La Boqueria Market is the biggest food market in Barcelona with a sea of food stalls with fresh fruits, meat, seafood, veggies and all that a food lover would wish for. The market is located in the centre of Barcelona. In addition to food stalls, it also has aromatic herbs, handicrafts nuts and seeds, cheeses, fresh juices, exotic fruits, local delicacies like Salchichon and Butifarra, wine, rice apples, chocolates and much more. It is one of the traditional places in Barcelona and most of the stalls are owned by fourth and fifth-generation inheritors.

Tale of the Biggest food market in Barcelona

The place was derived after the word “boc” ( which means goat in Catalan) and named La Boqueria which means ‘place where a goat is sold’. It was started in 1217 as a meat market on the same spot. The meat of goat was popularly sold here.

Until 1826, the Boqueria wasn’t legally acknowledged as an official market. In the year of 1470, it transformed into a pig market called the Mercat Bornet. Only in the year of 1826, the La Boqueria market was legally recognized and it was decided in a convention a year later to build an official structure. This is the time when the market started to rapidly grow but with mainly housing butchers and fishmongers.

Shopping at La Boqueria

The Boqueria Market has restaurants where you can eat delicious foods or can purchase fresh and quality ingredients to prepare food at home. There are wide ranges of products available here. The locals will also be there in large number in the market and with the tourists joining them, you can see the crowd there all the time. Here are some of the significant products available in the market.

Ham

At the later part of the market, you can see a large section which is dedicated to selling Spanish ham. These stalls posses a very high quality of hams. They belong to the higher quality side of the 40 million hams produced in Spain annually. The meats are obtained from the pigs which were grown in farms in the border of Spain and Portugal. So, the pigs used to roam around the forests nearby and eat healthy food like herbs, acorns and grass. The more healthy the pig is, the tastier and wholesomer the meat will be. Consequently, the meat available in the market are of such high quality.

Stacks of Hams in the biggest market in Barcelona — Photo by Alex Ruggieri on Unsplash

Fruits and Vegetables

The stalls selling the fruits and vegetables are mostly located near the front end of the market and but there’s also a less crowded court on the market’s right side. You can actually feel the smell of fresh vegetables and fruits and see them beautifully arranged to give a colourful look as you enter the section. If you want to make a special salad for yourself before you leave for the next destination, this is the place to be at. They also have wide varieties from extrinsic fruits to edible flowers.

Fresh fruits and vegatables in La Boqueria,the biggest market in Barcelona — Photo by ja ma on Unsplash

Meat

The place has the best and high-quality meat. The prices of the meat increase as the quality increases. The cutting techniques of the butchers over there is fascinating. It will be very different from the conventional methods that you would have seen. You can even ask a few grams of meat and they will masterfully carve out the paper-thin pieces. You can also get the fresh eggs of all sizes and colours. Don’t forget to try the enormous ostrich eggs.

Seafood

You can also buy some fleshiest seafood here. There is a variety of seafood present right from the tasty salmon to the shellfish and even Tuna. They are very fresh and you can even see them wobbling right in front of you. In fact, you can actually witness the nervy crabs shiver with the touch of the sharp knives chiselling down on it.

A fish in one of the fish stalls of La Boqueria — Photo by Nigel Cohen on Unsplash

Besides all this, there are also speciality stalls with merchants selling salts, spices, olives and other pickled delights. There are also fine bread, chocolates and candies available in the market. You can buy yourself an olive oil bottle and also it would be a wonderful and healthy gift. The market is famous for its small tubs of green olives with garlic stuff. It is a tasty snack and you can see it along the market’s outskirts.

It is certain that your taste buds will be tempted to try out all the amazing flavours that the biggest food market in Barcelona has to offer. This market is one of the many things with what the Catalan capital makes you fall in love with the place. Craft your very own itinerary to Barcelona with Pickyourtrail with 100% customisation. You can choose the attractions like choosing the tasty ingredients for the salad from La Boqueria. Hurry! It’s your time to cook your itinerary to book a trip to Barcelona.