The Mercado Modelo is the catch-all market of the centre — a covered building with stalls of fresh produce, dried herbs, religious figures, amber and larimar jewellery, t-shirts, cigars, and tourist tat. It is smaller and less aggressive than its Santo Domingo namesake, and the prices are reasonable even before bargaining.
The botánica stalls, selling herbs and statuary used in Dominican folk religion, are the more interesting part — a glimpse of beliefs that are still very much alive outside the official Catholic culture. Mornings are best; the market thins out by mid-afternoon.