzegorzecka Street near the Market Hall is the busiest in Krakow, and you’ll find books and unearthed antique treasures every Sunday. (On other days, you’ll find meat, fruits and vegetables for sale.)

More vendors sell their wares at the Tomex Market in Nowa Huta, while Krakow’s antique dealers are mainly located around the Platy gardens.

Note: Although we recommend picking up some cheapo communist bric-a-brac, especially valuable antique items predating 1945 are illegal for export without special permission. However, items of lesser value from this period are not only safe for export, but plentiful.

While you’re at it…

Hit the Propaganda Pub, located at 20 Miodowa, for a beer. The walls are covered and the tables are chock full of communist memories.

Also see: Our recommended budget hotels in Krakow, along with our review of the Good Bye Lenin Hostel.

Popularity: 15% [?]

The San Lorenzo market in Florence. Photo by Madame’s Travels

Florence is a hot spot for fashion, but that doesn’t mean tourists have to pay high prices for ready-to-wear souvenirs. In fact, quality clothing and accessories can be found for only a few euros at a number of outdoor markets in Florence.

Fashion in the streets of Firenze

The outdoor Mercato Nuovo, the “Straw Market,” buzzes daily beneath a gorgeous multi-block loggia in central Florence. These vendors sell high-quality leather items, straw bags and hats, scarves, and wallets (not to mention those mini-David statuettes and cooking aprons!). We suggest smaller, cheaper, and easy-to-pack items. The Mercato Nuovo is located at the intersection of Via Calimala and Via Porta Rossa.

Less picturesque, the outdoor market at San Lorenzo is an easier place to haggle with sellers. Expect crowds, barking vendors, the smell of leather, and a mix of quality and shoddy goods. This market is popular with tourists, locals, and pickpockets, so keep a watchful eye.

While you’re at it…

Take home some Italian shopping bags. A regular old plastic bag transforms into a high-class fashion statement when “Firenze” is stamped across it.

Also see: Our guide to budget hotels in Florence.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Photo by denkrahm

Naschmarkt is a popular market place in Vienna. You can purchase almost everything at the Naschmarkt, from fresh fish and shrimps to Asian soy sauce to Italian cheeses and uncooked ham. Despite and because of the sheer variety—and in no small part as a result of the hoards of tourists streaming through—you can’t help feeling ripped off at the Naschmarkt. Case in point: We’ve seen furniture for sale at prices that exceed those at first-class antique galleries in the First District.

Make no mistake about it, the Naschmarkt is a must-see for natives and tourists alike. It is alive, it breathes, and it reeks of marvelous scents and colors.

May brings a bunch of (cheaper, we hope) alternatives to the Naschmarkt.

On May 11, 2007, from 9 a.m. until noon, Vienna’s lost and found department hopes to find sellers who will take home several things—from clothes to books—that their owners have forgotten somewhere and then never fetched from the Zentrale Fundservice, at Bastiengasse 36-38.

Fernwärme Wien, Vienna’s energy company, holds a secondhand extravaganza at their compound, May 12, 9 a.m. through 5 p.m., at Spittelauer Lände 45.

The leading Austrian old-fashioned children’s store Spielzeugschachtel, which specializes in wooden and hand-crafted toys, holds a two-day flea market on May 25 and 26, at Rauhensteingasse 5.

Our advice: Be wise and enjoy.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Despite being a major capital, Berlin is a relatively relaxed city, and at no time is this more evident than on Sundays. Life slows down, and stores are closed as well. This means that frantic shopping is not an option on Sundays. In its place: the flea market, or Flohmarkt in German.

After a leisurely brunch, Berliners saunter their way to local flea markets to mingle with the masses, hunt for bargains, and just plain hang out.

Stands of used LPs and secondhand clothes sit next to stands hawking the fashions of young designers, and stands featuring antiques. GDR memorabilia and Bavarian lederhosen are two consistent item stand-bys. Plenty of inexpensive eats are on offer as well, from bratwurst to organic juices. At the Mauerpark flea market in Prenzlauer Berg, there is even an outdoor bar or two where you can chill in warm months when you’re all worn out from turning other people’s trash into your treasures.

Even more than good buys, the flea markets offer free, high-quality people-watching for hours of entertainment. Everyone comes out—from haggling grandmothers to hungover hipsters—and many vendors are colorful characters, as well.

We suggest bringing a sturdy bag or two to carry your eventual purchases. You never know what you are going to find. Some of the more well-known markets include those at the Mauerpark, Arkonaplatz, Boxhagenerplatz, and Strasse des 17. Juni.

Popularity: 3% [?]