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The areas with the highest concentrations of shops are Polanco, for upscale boutiques, luxury chains, modern furniture stores, and fine-art galleries; and the Zona Rosa, chock-full of clothing stores, adult shops, leather goods, and antiques.
La Condesa and La Roma, though better known for restaurants and cafés, are sprouting designer boutiques, primarily for a younger crowd and artsy types. Jewelers, shoe shops, vintage clothes, and hip housewares stores are squeezing in as well. Most cluster along avenidas Michoacán, Vicente Suárez, Amsterdam, and Tamaulipas, in Condesa, and Alvaro Obregón and thereabouts, in Roma.
Hundreds of shops with more modest trappings and better prices are spread along the length of Avenida Insurgentes and Avenida Juárez.
A haven for anyone with a sweet tooth since 1874, Dulcería Celaya specializes in candied pineapple, guava, and other exotic fruits; almond paste; candied walnut rolls; and cajeta, a thick caramelized milk similar to Argentine dulce de leche. There's another branch in La Roma, but you have to come to Centro for the atmosphere.
