The Casa de las Artesanías, housed in a restored 16th-century convent, is the best place in Morelia to buy quality Michoacan crafts at fair prices. The building has been converted into a market-museum hybrid: the cloister rooms contain permanent displays of traditional crafts alongside stalls where artisans sell their work directly. The range is excellent — lacquerware from Uruapan, hand-hammered copper from Santa Clara del Cobre, embroidered textiles from Purepecha communities, painted ceramics, and the carved wooden masks used in traditional dances.
The quality here is generally higher than in the street markets, and the prices reflect that, but you're buying direct from the makers and supporting craft traditions that have survived since pre-Columbian times. The convent's courtyard garden is a pleasant place to rest, and the building's massive stone walls keep it cool even in summer.