Mexico's largest food market

It’s easy to get lost in La Merced Market. No matter how good your Spanish is, it’s a good idea to hire a tour guide to show you around. Not only will they know their way around, they’ll also point you in the right direction for the best restaurants.

Just inside the main entrance to the market are a number of food stalls. The one pictured here is an unnamed stall that is only there a few days a week. However, they all offer the best tlacoyos (Mexican oval shaped dishes).

There are dozens of busy stalls along the main food hall, where market workers and shoppers gather to eat caldo de gallina (chicken stew made even better with a raw egg), tacos topped with chips, pancita (stew made from cow stomach) and rich pork posole soup.

At the meat section of the market, you can buy una vaca entera (a whole cow) for a few thousand pesos. Butchers also show off their cutting skills in front of their stalls. If you want to buy in small quantities, you can also choose steaks or meat cut by the seller.

If you fancy eating cow's head, stop by one of the vendors selling tacos de cabeza (tacos with meat taken from the animal's head).

In a dark, incredibly quiet corner of the market, past the nopales vendors (who don't want their photos taken), you'll find specialty stalls selling deep-fried insects like crickets, grasshoppers, ants, grubs, and these tiny crayfish-like aquatic creatures.

Cleaned, processed, and cooked chicken intestines may look like worms, but they taste like the most flavorful, flavorful piece of chicken you've ever eaten.

You can spend hours (or even days or weeks) making mole sauce (a traditional Mexican sauce). For a quicker fix, head to a mole vendor's market stall, where flavorful pastes are sold by the pound.

Just outside the market are vendors selling sweets. Many stalls attract customers with blocks of candied fruit stacked like bricks. Their sticky, sugary texture attracts bees and flies.

Although the majority of the market is dedicated to selling food-related products, the outdoor market is also filled with everything from calendars, decorations, and cheap Chinese-made sneakers.

Near the end of the main food court, past the butchers on the right from the entrance, there is a taco stand. It sells everything from carnitas to tortillas. You will hear the sizzling sound of pork and beef fat. Get a beefsteak taco for a taste of Mexican delicacy.