The markets of Barcelona are a very interesting tour to do due to the variety of them. We will call this list the most beautiful markets in Barcelona, but there are many more.
When you have thought about visiting Barcelona, you have thought about visiting the Sagrada Familia, the works of Gaudí, the Rambla and the Barceloneta, right? And it is very good…………….. but…. wouldn’t you like to take a tour full of color, different, and be able to be with more local people in some places, only in some? And don’t just think about food, you will discover many more things… tempting, isn’t it?
Travel companions, today just bring comfortable shoes, get up early, and walk to discover some of the markets in Barcelona, just a few of all those in this wonderful city that always surprises us.
►Before this tour, tell you that starting your visit to Barcelona with a free walking tour is ideal, it will make you take that first contact with the city and then, yes, start doing your own tour.
Indice:
Mercat dels Encants
What will we find here? Clothes, decoration, new and used items, shops and auctions, art, antiques, what you are missing to fix up your house, food, but above all… people looking for what they want to buy and not the typical tourist photo.
The particularity of this market is its structure, it is like a large open store with a large roof that sees everything.
Although we don’t arrive early enough to witness it, on Mondays and Wednesdays between 7 and 9 a.m. there are auctions of lots, items from stores that have closed, empty houses, antiques.
It is a market of many years, traditionally organized in the street that has this great space since 2013 designed by the team of Fermín Vázquez
Located in Place de les Glories in El Clot, very close to the Agbar tower, it opens on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m
The truth is that we really like to visit these types of places with antiques or decorative items, so it was a walk to which we dedicated quite a bit of time, and for us, due to that great structure, it became one of the most beautiful markets in Barcelona.
We started with the shopping area mostly with household items, then shops with antiques, books, collectibles, but what we liked the most were the stalls at ground level, where the variety of antique things you can see is impressive.
But on this tour of markets we leave Dels encants and go to the Sant Antoni Market
►Have you seen our three-day tour of the city of Barcelona yet?
Mercat Sant Antoni
We arrive at this market that I have no doubt is one of the most beautiful in Barcelona, a must-see, a jewel to discover.
Originally, it was an open-air market located at the southern entrance to the walled city of Barcelona. When the city’s expansion projects and the demolition of the walls began, Ildefons Cerdà proposed the construction of a structure to guarantee the market’s permanence and improve the supply of the entire city of Barcelona, which did not have enough from the markets within the walls.
It was to be the first market on the outskirts of the city, and the architect Antoni Rovira i Trias designed the facilities of the Mercado de San Antonio. Construction was completed in 1882. At the beginning of the 20th century, textile merchants from the Paralelo and other non-food products began to set up shop around the market to take advantage of the influx of people and improve their commercial activity. This is how the Mercado de los Encants de Sant Antoni was born, and booksellers and collectors would also join in on Sundays. The three markets still coexist today.
Inside Sant Antoni you will find a great variety of food and the stalls are arranged with very good taste. It is so pleasant to walk through it, it looks so well cared for and as you can see we found few people, we imagine it was because of the time we chose.
You also have shops with clothing, and on Sundays (which we did not see) they sell books and collectibles
The building closed in 2007 for a complete renovation. During the renovation work, the Sant Antoni bastion was discovered, one of the 11 that formed part of the medieval wall, as well as a section of Roman road, which were incorporated into the restoration project.
Mercat Santa Caterina
We will now arrive at a very architecturally unique market, Santa Caterina market.
We were very struck by the impressive roof of colourful mosaics, the roof becomes the building’s calling card, with one drawback, that it is only visible from above, ask me from how many sides I tried to film it to appreciate it and it was all in vain. The structure of the Santa Caterina market is made up of a set of irregular wooden vaults. Without a doubt, one of the most beautiful markets in Barcelona.
Its history begins with the demolition of the convent of Santa Caterina, whose land was granted to the city council to build the market.
This was the first covered market in the city, officially opened in 1848.
