Every big city around the world has a place like this, a flea market so big it covers many squares…read moreand sells from cheap clothing to "used" cars parts. That place in Santiago is El Persa Bio-Bio, where the best things they offer are used video games, casual style clothing (some stores are really good, selling real leather jackets for a quarter the price in uptown), astonishingly cheap furniture of high quality (check the "Mall del Mueble" page) and even some "unusual" stuff like cell-phones and computers (dont you even dare to ask from where). Note that the whole place has a furtive, National-Geographic-in-India, shadowy appearance in it, even though many of the stores are from honest salesman so if you are going there better go with a bulky friend and most important of all, a native (and no so posh) speaker of chilean spanish; that or youll get inmediatly marked by the folks there as a "gringo" tourist and Oy Vey for you. Still, the cheapest place in town

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.