(English) The Best Food and Drink in Mercat de la Boquería

Barcelona is one of the cornerstones of the Mediterranean culinary scene, where you’ll find the Mercat de la Boquería market is the best place to stock your pantry and the perfect opportunity to taste and purchase some of the very best food and drink in the entire city.  The market offers fresh, varied and high-quality produce alongside modern and exciting presentations, not forgetting the basic ingredients that can tempt even the most demanding palates.

Located between Las Ramblas and the Raval Quarter, here you’ll find the oldest market in Barcelona, which was opened in 1840 bearing the name Mercado de Sant Josep, since it was built on land that housed a convent of the very same name. However, the long history of La Boqueria goes much further back, dating back to the 12^th century, in fact, when street vendors, peasants and nearby farmers would come to the market to sell their wares on makeshift street stalls.

Walking into Mercat de la Boqueria, you’ll be immersing yourself in a world full of delicate aromas, rich flavours and vibrant colours. Its international reputation hails it as one of the very best markets the world has to offer, which means it is visited by huge numbers of tourists and visitors to Barcelona all year round, all looking to explore one of the city’s key culinary venues.

Walking through the market, you’ll see an amazing showcase of fresh, high-quality products of all different colours and types. The first stalls you’ll be greeted by are the most colourful and striking, always very popular with visitors, with fruit and vegetable outlets offering perfectly-presented produce with a huge range of varieties on offer. It’s not uncommon to see lots of excited tourists snapping dozens of pictures on their phones of all the fresh, peeled and cut fruit you’ll see before you.

In the central part of La Boquería, you’ll find the fishmongers, where the vast range of seafood on display perfectly encapsulates the rich diversity of our underwater world, both past and present. Towards the back you’ll find the majority of the butchers and delicatessens, which, although the produce on display might not be quite as showy, they still attract plenty of interest, with small but original ideas, including cones of ham tacos.  Completing this mosaic of treasures are the nut stands, specialist outlets, outdoor locations and restaurants, which provide some of the most thrilling displays of all, delighting all five of your senses.

The Mercat de la Boqueria is the most modern and cosmopolitan face of the city’s culinary scene, with stalls and shops perfectly encapsulating Barcelona’s bold and daring trends and international produce. Not forgetting the traditional character maintained by this place, one of the oldest and most familiar city spots that, for generation after generation, has served up unique produce to city dwellers, the market is often the place to be for those hard-to-find ingredients.

Visit the Mercat de la Boquería and experience this fascinating culinary mosaic, drawing in people from all walks of life with its visual presence, aromas and flavours.

Categories: barcelona