Street Markets
Street Markets Around the World
People want to go into a market that is teeming with people and food and hand crafted items, a market that is unique, not one that has been built looking like a hundred or a thousand others. A unique stamp upon a city or a countryside. The creativity of a collection of people, merchants and bakers and artisans, and to which throngs of people hungry for this kind of uniqueness come, is what people want. They put in on their travel itinerary and don’t want to miss is.
Here is a list of some street markets around the world.
1. St. George’s Market Belfast
St George’s Market is one of Belfast’s oldest attractions and one of the best markets in the UK and Ireland. Only open Fri, Sat & Sun.
There has been a Friday market on the St George’s site since 1604. The present award-winning St George’s Market, built between 1890 and 1896, is one of Belfast’s oldest attractions.
As well as being home to some of the finest fresh produce, with customers travelling near and far to sample the delights of Friday, Saturday and Sunday markets, it has become one of the city’s most popular places to visit.
2. The Rialto Market – Venice Italy
Visit the Market Rialto
A treat for the senses, with artistic piles of peaches and cherries, artichokes, and red chicory from Treviso.
Fruit, vegetables, and fish tend to be strictly seasonal. It is a lively place with many local people and tourists!
The location of the Rialto market is northwest of the Rialto Bridge in the district of San Polo.
The place is alongside the Grand Canal to the right, behind the souvenir stalls. In this area, you can spend without knowing 2-4 hours… A must-visit!
Opening hours:
● Fresh produce market (7:30am-1pm Mon-Sat)
● Pescheria market (7:30am-1pm Tue-Sat)
In Italy’s tourism hot spot Venice, is one of the world’s most atmospheric retail spaces. It is also one of the oldest, with a market first moving to the area at the end of the 11th century. Today’s market sits on the bank of the Grand Canal, which is spanned by the famous Rialto Bridge, a stereotypically stylish and historic Venetian masterpiece that dates from the 1500s. The market itself is a bustle of activity every day, with goods unloaded from barges and locals aggressively seeking out the freshest and best items. Fish is the backbone of commerce at Rialto, though vegetables, fruit and other products important to Venetian cuisine are also on display. For tourists, a visit is more about the experience than about shopping, but what an experience it is!
3. Chatuchak Weekend Market Bangkok Thailand
– is a legend among tourists and Bangkok residents alike. It is the largest market in Thailand, by far, and one of the largest weekend markets in the world. Sometimes simply referred to as JJ (an apt abbreviation, since the “ch” sound in Thai is sometimes Romanized as a “j”), it is a sprawling market that welcomes at least 200,000 people per day on the weekend. This place is a souvenir-hunter’s dream.
4. Marrakech, Morocco Souk Semmarine
Situated next to Marrakech’s world-famous square, Jemaa el-Fna, Souk Semmarine is Morocco’s most expansive market – a visually compelling labyrinth where traders have been hawking their services and peddling their wares for well over a thousand years. A feast for the senses, this medina attraction teems with brightly dyed textiles, aromatic spices, ceramic tagine pots and artisan jewelry.
Souk Semmarine is not a half-hour shopping trip, rather, it’s a place where one can lose track of an entire day while navigating its enigmatic alleys. Delve deeper into this wonderland to discover a host of other curiosities including lamp shops, pashminas sellers, patisseries and henna artists.
Marrakech is home to some of the best, most authentic shopping options in the Magreb. The city’s souks have starred in travel literature, films and armchair travelers’ daydreams for decades. Though it is often referred to as the Marrakech Souk by the uninitiated, there is actually no central market area, rather a series of interconnected markets that specialize in different items.
5. Khan El-Khalili – Cairo, Egypt
Originally built on the site of an old mausoleum, local and foreign merchants have been trading at Khan el-Khalili souk since the 14th century. It is Egypt’s most famous market.
Exploring Khan el-Khalili market
Khan el-Khalili, the ancient souk in Cairo
Located in the heart of Islamic Cairo, near the Medieval walled city of the Saladin Citadel, the Khan el-Khalili market was built on the old burial site of the Fatimid Caliphs, who founded Cairo in the 10th century. Trading in the souk dates from the 14th century, but its elaborately-carved monumental gates and grid-like alleyways were constructed in the 16th century under Egypt’s last powerful Mamluk ruler.
While the souk is no longer strictly divided into specific trading areas, the gold merchants, coppersmiths’, and spice vendors’ districts remain quite distinct. Throughout the rest of the bazaar, stalls are full of colourful lanterns, candles, jewellery, perfumes, musical instruments and other handicrafts – you can pretty much find anything you could possibly want within its walls!
This is a great place to shop for souvenirs – most vendors speak some English and you can try out your haggling skills and a few words of Arabic (see our General Information on travelling to Egypt for tips)! Even if you don’t want to buy anything, the market is an incredible place to walk through and experience the craziness of daily life in Cairo. Most stalls are open from around 9 am until well after nightfall – although some may be closed on Friday mornings and Sundays.
6. La Boqueria, Barcelona Spain
Barcelona is known for its beaches, its famous soccer club, and its architecture. However, La Boqueria is arguably the city’s most exciting attraction, at least from a food lover’s perspective. This market’s roots can be traced back to the 13th century, and its design and atmosphere are, for some visitors, as attractive as what’s for sale in the many market stalls. Boqueria’s edibles range from fresh seafood and vegetables to artisanal foods and Catalan specialties. Some visitors are bound to get inspired and want to do more than simply eat their way around the market. Luckily, Boqueria has an onsite culinary school so that those with culinary ambitions can take some Catalan kitchen skills back home with them.
7. Toronto’s sprawling St. Lawrence Market
– is the envy of other mall-weary North American cities. The market has a 200-year history and currently consists of three large retail spaces. Open Tuesday through Saturday, St. Lawrence has specialty vendors selling artisan foods, organic meats and vegetables, and many other locally grown or handcrafted goods. More than 100 vendors populate the lower levels of the South Market building, while art and cultural exhibitions are regularly held on the upper level. The Saturday Farmers Market, held in the adjacent North Market building, brings even more options to hungry shoppers, while Sunday’s antiques show draws bargain hunters and collectors.
8. Rue de Seine, Paris France
This was the street market that inspired my wanting to do this list. I have stayed at the Hotel La Louisianne a number of times, and it sits above the street market on Rue de Seine. The sound of milk steamers awaken you gently, and cries of vendors selling their wares, peaches, fish. It is a symphony, and it is breathtaking.
Preserving a way of life
I was told by a French chef that there has been a law passed where food market stalls can only be replaced by other market stalls. Apparently you can’t take a food market stall and turn it into another retail operation which protects the industry city-wide. As much as I hate big government deciding how private property can be used, I do think this is a super way to protect a traditional way of life for Parisians and champions small businesses which are the backbone of any economy.
In addition to the fresh fruits and veggies on hand, you can pick up some lovely cooked sausages (saucisson), parma ham, fresh breads, spit roasted chickens, local cheeses, fresh crab and prawns (shrimp). Although the convenient supermarket Carrefour is right next door, most locals prefer to shop here at stalls at the corners of rue de Seine and rue Buci.