Markets and Marketplaces | Page 3 of 3
Ballarò Market: Where Palermo Eats Breakfast
The oldest and largest of Palermo's historic markets reaches your ears before it reaches your eyes: the vendors hawk their wares in a singsong chant called abbanniata. Panelle sizzle among the stalls, boiled octopus is sliced to order and oysters wait on ice. You can put a whole breakfast together here, from raw shrimp to baked ricotta with honey - all you have to do is walk from stall to stall.
Vucciria Market: Where Palermo Stays Up Late
The Vucciria isn't the oldest or the biggest of Palermo's markets, but it's the only one that made it into a proverb and into an art gallery. Sleepy alleys with a handful of stalls and permanently wet flagstones by day; grills, smoke, music and crowds after dark. Why the proverb says the market's flagstones never dry, what Renato Guttuso has to do with it, and why I prefer Ballarò.
Varna Farmers Market: The Central Market Locals Call Kolhozen Pazar
The central market in Varna, which locals call Kolhozen pazar, is the biggest market in the city: covered lanes of fruit, vegetables and herbs, a fish market inside and bakeries and sirene cheese shops around the edge. Plus three names for one market, labels boasting pink tomatoes and the reason you'll want cash on you.
The Blue Market in Varna: The Market by the Clock and Grandmothers' Alley
The Blue Market in Varna is a small municipal market in the center of town, by the cathedral and the town clock. Its official name is Chasovnika, its nickname came from the blue tables put in during a modernization, and beyond the fruit and vegetables on the tables, its real life happens on the sidewalk around it, where grandmothers sell eggs, herbs, walnuts and hinap, the fruit foreigners call Chinese dates.
Varna Fish Market: Turbot, Bonito and Greek Horse Mackerel Under One Roof
The Varna Fish Market is the city's only fish market, tucked away at the edge of the central farmers' markets. Black Sea bonito and turbot lie on the ice next to horse mackerel imported from Greece and freshwater fish from inland. If you know when the bonito is running and when the turbot ban is on, the labels will tell you what's fresh - and why seaside Bulgaria eats so little fish.
Grand Bazaar: Istanbul's Largest Marketplace
The Grand Bazaar (Kapalıçarşı) is one of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world. Its history dates back to 1455; today it represents a fascinating city within a city. Traditional canteens called esnaf lokantası still operate in the back alleys. These establishments cook honest meals for local merchants and craftsmen. The atmosphere is completed by tea men delivering hundreds of glasses of strong tea. The Grand Bazaar is a place where history mixes with the daily bustle of trade.
Egyptian Bazaar, Istanbul
The Egyptian Bazaar is a historical marketplace in the center of Turkish Istanbul. It is renowned for the sale of spices and sweets. It is the second most famous marketplace in the city and a very popular tourist destination. This significant monument from the 17th century is located in the Eminönü district in close proximity to the Galata Bridge.
Alexandru cel Bun Market, Iași: A Market Hall for Locals
Alexandru cel Bun Market is the largest market in Iași - a hectare of stalls in a residential district where locals come to shop and tourists don't. It was there that I first saw whole heads of cabbage fermented for sarmale, barrels of pickled cucumbers, horseradish sold by the kilo and freshly shelled walnuts. The market's name goes back to a charter from 1408, the oldest mention of Iași there is.
Les Halles in Clisson: A Wooden Market Hall from the 14th Century
The covered Les Halles market hall in the French town of Clisson has stood since the end of the 14th century, and markets have been held under its wooden roof timbers without interruption for more than six hundred years. It even survived the War in the Vendée, which leveled the rest of the town. You'll get the best feel for the place early in the morning, when the hall is still almost empty and the market under the medieval beams is only just getting going.
Saint-Aubin: The Sunday Market in Toulouse
We got the best food tip in Toulouse over a beer: the bartender sent us to the Sunday market at Saint-Aubin. Once a week the streets around the church fill up with Pyrenean cheeses, a pot of aligot and loaves of pain d'épices sold by weight - plus a flea market and musicians. I came away with a loaf studded with orange peel, and I tasted the aligot.