Mercado market. Central Market (Mercado Central) Alicante. Mercado San Ildefonso – for connoisseurs of simple and tasty dishes and snacks

In this article, you will not only learn where to buy fresh food, you will discover the taste and history of the best Spanish markets, which have long become favorite attractions for many tourists.

1 Boqueria (Mercado de la Boquería), Barcelona

It is said that people come to this market not only to shop, but also to eat, gossip and enjoy a sense of kinship and unity. This is a classic municipal market, opened in 1840 on La Rambla in Barcelona. IN Lately The market began to be visited by a huge number of tourists. Boqueria ranks 2.583 square meters, more than 300 outlets offer a huge variety of local and exotic products, both for private buyers and for restaurants in the city. This is the largest and most beloved market in Catalonia, with the most varied offer of food products.

2 Mercado de la Paz, Madrid

Opened in 1878 in the Salamanca district of Madrid, this market was the last municipal market built in the capital in the 19th century. It is designed in the modernist style; the facade was updated in the 40s, and the iron structures and frame were restored in the 80s.
The main idea of this market is “global shopping”. That is, he offers customers huge selection products and services: fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, gourmet shops, hairdressers, watch shops, dry cleaners, pharmacies... This allows you to make all the necessary purchases without leaving the market.
Despite numerous changes, the Market de La Paz remains the oldest market in operation in Madrid.

3 Mercado de La Esperanza, Santander

A true architectural gem of Cantabria, designed by Eduardo Reynals and Juan Moya in 1897, a rare example of 19th century architecture.
The food market was completely renovated in 2010 and consists of 2 floors with more than 160 stalls mainly selling meat and fish. It is the largest market in Cantabria and was declared a historical and cultural monument in 1977.

4 Central Market (Mercado Central), Valencia

The Valencian Central Market was opened on January 23, 1928 and is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. Now this is not just a place where you can buy fresh food, it is a huge cultural and tourist center, both for guests of the city and for its residents.
The market occupies 8,160 meters and is divided into zones: the first has an irregular shape, its area is 6,760 square meters, and the second, octagonal, is intended for fish stores and occupies 1,400 square meters. The 7,690 square meter basement is used as parking.
The market houses approximately 1,219 retail outlets and is considered the largest sales center in Europe fresh vegetables, is the world's first home delivery marketplace.

5 Santiago Food Market (Mercado de Abastos de Santiago), Galicia

The Santiago Food Market is one of the five most important markets in Spain and the second most visited architectural landmark of the city by tourists after the Cathedral.
The modern market was built in 1941 on the site of the old market, built back in 1870. In addition to standard shops and stores, the market area includes jewelry and haberdashery stores, shoe repair shops, gift shops and two restaurants. In one of them, dishes are prepared from products that visitors buy at the market and bring with them.

The capital of Spain is famous for being ideal for a relaxing pastime. Here, even the most responsible tourist in the world, who a month before the trip made a list of museums and galleries that must be visited, may have an irresistible temptation to completely forget about the cultural program, and instead go to taste Iberian jamon and local cheeses.

Let’s not blame our imaginary guest Madrid, because the desire to replace cultural and educational leisure with gastronomic pleasures in the case of the capital of Spain can be called more than natural.

Those who want to try the best of everything at once need to go to the markets of Madrid. Fortunately, like everywhere else in Spain, here you can not only buy provisions for the home, but also taste local specialties, as they say, without leaving the cash register. There are five large markets in Madrid, today we will honestly talk about each of them.

1. MERCADO DE SAN MIGUEL

The most central market of the city is called Mercado de San Miguel. It is located on the Plaza de San Miguel of the same name, which is exactly halfway to the Royal Palace of Madrid from the Plaza de Sol.

The market is interesting not only in terms of gastronomic pleasures, its building also deserves attention. It is considered an example of Madrid Art Nouveau; it was built in the capital of Spain in 1916, and its construction took almost 80 years. In addition to cheeses and jamon, here you can taste the freshest oysters and farm fruits, and in addition to good wine, visitors to the San Miguel market often taste vermouth or gin and tonic without leaving the counter - these drinks are very popular in Spain today.

