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.

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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.

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Amsterdam is fertile ground for free and almost-free souvenirs. While floral bouquets don’t travel well on an airplane (and may not be allowed!), seed packets and bulbs are both easy to pack, travel well, and will blossom back home. Plus, they’re totally cheap.

(Please note: US Customs doesn’t want American tourists bringing home just any old bulb or seed, of course. The agency carefully regulates what agricultural items it allows back into the States. When seed shopping, make sure you choose items labeled as “cleared for US Customs.” See comments below for more information.)

Tulip mania peaked in Amsterdam during the city’s 17th-century golden age, sowing the scene for today’s fragrant flower markets, or Bloemenmarkt. We recommend visiting two of the city’s flower markets.

The Aalsmeer Flower Auction

Every morning, the Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer, or Aalsmeer flower auction, takes place in nearby Aalsmeer, 10 km south of Amsterdam. The fast-paced auction gives tourists an introduction to the global flower market, as 19 million flowers get bought and sold daily, before being shipped worldwide. Try picking up some sample seeds or bulbs at the market for a cheapo souvenir.

Bloemenmarkt

The Floating Flower Market, or Bloemenmarkt, is in full bloom every day along the Singel canal. The market, held in barges floating along the Singel, is the place to find thousands of seed packets, bulbs, and cut (and dried) flowers for mere euros.

Even if you don’t plan on bringing any seeds home, you might also consider swinging by the Bloemenmarkt at night, as the shops are closing up and eager owners slash their prices on cut fresh flowers. After all, couldn’t your hotel room use a little sprucing up?

More information on Amsterdam Flower Markets

Aalsmeer Flower Auction
Driekolommenplein 1. Open Monday through Friday, from 7:30 AM to 11:00 AM. The best time to go is between 7:30 AM and 9 AM.

Amsterdam Bloemenmarkt
Daily between Koninsplein and Heiligeweg.  Monday through Saturday, 9 AM - 5:30 PM, Sunday 11:00 AM - 5:30 PM.

See also: Our guide to recommended budget hotels in Amsterdam.

Editor’s Note: This is the first post in our “Cheapo Souvenirs” blog series. Join us over the next four weeks as we suggest one cheap or free souvenir to bring home from each city we cover on EuroCheapo. Do you have a suggestion for another cheap souvenir in Amsterdam? Leave a comment below!

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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.

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