The port street of Aegina town is lined with the obvious tourist offerings — pistachio vendors, souvenir shops, cafes — but the real shopping is one or two blocks back, in the grid of streets that locals actually use. Here you will find the butcher who has held the same spot for decades, the bakery that opens at five in the morning, the hardware shop stocked floor to ceiling with items of baffling specificity, and the handful of food specialists who sell nothing but olive oil, or nothing but Greek cheeses. These shops are perfectly happy to serve visitors, but they have not arranged themselves for that purpose.
The Saturday morning market, held in a square not far from the port, is the best single shopping event of the week. Farmers from the island's interior bring whatever is in season — tomatoes, figs, almonds, herbs, the small cucumbers that Greeks eat like fruit — alongside the honey and pistachio sellers who are there every week. Fishermen sometimes appear with the morning's catch. The market is busy from around seven until noon, then dissolves as quickly as it appeared. Bring cash, bring a bag, and arrive early for the best selection.
For food to take home, the priorities are pistachios and pistachio products, local honey, dried herbs (thyme and oregano from the hills are excellent), and if you can keep it cool for the journey, fresh cheese. Several shops near the port sell vacuum-packed versions of local products designed for travelling, which are convenient if you are catching a ferry later the same day. Prices vary enough between shops that it is worth walking ten minutes to compare before committing to a large purchase.
Non-food shopping is more limited, but there are a few ceramics studios selling work made on the island, and a couple of shops carrying Greek linen, woodwork, and handmade jewellery. These are not cheap, but the quality is generally good and the pieces are genuinely local rather than imported from somewhere else and labelled as Greek.