Can I recommend Mercado de San Miguel unreservedly to everyone? I don’t have a definite answer to this question. On the one hand, the market is large and extremely conveniently located; until the 80s of the 20th century, almost all residents of Madrid went shopping here. True, then the invisible hand of the market did something bad to mercado - large supermarkets lured most its regular customers. In the 90s, they thought about closing the market altogether, but then private investors intervened. They bought the building, carried out a large-scale reconstruction, relied on tourists and reopened the Mercado de San Miguel in 2009.

In the photo: salads with crabs at the market de San Miguel

As a result, the market is beautiful, but expensive - prices are many times higher than in other places, and there is practically no local population here - only city guests living near Plaza de Sol and Plaza Mayor. However, these facts do not affect the quality of jamon or cheese in any way, plus there are many cafes with cuisine for every taste, there is even a sushi bar. In a word, if you have no desire to leave the city center, and you are not particularly keen on the authentic atmosphere of the traditional Madrid market, then feel free to go to the Mercado de San Miguel, it is open from 10 am.

Mercado de San Miguel address: Plaza San Miguel
Opening hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday: from 10.00 to 12.00. Thursday, Friday, Saturday: from 10.00 to two o'clock in the morning.

2. MERCADO DE LA PAZ

The much more authentic Madrid market is located in the most fashionable and fashionable area of the city of Salamanca - where there are a great many shops of different brands: from luxury flagship boutiques to small shops of Spanish designers.

Mercado de la Paz is a small but very cozy market. There is not only the best jamon, cheeses for every taste and even exotic fruits brought from Morocco, but also cafes and a wine library. There are few tourists, but there are a lot of well-groomed wives of wealthy Spaniards - they meticulously choose what to feed their family for dinner. The chefs of restaurants located in Salamanca also buy their food from the same market.

The atmosphere at the mercado is completely relaxed; if you understand Spanish, you can listen to a whole lecture on this or that Spanish specialty, because local sellers are open people and always don’t mind chatting with customers.

Address of Mercado de la Paz: Calle de Ayala, 28
Opening hours: Monday - Friday: from 9.00 to 14.30 and from 17.00 to 20.00. Saturday from 9.00 to 14.30, Sunday - closed.

3. MERCADO DE MARAVILLAS

Do you think size matters? Then head to Mercado de Maravillas. This market is huge, under its roof there is room for as many as 200 shops with Spanish specialties, and they also sell products from Mexico, Italy and even South Korea. The market was opened in Madrid in 1942. It makes sense to go here not only for jamon and cheese, but also for rarities, for example, here you can try edible snails, lamb, crabs or boiled beef tongue.

And also Mercado de Maravillas - beautiful place in order to try real paella, because restaurants opened on the market are invariably included in the lists of the best establishments in the city where this dish is served.

Mercado de Maravillas address: Calle Bravo Murillo, 122
Opening hours: Monday - Friday: from 09.00 to 14.00 and from 17.30 to 20.30. Saturday from 09.00 to 15.00, Sunday – closed.

4. MERCADO DE ANTON MARTIN

Anton Martin is my favorite area of Madrid, because there are traditional bars, the walls of which are lined with colored tiles, and the historic Cina Dore cinema, built back in 1912, the streets here are narrow and steep, and the houses are buried in the arms of wild grapes.

Mercado de Anton Martin is a two-story market, you can easily find it by the carcasses of lambs and huge pieces of beef, which are sold in the shops on the approach to the market, so if you are a vegetarian and such a sight disgusts you no less than the idea of a bullfight, save your nerves and don't go here. To the rest: “Welcome!”