The market has four entrances, the one on the main façade, those on the side streets and the one located in the square at the back.
The architectural design is by Enric Mirallles and Benedetta Tagliabue. The spectacular roof of colorful mosaics was designed by the artist Toni Comella. The engineer in charge of the roof structure was José María Velasco Rivas from the beginning of the project in 1997 until the completion of construction in 2005.
The market roof is made of glazed ceramic pieces whose colours are intended to reproduce the colours of the fruit and vegetable stalls. The ceramic pieces are glazed in 67 different colours.
What will we find inside?, a wide variety of foods, impossible not to be tempted by something.
The opening hours: it is closed on Sundays, the rest of the days it is open from 7.30 am to 3.30 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, and until 8 pm on the rest of the days.
It is located on Avenida Frances Cambó in Sant Per, Santa Caterina i la Ribera
The schedule is from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m
It is located on Carrer del Compte d’urgellen in the Eixample.
We are now going to a market that is no longer a market……
Mercat del Born
The Born Centre of Culture and Memory is located in the old El Born Market , another great building of iron architecture along with the Mercat Sant Antoni.
In 1873, the City Council approved the project for the construction of the Central Market of Barcelona and the following year the works began. The building was completed in 1876. For 95 years it maintained its function as a market, divided into two stages: an initial one, during which it was the market for the Ribera district, and another, from 1921, acting as the central fruit and vegetable market of Barcelona.
In 2002, after being closed for several years while work was being carried out to install the Barcelona Provincial Library in the building, archaeological remains from the medieval period of the Ribera neighbourhood were discovered. In 2006 it was declared a cultural asset of national interest.
In 2011 the restoration works began and were completed in 2013.
Access to the centre is free, visits to the exhibition spaces and the site are subject to a fee.
Opening hours: from March to October, from Tuesday to Sunday and holidays, from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
from November to February, from Tuesday to Saturday, from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.,
This visit may not take as much time as the previous ones, but it is worth doing
And where do we go now?, we continue with the tour of the most beautiful markets in Barcelona, the most recognized by tourists, the most famous market in Barcelona, the Boqueria
La Boqueria
The Boqueria is a must for those of us who are visiting the city. Of course, the atmosphere here will be different. We will see lots of tourists walking around, having a drink and eating something. It is very pretty and colorful and the number of visitors is understandable. Without a doubt, it is one of the most beautiful markets in Barcelona, if not the most beautiful.
The Sant Josep market, popularly known as La Boqueria, is not only a place where you can buy food products, but also a tourist attraction.
Its origins are in the open air, there are documents that confirm the presence of tables selling meat in the Llano de la Boqueria between 1200 and 1700 in a context of street markets located on the Rambla. These markets were made up of temporary open-air stalls.
The demolition of the portal of the Boqueria of the old wall of the Rambla took place in 1777 and the butchers were transferred to the promenade, where they would have several locations: between 1797 and 1801.
In the current location before the market, there was the convent of San José.
The years 1913 and 1914 saw the installation of the modernist arch at the entrance from the Rambla, designed by the architect Antoni de Falguera, and the construction of the metal roof. This work, also by Falguera, thus closed a period characterized, first, by the sea of awnings with which the vendors protected themselves from the inclement weather and, later, by the temporary roofs installed in 1874. Over the years it has become the most emblematic market in the city.
It is undoubtedly a must, but we wanted to show some of the many others that the city of Barcelona has and that are undoubtedly also worth a visit.
Located on the promenade the hours are from 8 a.m. to 8.30 p.m
►Do you want to know the best way to get from the airport to the city center?
MAP
We see here on the map the location of each of the markets.
Aren’t they going to tell me that they are not the most beautiful markets in Barcelona? What other market would you add to this tour?
►During our journeys we were always connected with data thanks to Holafly’s Sims. They are designed for travelers, we leave you a discounted link for followers of Europe Accompanied ► Holafly discount code
NOTE: The information in this article is based on our own experience, being totally objective. This article contains affiliate links
