Once engulfed by coffee plantations, the small suburb of Moravia, northeast of San José, now interests most travelers for its extensive souvenir and artwork selection. For the best selection, take a bus from San José, Av 3, Calle 5/7, and tell the driver to drop you off at La Calle de la Artesanía. Here you'll find a street lined with souvenir shops peddling everything from Cuban cigars and woven bags to hand-carved wooden sculptures, jewelry, and the típico ox carts so characteristic of Costa Rican country life. Near the middle of the strip is Hidalgo la Rueda, a family-run leather store that gives brief tours of its on-site factory. Some of their machines date back to WWII, and they give most of the scraps to schools for arts and crafts projects. (Open M-Sa 8am-5pm, Su 10am-6pm.) At the end of the strip down a side street to the left (near the parque central), is the huge Mercado de Artesanía Las Garzas, a complex of several souvenir and handicraft stores, convenient for those who need to get lots of shopping done in a hurry. (Open M-Sa 9am-6pm, Su 10am-4pm.) Bargaining down the price about 15-20% is common at most of the stores on this strip, and discounts are often offered for payments en efectivo (in cash).
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