In the photo: oysters at the Anton Martin market

Anton Martin Market is a bohemian place. Here you can taste the same jamon, washing down the delicacy with wine, which is sold in the bars of the market. Cooking master classes are also held here, and there are also shops selling home-made beer. By the way, today in Spain, as in Italy, small breweries are very common. Their owners are not trying to brew beer in industrial scale, but they bet on an exclusive product incredibly High Quality. In short, I advise lovers of good beer to visit Mercado de Anton Martin - you will be pleasantly surprised. And a bonus for those who like to sit out late - the restaurants in the market are open until 23.30, however, this is logical, because in Spain they have dinner very late.

Mercado de Anton Martin address: Calle de Santa Isabel, 5
Store opening hours: Monday-Friday from 9.00 to 21.00, Saturday from 9.00 to 15.00, restaurants are open from Monday to Saturday from 9.00 to 23.00. Sunday is a day off.

5. MERCADO DE SAN ANTON

Near the fun and colorful gay district of Chueca is the market de San Anton. It is part of a large grocery store, and the peculiarity of the mercado is that here you can try those types of tapas that are traditional not only for Madrid, but also for other regions of Spain.

If it happens that you overeat jamon, and you are drawn to the familiar and simple, then keep in mind - at the de San Anton market they make excellent burgers, and serve them on the terrace, which overlooks great view to the capital of Spain.

Mercado de San Anton address: Calle de Augusto Figueroa, 24
Opening hours: daily from 10.00 to 00.00

Well, if you want to stroll through the markets of Madrid with a trusted expert, then

The Ribeira Market is the most important and most famous food market in Lisbon. It is located near the Cais do Sodré station, so if you are suddenly planning to visit the Lisbon Riviera - Cascais and Estoril, it will be convenient for you to stop by on the way to the market and get acquainted with the assortment. If your hotel is located in the Bairro Alto area, then you can easily walk to the market, buy groceries there, or just eat there at the huge food court - Time out market.

Now the building houses two markets operating in antiphase. An ordinary market, familiar to us, as before they sell vegetables, fish, herbs, open in the first half of the day from 6 am to 2 pm, Time out market is open from 10 am to 12 midnight from Sunday to Wednesday, and from Thursday to Saturday It actually works from 10 am to 2 am. The most fun and excitement begins there after 7-8 pm.

The Ribeira market, also known as the 24th of July market, has become the main food market Lisbon back in 1892. At this time the market was opened in modern building with a large dome. In 2014, the market experienced a rebirth - international company Time out market, originally from London, opened a huge food court in the old market and thereby attracted many tourists.

Exterior of Ribeira Market

Traditional part of the Ribeira market

First of all, we were interested in the fish stalls, because Lisbon is located almost on the very shore of the ocean and the fish there should be all right - fresh, tasty and in quantity. Of all this variety, we settled on sword fish (in the upper right corner of the photo), since such fish are not sold here at all, we bought ourselves a piece and fried it in a frying pan in our apartment. The fish was super, tender, melted in your mouth. Prices for fish at the Ribeira market range from 10 to 25 € per kilogram. Unfortunately, sellers put price tags in such a way that it is not possible to photograph them so that they can be clearly seen.

Fish stalls

I was also surprised by the huge octopuses sold in Lisbon; I was somehow used to small one-bite octopuses, but here they were just healthy specimens, more than half the size of a person if you stretch out their head and tentacles. We didn’t dare cook the octopus ourselves; it needed to be cooked for 1 hour; we thought that we wouldn’t have the patience to wait that long after a whole day of walking around Lisbon. We ordered octopus in a restaurant once and really liked it too. Octopus was served with jacket potatoes.

Fish stalls

But we didn’t dare try sea ducks or, more correctly, crustaceans percebes. We looked at them at the market and decided that they were very ugly. Shellfish cost from 8 to 15 € per net.

Shellfish counter

Another photo of Pasha with tuna. Then we watched how two saleswomen deftly and quickly cut up this fish in just a couple of minutes.

