Algiers - Post Report Question and Answers
Is this a "shopping post"? Are there interesting handicrafts, artwork, antiques, or other items that people typically buy there?
Besides rugs from Ghardaia, this is nothing like Morocco/Tunisia in terms of souvenirs. They are expensive and knock offs of the Moroccan/Tunisian versions. There are a few good places to buy souvenirs but prepare to spend a good amount of money. The art scene here is really great, and I've bought awesome paintings. - Aug 2021
Not really. I had thought Algeria would be more like Morocco than it turned out to be. As there are not tourists in Algeria, there's not much of a shopping vibe. There are some cool and colorful rugs. There are hand-painted tiles in Algiers. The are antique shops, but it's mostly Louis XIV vibe and not the mid-century I was expecting (as the French all left in the 1960s, I thought whatever furnished their homes would be in the antique shops, but that is not the case). But nice artwork - that does exists! The are a few small art galleries and shops where you can buy paintings, and we've commissioned a watercolor from a local artist. - Apr 2021
Not a shopping post. - Oct 2020
No. Other than overpriced, mediocre carpets, not a shopping post. - Oct 2020
Some carpets and a handful of interesting local artists. Outside of that, nothing I would recommend. - Sep 2019
Some - tiles, carpets, jewelry. - Mar 2019
Berber art, if genuinely handmade, can be beautiful. Good luck wading through the Chinese mass-produced stuff. There's one good artisanal shop in Paradou-Hydra. - Sep 2016
There is an artisanal shop that highlights local handicrafts. But craft quality is pretty poor. You will struggle to find stuff to send/bring back. - Jun 2016
None that I can think of. Because it's an oil state, and subsidies are so high, it's hindered innovation and growth in virtually every other sector, so you don't have the craft markets that you have in other North African countries. - Mar 2014
Nothing really, tiles and pottery. - Oct 2013
Carpets, handicrafts, and the tile work is quite good. - Dec 2011
There is a lot of gold, jewelery, silver, leather, carpets, tiles and beautiful materials too. The Tangines are a must to take home. - Sep 2008
Some jewelry and antiques. - May 2008
Pottery. - Mar 2008
Beautiful tiles, metal work, traditional jewelry and clothes. - Mar 2008
They have nice ceramics. - Feb 2008
