CEAGESP has lots of things, but one thing that I’ve always heard of before going was the Flower Market, which opens around midnight. I really like flowers and I used to shop them at Consolação Cemetery to decorate my house; once I knew about this market it turned into my flower source – I loved it!
The variety is wonderful, you find everything and also accessories, such as beautiful glass vases. And the best of all: it’s very cheap! Sometimes I find bouquets of lilies that would normally cost 100 reais – for 10 or 15 tops. That’s where florists from all over town shop, so everything’s fresh.
I go do CEAGESP each 15 days to replenish the flowers at home. I see people of all ages and social statuses searching for colors and varieties of orchids, for example, that don’t exist anywhere else in São Paulo.
My favorites are lilies and Colombian roses. You can also find seedlings of foliage, fruit trees and Brazilian plants in general. You buy straight from the producer, so it’s really worth it.
Another item you can find there on a Saturday night is seafood. It is a gigantic market that stays open all night, where all the best restaurants in town get their supplies from. It’s inexpensive and super fresh because that’s when the trucks arrive from the coast with their fishing products.
In the winter, the best thing is the soup festival. They serve green broth and onion broth, for example, which is delicious.
Overall, it’s a whole world of cheap food shopping, it really pays off!
