In A Nutshell: -Vega…read moreCentral is a produce market where you can purchase in small or wholesale quantities. -I saw a wide variety of vegetables & fruits that were stacked neatly & presented nicely. -The prices vary by vendor, but seemed to be pretty consistent. Overall, this is a medium-sized market, but they have enough choices to create many meals.

Santiago's main vegetable market (as opposed to Mercado Central that's more seafood), this is a…read moregreat opportunity to experience the variety of fruits and vegetables that are unique to Santiago and Chile. Many colorful displays of produce here, I have never seen "Chilean" corn which is different than American corn in that it's a lot thicker. Interesting! Garlic, plantains, red peppers, onions, peaches, apples. What's available depends on what season it is. Prices are clearly marked and are probably a little bit negotiable. As near as I could tell, vendors only accept cash.

We stopped by Mercado Central on a Monday afternoon and it wasn't a fun experience. We were going…read moreto go to Donde Augusto inside for lunch. The moment we stepped inside every single restaurant was AGGRESSIVE and tried to harass us into dining at their establishment. You have to be VERY firm in saying no because they're practically trying to drag you into their restaurants. After we found Donde Augusto and asked one of their staff for seating, someone from another restaurant still tried to poach us from their staff and started arguing with our server over us, it was WILD. I can't say I was a fan overall. It's not super big and smells very strongly of fish. There was a cute little stand that had very reasonably priced souvenirs inside but they only took pesos so bring cash.

Maybe I went at a bad time, but the market was pretty empty and half dead. The entire building…read moresmells like dead fish. The fish stalls seemed to be operating fully, but there were very few other vendors of flowers, fruits, or crafts. It was just underwhelming. Be prepared to have many people try and scoop you into their restaurant or shop while you walk around, much like a salesman at a car dealership.