The Nassau Straw Market

Straw plaiting is a genuine Bahamian craft, worked in the dried leaf of the silver top palm and sisal, and the Nassau straw market has been the place to buy it since the nineteenth century. The current building opened in 2011 after the previous one burned down, and it holds several hundred stalls under one roof, a few minutes from where the cruise ships tie up. Real Bahamian work is there: coiled and plaited baskets, hats and bags, often with the maker sitting behind the stall stitching. So is a great deal of imported goods with Bahamas printed on it, and telling the two apart is the whole skill of shopping here.

What you actually see

• Plaited straw work - baskets, hats and bags in silver top palm and sisal.
• Makers at work - stallholders stitching behind their counters.
• Wood carving - a smaller but genuine local craft alongside.
• The building - opened in 2011 to replace the one lost to fire.

When to go

Year-round, daily. It is at its busiest when ships are in port, which is most weekday mornings; late afternoon after the ships leave is much calmer and prices soften noticeably.

Honest expectations

A large share of what is sold here is imported, machine-made and has nothing to do with Bahamian craft; genuine work is coiled or plaited by hand, uneven in a way machines are not, and costs several times more. Haggling is expected and first prices to visitors are inflated. The hard sell along the aisles is constant and wearing.

Nearby

The cruise port is next door; Pompey Museum is alongside.