The market in central Papeete is a good place to start your exploration of the town. The structure alone is impressive, a two storey wrought iron affair. I recommend going up to the upper level and just watching life go by down below. Some items for sale are more useful than others and it is nice to see some explanations in English. On the upper level you can buy every colour of sarong you could possibly want, the male equivalent is a Pareo. The lower floor has grass skirts, lei's made from shells and an extensive food area. A big sign explains the significance of Uru (Breadfruit) and elsewhere you will find exotic fish for sale.
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The market is fun and interesting , if not a tad disappointing . The crafts were mostly run of the mill . Only one shop up above in the far corner , had quality items . The open restaurant upstairs had wonderful food . We had a great lunch . We thought there might be entertainment t , but not . It still is worth going to , if not just to get out of the heat for a while !
I believe the locals hit the ground floor of this very cool market for the fresh fish and some of the produce that is sold here. We went to get some photos of the whole scene and do some shameless souvenir shopping, which probably makes up about 2/3 of this market. There are some good deals here but you may want to walk around first if you are bargain hunting because a bottle of local coconut oil can be sold for a fraction of the price that someone a few feet away is selling it for.
You MUST visit the municipal market ! Better to go in the morning when activity is at its best. You'll find local fruits and veggies, fresh caught fish, flowers, fresh coconut water, coconut oil (monoï) and local handcraft. Upstairs you'll find local clothes and jewelry and coffee shops. Great place to take pictures, place full of life and colors.
Stopped by the market for lunch, and to stock up our rental with fruits and veggies. There are a lot of vendors selling great produce from around the island. We ended up buying produce from several stands, and everyone was super helpful. They all seemed to throw in a couple extras for us.There are some lunch stalls on the bottom floor providing pretty good food at reasonable prices. We had a coffee and smoothie from the cafe upstairs, both of which were good. The food people were eating looked pretty good, but we only had beverages.Noticed that the tahitian oils sold here are more expensive than the local grocery stores, they seemed to be priced for tourists with little time in Papeete.
This market place is simply the very best place in which to do your souvenir shopping. I love it. If you can't find what you're looking for go back in a few days and search again and, in time, you will find it. Be aware that home produced tiare monoi is somewhat adulterated by the ladies adding gardenia essential oils to give the delicate fragrance a little more oomph! Still, it's wonderful! lots to eat and drink here too.
Husband Jon & I love exploring markets while traveling to get a taste of the real culture of an area.Unfortunately, this market is so geared to the tourist, I doubt that the folks of Papeete would step inside unless expecting to sell a souvenir to a foreigner. (The exception would be the fresh fish.)I would recommend a short visit to get the feel of the place and especially go upstairs to look down on the entire sprawl.
Definitely worth stopping by the Municipal Market if you're staying in the area, just to have the opportunity to observe a little slice of Tahitian life. The market is jam packed full of stalls, most of which sell fruit and veges on the ground floor, while there are more souvenir stands on the upper level. To those looking for postcards to send home, make sure to scout out the best prices because there is some variation between stalls. We ended up getting some for 70 XPF from the store at the right-hand rear on the upper floor, compared to 120 XPF at one of the stalls on the ground floor. We were surprised at the cost of locally grown fruit but can confirm that their bananas and starfruit are delicious. Tahitian fruit is often picked when green for export to other countries, so the taste doesn't have time to develop through the natural sun ripening process, and after tasting the proper thing it's quite clear which is better! We also visited the cafe on the upper level and enjoyed the food there.
We visited the markets 3 times. It is best to be earlier in the day. Although they may be open later in the afternoon most of the fresh stuff has gone. The coffee shop upstairs is very good, nice coffee, internet and one person who speaks English. We brought some coffee grounds and used them for the rest of the trip. Don't miss the upper level.