La Boqueria Market

The current Mercado de la Boquería has lived through many phases. We will hereby try to give a faithful description of the facts. The initial origin of this market is not very clear. What we know for sure is that it started as an itinerant market, located in the Rambla de Barcelona, ideal place of the commercialization of goods. It was not the first time it was used as such for there had been some stands of meat and other goods since the beginning of the 12th century.

La Rambla gained more importance as a walk; the Market was not convenient and many times they tried to take it off. Remembering that villages and cities in Catalunya have been founded around the markets, we found that it was originally an open air one in front of one of the gates of the old wall (Pla de la Boqueria), where the peddlers and peasants of other villages and farms would settle in order to sell their products.

Every time I go back to Barcelona I visit the Mercado de la Boqueria, like it's a a ritual. the market is located on the Ramblas in a world full of smells, colors, textures, etc. At the stands you can find a great variety of foods, all of great quality.

La Boqueria origins come from the 13th century. Part of the current structure is from 1700, even though the building went through several changes afterwards. One cannot go to Barcelona without passing by this wonderful market.

When the weather is nice, I love buying a good piece of bread, brie cheese, tomato, serrano ham and a handful of strawberries.

Every time I walk on the Rambla, it is impossible not to stop in at one of the most famous Market of Barcelona. An explosion of colors, curiosities, people, smells mixing up in this typical place of the most authentic Barcelona. I take the opportunity to have a tropical fruit smoothy, buy sweets I know I won't find in any other place, and to take pictures.

The Mercado de la Boqueria charms everyone and you can have a tasty tapas and an animated chat with anyone. There are many tourists but also many living their everyday life in Barcelona. Simply one of my favorite spots in Barcelona.

Going down the popular Rambla right in the center of Barcelona, apart form seeing hundreds of tourists, one can find the famous Mercado de la Boqueria, emblematic and essential visit of everyone coming to the city.

Around the 12th century, it was only an itinerant market which started growing throughout time and became what it is today: a fully-loaded market where you can get a variety of fresh products. It is perfectly located in the center, so it's always packed of tourists and locals, who, one generation after the next, have felt the pride of having the greatest market of Spain on Catalan lands.

I got to know markets like this one when I was a child in Rosario. There was one on the current Plaza Montenegro, although they started disappearing giving way to other attractions. They existed because half of the immigrants in Rosario were from Galicia and Catalunya and the other half came from various Italian cities and I knew people who had owned stands like these.

This is why it was a great surprise to discover one of similar dimensions right in the center of Barcelona, because I had already seen the weekly markets of the different places I visited, but never a similar one. As usual, my friend told me "Marta shut your mouth" and it was not because it was open to eat, but because of the astonishment in front of what looked more like a boutique than a market. I recalled a not so famous Albert Einstein quotation "One who doesn't have the gift of marveling or getting enthused would better be off dead, because his eyes are closed." and I thought "I'm saved", because until now I have marveled at everything I have seen and lived.