English
Barcelona’s a great city to go out shopping. Everyone knows, or at least suspects this. What everyone doesn’t know, is that in terms of markets, there’s more than just La Boqueria on offer. Be Hostels tells you about best ones.
In terms of food markets, it’s a good idea to take a look at the Santa Caterina market in Born, in the East of the city. I’d also recommend the Market of Sant Antoni, in the West on the Ronda Sant Pau. It’s like La Boqueria, but bigger and more spacious.
If you have a taste for art, a very interesting little Catalan art market appears every weekend in the Plaza Sant Josep de Oriol, just off La Rambla.
My personal favourite, and by far the biggest, is the Mercat del Encants at the Placa dels Glories Catalanes. It’s a flea market, and sells almost anything, old and new.
It can take a while sifting through all the junk (though that trash may be the next man’s treasure), but you can find some real gems. Never pay the asking price though, bartering is expected. It takes place every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 8:30am. Some stalls carry on into the afternoon, but many pack up at around 1:00pm. For this reason, the best bargains can be found at 12:00, when the goods fall in price.
Barcelona Markets are just a fun way to shop, and you are likely to be able to find something a bit different either for yourself or for an original present. Also I find markets give you a real sense of where you are, when you hear the vendors shouting in Catalan and the people all haggling, I love it. I hope you do too.
[...] There are numerous fruit stands situated at the front of the market, which display an almost overwhelming palate of colours. Find more info about Barcelona Markets here. [...]