Paloquemao is the best traditional market in Bogota, a vast covered wholesale and retail market known above all for its flower section. Colombia is the world's second-largest flower exporter, and Paloquemao is where the city sees it — enormous quantities of roses, carnations, orchids, and tropical flowers, much of it from the Sabana de Bogota farms that supply buyers around the world.
The market is busiest at dawn and in the early morning. Arrive before 8am for the best atmosphere and the widest selection of tropical fruits, many of them varieties barely known outside Colombia — lulo, tomate de árbol, curuba, maracuyá. The food stalls around the edges serve excellent and very cheap breakfasts: arepas, changua (milk and egg soup), and fresh-squeezed juices from fruits you may never have seen before. Take the TransMilenio to the Avenida de las Américas and walk north.