We were recommended a visit to the Instituto by a Canadian guy staying at our hotel. Whilst it’s probably worth a visit if it’s going to be your only souvenir shopping opportunity, we still didn’t find it to be as diverse, or as cheap as the wonderful market street in San Miguel de Allende. The place itself has more the appearance of a museum than a gift shop, and indeed there are some wonderful regional exhibits to admire inside that are not for sale. These included some enormous animal sculptures covered in detailed beadwork and some examples of ceramics from difference regions throughout Mexico.
On the shop side, we found lots of good quality glassware, ceramics, entire dinner sets, clothing and other regional crafts for sale, but they were fairly high in price. There’s no entrance fee for the Instituto.
Next door, at Parque Agua Azul, the entrance charge is 4 pesos per person. It’s a vast park, busy with families with young children. There are paddling pools, a butterfly house, orchid house and various caged bird exhibits. The café’s fare isn’t too inspiring, so I’d recommend bringing a picnic or planning to travel back to the city for food.