The bazaars of Jaipur (and India in general) were easily our favorite place to hang out. The explosion of colors, smells, sounds and tastes was always something we looked forward to. But more than anything, we loved the dynamic experiences each visit to the markets brought us. You might get stopped by a local and hear their life story, you might find a really delicious snack or buy some interesting jewelry you won’t find anywhere else around the world, a monkey might come out of nowhere and snatch your drink… there’s always something interesting happening at the markets!
There are 3 main markets in the old town of Jaipur – Bapu, Nehru and Johri Bazaar – and they are all next to each other. You could easily explore all 3 if you have the time, but we loved Bapu Bazaar the most. The vibe here felt the most authentic and the prices were not too inflated for tourists. Here you can find colorful sarees, footwear, kurtas (traditional Indian male clothing), fabrics, souvenirs, jewelry, bags and purses.
On our first day of walking around Jaipur Katerina was so inspired by the colorful traditional Indian clothing women were wearing that she really wanted to buy a saree. We found her the perfect dark red saree in Bapu Bazaar and she even got a quick lesson on how to drape it herself. Be sure not to spend more than around 1,500 INR for a saree here. The shop owners might try to charge you more as a tourist but the price for locals is actually around 500 INR, so do negotiate down.