A number of you have recommended that there is a market in Barcelona that is not to be missed. Can you narrow it down to name or location? There must be more than one market in Barcelona!

La Boqueria? http://www.boqueria.info/

It's just off La Rambla, I believe in the second block down from Placa Catalunya on the right side.

I'm not so sure it's a "not to be missed".

I guess if you want to pick up a snack or some food. Otherwise, there are many more "not to be missed" sights. At least it's very convenient.

I think that the market is definitely a 'not to be missed'. La Boqueria is one of the prettiest markets that I've seen in many, many European cities. To see the fruits, the seafood, the produce, the candies (my mouth is watering already). I'd highly recommend a stop at that market - go for breakfast, order a pastry and coffee at one of the little stands in the market. Don't be surprised if the person next to you is eating a full dinner with a glass of wine (at 7:00 am) - that person just got off his/her shift stocking the market. Definitely do go to La Boqueria !!!!!

This 600-year-old market is, in my opinion, one of the greatest "sights" in the city and in all of Spain for a food-lover. And be sure to have a meal there...you can eat amazingly well at one of the small eateries withiin the market..maybe someone here can give you exact names....

Oh, yes, La Boqueria is a place to fell in love with. I did. And I was living in Spain and my little town also had its own, quite impressive, market, with an abundance of produce, and - most of all - seafood. But the species I've spotted in La Boqueria I haven't seen anywhere else. And yes, I have done all the famous sites there, even went to see an opera about Gaudi and loved it, though my daughter and son-in-law, both severely addicted opera lovers, still can't forgive me that I "dragged" them there - since they don't like modern operas and speak neither Catalan (me neither) nor Spanish, so they did not understand the libretto on top of not liking the music.

Har...it's definitely La Boqueria...great market experience....EKScrunchy has said it all
above...but while there, as you walk in , to the right is a tiny bar-stool cafe run by Juan, a charming gentleman with a bow tie...excellent place for breakfast and he'll show you his feature picture/article in a Spanish magazine... place is named "Pixoto" if I recall. The sights, sounds and aromas around La Boqueria will stay with you for a while!
Stu T.

Hello all...does anyone know if La Boqueria is open only on certain days please?

Thank you.

It's open every day but Sunday. Do go.

I love food markets, and I don't even love to cook - La Boqueria is one of the best!

LOVED IT! Don't miss it, but go hungry and graze your way through.

To me La Boquería is the best sight in Barcelona. Sorry, I'm not a Gaudi lover. It's a feast for the senses !Don't miss it!

Ditto to all of the above,

Simply great food at the hole-in-the-wall lunch counters, kioskos, in the Boquería market. You could graze at the most famous Bar Pinotxo (to the right as you walk in) whose Juan Bayen with bow tie (now in his seventies) is a city legend and has written a cookbook that you can purchase there. His nephews will take your order and prepare your treats. Pinotxo is so popular now, they've had to "expand", adding more bar stools and tables to the side of the original counter.

or try the somewhat less heralded but equally delicious Bar (Kiosko) Quim towards the back of the market, whose bar stools will be occupied mostly by locals or chefs,
www.worldsofflavorspain.com/node/746

or the Kiosko Universal at the front left-hand corner of the market as you walk in.


www.boqueria.info

Bookmarking

Mraibel:

Thanks for seconding my recommendation to experience Juan's kiosk...above...and giving us the correct name Pinotxo! He was still active when I was last there in 2000. He just had to pose for a pic with us...La Boqueria is one in a million markets!

Stu t.

Hi tower,
He's such a colorful character, and still going strong, albeit with a few more gray hairs and now letting his nephews do most of the cooking. But he's stilll "the boss"!

Thank you all, but how would I locate this market?

This sounds fabulous - I'm putting this info in my Barcelona file!

taniaroth - the first responder gave directions to this market. I'm sure if you get lost you could ask anyone in the area for directions.

tania:

Simply start out from the big fountain at Placa Catalunya, walk down the Rambla toward the gigantic Columbus Monument at it's end..in a short way you'll come to Placa Boqueria and you will see La Boqueria on your right, a bit off the street..big sign proclaiming "MERKAT, La Boqueria" over it's front enrance. Any street map of the city will show it...sugggest "Streetwise Barcelona" (handy, small, plastic coated map). Enjoy!

(Click on Maribel's Boqueria web site above, which even has a detailed map of shops within La Boqueria)

stu T.

Ir's "real" nane is Mercat de Sant Josep, but everyone knows it as the Boquería market.