Right in the heart of the beautiful city of Barcelona is ‘Mercat de la Boqueria’ or The La Boqueria Market. Serving the Spaniards since 1836, this market boasts of fresh local handpicked produce laid daily in more than 100 stalls.
So what makes La Boqueria so special?
First and foremost is its central location. Right on La Rambla which is the arterial street of the city. Second is the amazing variety of not only fresh fruits, seafood, vegetables, but a vast array of exotic cold cuts, cured meats, olives, and food stalls which are dishing up delicacies with the fresh produce. So from breakfast to brunch you can pretty much spend your entire day here.
Along with the serious shoppers, we have lots of tourists and instagrammers who are jostling their way to get some colorful pictures or click selfies (yes with the dry ham and mushrooms)
The entire atmosphere is very vibrant and alive. The eager hawkers, shouting out offers to attract people to their stalls, grannies trotting their way, examining the fish with a hawk’s eye, kids pulling their mums to get one of those bright colored candies, and people like me, trying to get their cameras stable in the crowd, to get one clear picture.
The market may not be in the Must Visit guidebooks. But I feel if you want to live the life of locals and experience the pulse of any place, the best way is to head to its local markets. And La Boqueria will definitely not leave you disappointed.
Did I buy anything from La Boqueria? Well no, i did not.
I was actually mugged the previous day near Sagrada familia, so was totally broke. With some borrowed money, I only managed to get a flight ticket back to London and manage food for a day.
But yes I did enjoy Paella at one of the stalls for Lunch and a grapefruit juice , the cheapest one for 1 Euro. Thats how robbed tourists survive.
Well jokes aside, I loved the market and do insist everyone to visit, just be careful of your wallet and phone.
