Mercado Artesanal San Alejo

Medellín's oldest street market has taken over Parque de Bolívar on the first Saturday of the month for more than forty years, with 200-plus stalls of handmade crafts, antiques, plants and street food alongside live music and theatre. It is free, sprawling and firmly local — the easiest way to buy something made in the city rather than imported for tourists. Go early; the good stalls thin out by mid-afternoon.