Barcelona Guide
The Ramblas
Mercat de la Boqueria
Address: Rambla Sant Josep
Opening time: Mon– Sat 8am–8pm
Telephone: 933 182 584
Website: www.boqueria.info
Sometimes known as Rambla de les Flors, the Rambla Sant Josep is marked by the sudden profusion of flower stalls. The city's glorious main food market is over to the right, officially the Mercat Sant Josep though referred to locally as LaBoqueria. While others might protest, the market really can claim to be the best in Spain. Built on the site of a former convent between 1836 and 1840, the cavernous hall stretches back from the high wrought-iron entrance arch facing the Ramblas.
It's a riot of noise and colour, as popular with locals who come here to shop daily as with snap-happy tourists. Everything radiates out from the central banks of fish and seafood stalls – glistening piles of fruit and vegetables, bunches of herbs and pots of spices, baskets of wild mushrooms, mounds of cheese and sausage, racks of bread, hanging hams, and overloaded meat counters. Many get waylaid at the entrance by the eye-candy seasonal fruit cartons and squeezed juices, but the flagship fruit and veg stalls here are pricey. It's usually better value right inside, and even more so in the small outdoor square just beyond the north side of the market where the local allotment-holders and market-gardeners gather.
Everyone has a favourite market stall, but don't miss seeing Petras, the wild mushroom and dried insect stall (it's at the back, by the market restaurant, the Garduña). If you really don't fancy chilli worms, ant candy and crunchy beetles, there are some excellent stand-up tapas bars in the market as well, open from dawn onwards for the traders – the Pinotxo is the most famous.