Markets
This small but charming local market stands in the centre of the beautiful
porticoed square, the Plaça del Mercadal in the Sant Andreu district. Its origins, like so many other markets, can be traced back to the
middle of the 19th century, a period when hawking in Barcelona was regulated with the building of covered markets.
During the week, you can find in this market of Barcelona"s Eixample Esquerra stalls outside selling all kinds of goods, from clothes and shoes to homewares … and, inside, gleaming displays of vegetables, fruit, fish and meat. On Sundays, second-hand books and stamps for collectors captivate the visitors to the historic Mercat de Sant Antoni which retains the architecture, vibrancy and charm of its origins.
Barcelona Cathedral, an undulating, brightly coloured roof catches our eye. Attracted like insects to a colourful flower, we approach to discover a food market below the roof: the Santa Caterina Market. The original design of the building, as well as the treasure trove of produce displayed on its stalls, won"t disappoint visitors to the neighbourhood of Santa Caterina.
The outline of this jewel of functional modernista architecture protrudes above the rows of shops that line
Barcelona"s Carrer de Sants. It is well worth going inside to do some food shopping or just to let your senses carry you away.
Sarrià Market has become a modern, spacious showcase for food which reopened in 2007 after a complete refit. It still retains the original structure of the
market founded over 100 years ago which supplied the local community with food throughout the last century and continues to do so today.