Markets of the World

times a day its whistle blowing in warning, a train runs right through Mae Klong Railway Market in Thailand. Helping a vendor close up their canopy in time could get you a deal on the price of a lobster – or a T-shirt sporting the market’s unofficial name, Talad Rom Hoop (roughly: umbrella pull-down market).

percent of all flowers are traded at FloraHolland in rural Aalsmeer near Amsterdam. The chances of losing your way here are as immense as the complex of market halls itself, which covers an area larger than Monaco. Each year, some 12.5 billion plants are shipped from here to destinations worldwide.

dromedaries change hands at the camel market in Pushkar, India, each November during the Hindu festival Kartik Purnima amid a throng of traders, pilgrims and tourists. The camel races – and the obligatory betting – are the absolute high point of the event, but watch out for the stubborn stains of camel spit!

a sushi chain boss spent a cool 1.4 million euros on the first tuna of the year at Toyko’s Tsukiji fish market. Tourists, keep your hands off the fish or Tsukiji’s iron rule will apply: You touch, you buy. Sadly, the market will relocate to unlovely Toyosu later this year.

the Jamaa el Fna marketplace in Marrakesh became the first place to feature on the UNESCO Intangible Heritage List. Tips for visitors: Follow the drums at dusk, applaud the street artistes and acrobats, laugh at the performing monkeys, sample fish, couscous and tajine stew from the food stalls – and always barter or you will offend the vendors.

Feria 16 de Julio in El Alto, Bolivia, is the world’s highest-altitude market, boasting a fine view of La Paz. Tourists can take selfies with traditional souvenirs or gaze in awe at the crazy array of merchandise – fork lifts, weapons, and lama fetuses, which bring luck when walled into new buildings.

visitors frequent Dresden’s Striezel Market every year – one of the oldest Christmas markets in Germany. The Saxon Elector Frederick II first authorized the market in 1434 – for a single day. Now, the spectacle lasts an entire month and opens with the traditional cutting of a giant Christmas stollen

At a fake market in Shenzhen, iPhones cost no more than 150 euros. Imitations are accepted in Chinese culture as an act of tribute to the real thing. Often, original and fake are remarkably alike here – on the outside, at least – until you realize that your iPhone has an Android operating system instead of iOS.

long is the Marché des Puces de Saint-Ouen in the North of Paris long and the world’s largest flea market, dealing mostly in antiques: Grandma’s mink coat, Grandpa’s silver cutlery, chaise-longues worthy of the Sun King. Don’t miss Chez Louisette, the market café, where patrons sing along to Edith Piaf.