Pettah Market

1. Olcott Mawatha
Clothes and accessories like good jackets, bags, sunglasses at cheap rates (it's next to 2nd cross-street).

2. Front Street (Malwatta Road)
Here you'll find the old Victoria Building of 1929 and can shop for some good quality leather bags and shoes, fabulous watches, luggage, Batik Centre for camera equipment, shiny bangles, etc.

3. Prince Street
Famous for selling Electronics, light fittings, fake wigs, toys, wallets, carrom boards and checkers boards. Fancy Mahal shop sells Eastern cologne and the  Dutch museum - a quiet space with an old and shaky staircase and green garden.

4. 1st Cross Street
Mobile phones, mobile covers, mobile batteries - you name it, other electronics.

5. 2nd Cross Street
Cotton and shiny sarees ranging as low as 150LKR, leggings and other clothing shops. You'll find vendors selling achcharu (pickled veggies) at the junction with Keyzer street.

6. 3rd Cross Street
Here we mostly find retail and wholesale shops along with big textiles shops.

7. 4th Cross Street
A trading street with onions, potatoes and spices everywhere in bulk and a small shop selling paan. The main street in case you need banks or ATMs; has large showrooms; A shop for craft equipment and materials called sequins is quite known in this area. One can also find shops selling coats, suits, umbrellas and raincoats, luggage bags, leather.

8. China Street
Shop for party items like hats, wrap, banners, balloons, candles etc. and chinaware 

9. Maliban Street
Wedding cards, special paper for art and craft, gift wrap and heaters.

10. Bankshall Street
Artificial flowers of all kinds, surgical equipment and chemicals (Spectrolab/ Geekay), official uniforms; Oriental Saloon for an inexpensive haircut, Colorcraft Center for all your art equipment.

11. Khan Clocktower
The clocktower, Expographics bookshop from the 1980s where you get an extensive collection of textbooks.

12. Bodhiraja Mawatha
A small area near main Olcott Mawatha, sells toy cars, kids' bracelets, colourful junk jewellery, phone memory cards and there’s a spooky Old Town Hall with a museum inside. You will also find some beautiful ancient architecture from the Dutch period on the roads.

• Wear comfortable and airy clothes and shoes, carry a bottle of water, stay on the road-sides - you can wear sunglasses if it gets sunny in the afternoon.
• Streets are closed on Sundays generally
• Make a list-have a clear idea of the things you want and where you may get them(see our guide) to avoid much chaos and distraction.
• Learn some basic Tamil translation of few words like 'yes', 'no', 'where', 'this', 'that', 'too costly', 'reduce the price', as it will help up one's bargaining game and get the things at prices you had in mind.
• You can avoid the crowd if you get there before 10:00 AM.