Pasha with tuna carcass

I wouldn’t say that the fruit stalls were surprising. The assortment is quite ordinary, the only thing I haven’t tried is the green cones, everything else can be bought in St. Petersburg.

Fruit stalls

Vegetable counter

It is interesting that the Portuguese also engage in gardening. While traveling by bus from Cascais to Sintra, we saw the vegetable gardens of local residents. They grow mainly potatoes and cabbage. Seedlings are sold in abundance at the market. But the usual pots with indoor plants in Portugal are placed on the other side of the window, they are warm.

Seedlings and home flowers

Food court – Time out market

We visited the market in the morning, so the hall is empty. In the evening it can be completely sold out, so this is not the place for those who like small cozy establishments. But the huge selection of dishes and cuisines is the absolute advantage of this place. Here you can try not only Portuguese cuisine, but also Italian, Japanese, Balkan and American cuisine, of course, where would you be without hamburgers these days. In general, everyone will find something in this variety to suit their discerning taste.
New Year's decoration at the market Standard view

one of the restaurants

In total, we went to the market in the morning and spent only 30 minutes exploring it. Of course, in terms of color, the main market of Lisbon is far from Barcelona's Boqueria. Perhaps we got this impression because we were there in December during the low season. Perhaps in the summer the assortment of fruits increases significantly. Another similar market is located at the final stop of tram number 28 - Campo de Ourique (Prazeres) - Mercado de Campo de Ourique. The prices are cheaper there, but the market itself is smaller and less attractive. There is also a food court at Mercado de Campo de Ourique, where you can have a good meal. Want to travel to Lisbon on your own? Read in one short article. You will learn: about all types of transfer from the airport (cost), about the cost of tickets for public transport

| 0 | , get a plan for exploring the city for 6 days, find out which museums are worth visiting and which ones to skip. |

1,762, today 10 Address:
San Pablo, Santiago, Metropolitana Region, Chile; Official page:
mercadocentral.cl; +56 2 2697 3779;
Telephone: Working hours:

every day from 8:00 to 19:00. In any city in the world there is a market where everything is sold - from food to handicrafts. This is where tourists rush in the hope of finding original souvenirs at a lower price than in boutiques. In the capital, built a long time ago Central Market Mercado, which became the main both for the local population and for tourists.

Central Market Mercado - description

The original building has not survived to this day; it burned down in 1864. Later, the building was built in 1868, with the intention of holding exhibitions there. But by coincidence, the idea did not take root, and the premises were allocated to the market. In its current form, it is considered a prime example of 19th century architecture. Its frame is made of metal structures and concrete columns under a multi-cascade roof complex shape. The central part of the roof is made in the form of a tower with a spire. The façade of the building consists of brick walls built around a frame.

Main features of the market

Chile is famous for its seafood, which can be seen and bought in abundance at the Mercado Central Market. You could spend the whole day trying to find out and pronounce the names of some of the products, they are so exotic. In addition to seafood, fruits and vegetables are sold here in a huge variety; their prices are comparatively lower than in stores. But tourists are attracted not only by the abundance of food, but also by the opportunity to try new dishes. The Mercado central market is full of cozy restaurants and cute cafes where they happily cook traditional food for visitors. You can simply come here with the food you just bought and ask them to prepare delicacies from it.

Those who have enough food in the hotels and restaurants of the city come to buy products from local artisans, their shops are also located in the Mercado Central Market. It will take several hours to walk around the entire building, look through all the goods, and relax in a cafe.

Locals come to the market on weekends, trying to find goodies, and tourists visit the Mercado not even for souvenirs, but simply to enjoy the unusual atmosphere and feel the flavor of Chilean trade. Another attraction of Santiago is also located here, so after buying some delicious fruit, you can go for a walk in the park and admire the city from observation platforms.

How to get to the market?

Since the Mercado Central Market building stands out from the others, finding it will not be difficult. Moreover, as the name itself says, it is located in the central part of the city. The nearest station is Cal y Canto, but you can also get there by bus, which stops on Costanera Norte Street.