One of the largest bazaars of the Caribbean, Port-of-Spain has luxury items from all over the globe, including Irish linens, English china, Scandinavian crystal, French perfumes, Swiss watches, and Japanese cameras. Even more interesting are the Asian bazaars, where you can pick up items in brass. Reflecting the island's culture are calypso shirts, sisal goods, woodwork, cascadura bracelets, silver jewelry in local motifs, and saris. For souvenirs, visitors often like to bring back figurines of limbo dancers, carnival masqueraders, or calypso singers.

Stecher's, Gulf City (tel. 868/657-6993), is the best bet for luxury items -- crystal, watches, jewelry, perfumes, Georg Jensen silver, Lladró, Wedgwood, Royal Doulton, Limoges, Royal Albert -- all of which can be delivered to the airport upon your departure. You can find other branches at Long Circular Mall and West Mall. You can also pay a last-minute call at their tax-free airport branches or at the cruise-ship complex at the Port-of-Spain docks.

Y. De Lima, 83 Queen St. (tel. 868/623-1364), is a good store for duty-free cameras and watches, but the main focus is local jewelry. Its third-floor workroom will make whatever you want in jewelry or bronze. You might emerge with anything from steel-drum earrings to a hibiscus-blossom brooch.

Art Creators and Suppliers, Apt. 402, Aldegonda Park, 7 St. Ann's Rd., St. Ann's (tel. 868/624-4369), is in a banal apartment complex, but the paintings and sculptures here are among the finest in the Caribbean. Among the artistic giants displayed are Glasgow, Robert Mackie, Boscoe Holder, Sundiata, Keith Ward, Jackie Hinkson, and many others.

Lovers of Caribbean art also flock to the 101 Art Gallery, 101 Tragarete Rd. (tel. 868/628-4081), in Port-of-Spain. This is the best showcase for the hottest local talent. Some of local artist Sarah Beckett's work is viewed so highly that her abstract oils appear on regional stamps. Often you can meet some of the artists here, especially on Tuesday evening during openings. The gallery is closed on Sunday and Monday.

Gallery 1-2-3-4, in the Normandie Hotel, 10 Nook Ave., St. Ann's Village (tel. 868/625-5502), is more iconoclastic and less conservative than any other gallery on the island. Since it opened in 1985, it has attracted the attention of the art world for its wide selection of Caribbean artists.

The Market, 10 Nook Ave., St. Ann's (tel. 868/624-1181), is one of the most fashionable shopping complexes on Trinidad. Some 20 boutiques represent the best jewelers, designers, and art dealers on the island. You'll find a wide assortment of clothing, cosmetics, bags, shoes, china, tableware, handcrafts, and accessories. The complex forms an interconnected bridge among the Normandie Hotel and Restaurant, the restaurant Vidalia, and Gallery 1-2-3-4.

The Boutique, 43 Syndeham Ave., St. Ann's (tel. 868/624-3274), is a notable handcrafts outlet and a showcase for batik silks created by Althea Bastien, one of Trinidad's finest artisans. Her fabric art is highly prized but reasonably priced. She also sells shirts, scarves, and ties.

If you'd like to go home with some music of Trinidad, head for Rhyner's Record Shop, 54 Prince St. (tel. 868/623-5673), which has the best selection of soca and calypso, plus other types of music. There's another branch at the airport (tel. 868/669-3064).