• Santa Fe is probably the best place in the world to shop for specifically American Indian arts and crafts. How to proceed depends on what your goals are and how much you want to spend. If your goal is to obtain mementos of no great intrinsic value, check out the Native American vendors on the "Portal" (accent on second syllable) in front of the Palace of the Governors; the jewelry and pottery is inexpensive (of course, you get what you pay for) and its authenticity is guaranteed. Pickings may be a bit thin on Sundays, and the vendors pick up and go home after 5:30. A word of warning: do not patronize the similar vendors on sidewalks out around town unless you know they're OK. If they're not on the Portal, there's a reason, and one common reason is that they're passing off non-Indian junk as authentic. Some authentic artisans may be off the Portal, but caveat emptor.

For higher-quality (and -priced) Indian art that you'll feel good about when you get it home, galleries cluster around the Plaza. Three reputable ones (there are more) are Andrea Fisher Fine Pottery on San Francisco Street, Packard's on Old Santa Fe Trail at the southeast corner of the Plaza, and Price-Dewey Galleries just west of Packard's. There are other good ones as well; if you find one that you think offers particularly good value for dollar, please expand this list. You can spend as little as $100 for a small piece, or spend more money than you have for something that's literally one-of-a-kind.

 • If you have any interest at all in "Anglo" art, make sure you walk down Canyon Road (an easy stroll from downtown), which is full of unique, quirky and just plain fun art galleries.

 • There are quite a few specialty stores for toys and lots of book stores, most of which are in the downtown area.

 • On the west side of the city there are many outlet malls and card-holder-only stores like Sam's Club. Nearby on Zafarano Road, there is a large gathering of newer upscale stores like Border's and Starbucks. These exist despite the long suffering Villa Linda Mall which underwent an image makeover in the middle of 2005 and renamed itself "Santa Fe Place." This image makeover is the butt of many jokes among the local population.

 • A Santa Fe institution is the flea market just north of the Santa Fe Opera along highway 285. It's open on weekends except during the winter, and offers cut-rate shopping for just about anything you can get elsewhere in town. Visit to look for random memorabilia (although you may wonder why you bought them when you get home!) and also for some entertaining people-watching.