The Mercado Central is a covered market a few blocks east of the Plaza de los Héroes. Stalls sell fruit and vegetables from the surrounding Cachapoal Valley, sausages and cheeses from the Andean foothills, and the usual mix of household goods.
The upstairs gallery has a handful of cheap eateries — fuentes de soda — serving the standard Chilean lunch lineup: cazuela, pastel de choclo, sandwiches piled with avocado and tomato. It is one of the best places in Rancagua to eat what locals actually eat.