The Complete Kochi Shopping Guide: Where To Buy Spices, Gold, Craft And Everything In Between

Shopping in Kochi is really several different cities stitched together. There is the old spice-and-antique world of Mattancherry, the fashion streets of the city centre, the air-conditioned mega-malls of Edappally, and the craft and boutique scene of Fort Kochi. Knowing which neighbourhood does what turns a scattered afternoon into an efficient, enjoyable haul.

Mattancherry and Jew Town: spices and antiques

Start where the trade began. The lanes of Jew Town and Mattancherry are lined with spice merchants selling cardamom, pepper, cloves and cinnamon loose and by weight, fresher and cheaper than anywhere else in the city. Interspersed are antique and curio shops piled with old brass, furniture, prints and bric-a-brac, some genuine, some not, all fun to rummage through. This is the place for gifts with a story, and a little polite bargaining is expected.

The city centre: fashion and gold

For clothes, footwear and the famous Kerala gold, head to the commercial heart of Ernakulam, around MG Road and Broadway. Broadway in particular is a crowded, old-school market street for textiles, everyday goods and bargains, while MG Road carries the brand showrooms and jewellery houses. Kochi takes its gold seriously, and the big jewellery chains here draw shoppers from across the region, especially around weddings and festivals.

The malls: everything under one roof

When the heat wins, Kochi's malls are a comfortable, everything-in-one-place option. The Lulu Mall in Edappally is among the largest in the country, with hundreds of brands, a hypermarket, food courts and a cinema; Centre Square on MG Road and Oberon in Edappally add more fashion and dining. These are where families spend weekend afternoons, and where the big seasonal sales happen.

Fort Kochi: craft, art and boutiques

Across the water, Fort Kochi is the place for the handmade and the designed, handloom boutiques, art and print shops, ceramics and slow-fashion labels, especially lively in Biennale years. Prices are higher than the markets, but so is the originality.

A neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood plan

Shop by intent. Want spices, antiques and gifts? Mattancherry and Jew Town, in the morning. Fashion, footwear and gold? The MG Road and Broadway area. A comfortable, air-conditioned everything-run with the family? Lulu or the other Edappally malls. Craft, art and boutique clothing? Fort Kochi. Do the outdoor markets earlier in the day, save the malls for the hot afternoon, carry cash for the market stalls, and haggle gently where it is expected and not at all where prices are fixed. Play it that way and Kochi turns out to be one of the most varied and rewarding shopping cities in South India.