The world’s best food markets

Madrid

Mercado de San Miguel

Opened in 1916 in a spectacular cast-iron structure near Plaza Mayor, this gourmet market is a celebration of the Spanish larder, with more than 30 stalls offering a range of produce, from Galicia’s famed fresh fish and seafood, to olives, cheese, cured meats and top-notch tapas. It’s worth popping in if only to perch at one of its wine bars with a glass of cava and a plate of boquerones. It’s chaos, but that is part of this mercado’s (and Madrid’s) charm. Niki Blasina

Palermo

Mercato del Capo

Founded during the Arab domination of Sicily, Mercato del Capo remains one of the more multicultural corners of the city. Here you can find Nigerian textile traders rubbing shoulders with burly fishmongers expertly filleting tunas, or sample myriad olives and cheeses from the island’s hinterland. My grandfather taught me to come early, and make a beeline for the cart selling steaming slices of sfincione (a focaccia-like bread served with oregano, anchovies and caciocavallo cheese). Ben Marino

Dijon

Les Halles de Dijon 

Inspired by the designs of one of the city’s most famous sons, Gustave Eiffel, this Dijon market is a vaulted, ironwork theatre of Burgundian gastronomy. Four days a week, Les Halles hums with local producers selling Charolais beef for the classic bœuf à la bourguignonne, giant wheels of Comté cheese from the nearby Jura, as well as the wines, more cheeses, chickens, mushrooms, snails and mustards for which the region is famed. John Thornhill

London

Chapel Market, Islington 

Chapel Market is part of my life, my identity. It’s always felt under threat but never died – it really is the place where everyone knows your name. It is where you go for last glimpses of a mixed London community with some good veg and excellent chat. Now there is a farmers’ market too, but it’s the old-fashioned “normal” market that gives me the most joy and the avocados I can actually afford. Juliet Riddell

Los Angeles

Grand Central Market 

For more than a century, Grand Central Market in Los Angeles’s downtown historic district has celebrated the city’s many food cultures under one roof. While legacy vendors such as China Cafe (c1959), best known for its huge bowls of wonton soup and off-menu egg rolls, reign on, in recent years a host of new businesses has been welcomed into the fold, from Lucky Bird, the market’s first and only stall dedicated to fried chicken and its accoutrements (read: waffles dripping in syrup) to award-winning smashburgers at For The Win. Not to be missed: the all-day breakfast burritos at Jose Chiquito. Inès Cross

Lyon

Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse 

One of this famously gastronomic city’s largest markets opened in 1859 and was renamed after the late chef Paul Bocuse, a native son, in 2006 following a total renovation. Today it covers three floors with more than 13,500sq m, and is home to 54 stalls and restaurants. Don’t miss Mons fromager, one of the best cheesemongers in France; Patisserie Seve for a sticky pink tarte aux pralines; and Bobosse for Lyonnais charcuterie like plump pistachio-studded fresh sausage. Great eats on the spot include Baba La Grenouille for frogs’ legs en persillade and Chez Les Gones for local comfort food like quenelles de brochet (pike dumplings). Alexander Lobrano

Valencia 

Central Market

At this, one of the biggest food markets in Europe, more than 1,200 stalls sell everything from fresh fruit, meat, cheese and live eels. Forage for a picnic lunch, admire the stained-glass windows or spend the afternoon sipping cold beer and eating a loin sandwich at Richard Camarena’s Central Bar. Sally Hickey

Singapore

East Coast Lagoon Food Village 

“Peaceful” is the last word most would use to describe Singapore’s hawker markets. That’s why locals often skip the more famous ones in the central area for East Coast Lagoon Food Village, in one of the city-state’s largest beach parks. There you can find food-market staples including satay, sugar-cane juice and Hainanese chicken rice, plus seafood specialities such as chilli crab and fried oysters, all served with ocean views. Taylor Nicole Rogers

Paris

Marché de l’Avenue Président-Wilson 

Dubbed the chicest market in Paris by Le Figaro, this lively open-air market is popular with Parisian chefs for the exceptional quality of stands such as Le Bar à Patates, which specialises in potatoes, mushrooms and fresh herbs, and La Bergerie du Mesnil, run by Sandy Brown McKeen, an Irish farmer who lives in Normandy and produces exceptional yoghurt, cream, milk, and meat. La Maison Priolet is also renowned for its game and high-quality poultry. A variety of food stands serve food to eat on the hoof, such as grilled Lebanese bread and Breton crêpes, plus juicy rotisserie chickens that make for a great picnic or fast meal in a holiday flat. AL

Trebinje, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Green Market 

Under the deep shade of century-old plane trees, dotted across the central town square, market traders from surrounding villages sell local produce. Bellows cheese made in an identical way since the 14th century, renowned Herzegovinian wine, honey, medicinal herbs and prosciutto are just a few of the delights on offer. After food tasting and shopping, visitors sit in the cafés on the square to cool down with a lemonade and enjoy people-watching. Tatjana Mitevska

Tokyo

Tsukiji Outer Market 

Tsukiji has got everything, from unctuous otoro to the ethically questionable (but legal) whale skewers. Try a hearty bowl of beef intestine and miso stew at Kitsuneya. Then head to Iroha for mochi topped with giant strawberries, especially if the Amaou variety is in season. For post-prandial coffee, grab a cup of City Blend at John Lennon’s go-to shop Yonemoto. Kristine Ching

Big Island, Hawaii

Hilo Farmers’ Market 

With more than 200 vendors selling everything from passion fruit to poke bowls, this indoor-outdoor market is a vibrant must-experience on Hawaii’s Big Island. With special sections for tropical plants (orchids and anthuriums are abundant), macadamia nuts and artisanal oils, as well as colourful sarongs and hand-carved wooden accessories, this is a one-stop-shop. Be sure to sample the fruits of the season – white pineapples, thimble berries, strawberry papayas, guavas – and the local Kona coffee, preferably on Wednesdays and Saturdays when the market is particularly popping. Christina Ohly Evans 

Copenhagen

Torvehallerne 

The glass-walled market hall in the centre of town offers a taste of Copenhagen’s culinary prowess. Both a food market and an incubator for chefs, Torvehallerne is home to more than 60 restaurant stalls and purveyors of artisanal food and drink, flowers, plants and kitchen tools. Danish specialities are plenty: rows of smørrebrød with kaleidoscopic toppings, artfully folded pastries and dense rye breads. Cuisines from around the world are also well represented, from Spanish tapas to Mexican tacos to Chinese crêpes. Though on a cold day, it’s the fresh pasta at Il Mattarello that really makes my heart sing. NB

Nîmes

Les Halles de Nîmes 

Nîmes’ elegant 19th-century glass-and-steel market pavilion was replaced by a modern cement structure in the 1970s, but this did nothing to dent the passion of the food-loving Nîmois. Visit Nadal, a century-old coffee roaster; Les Fromages de Sylvain, for his excellent selection of cheeses and wonderful sense of humour; and the new stall selling brandade de Nîmes, the creamy garlicky salt-cod preparation that’s the city’s best-known dish. Plan on lunch at La Pie Qui Couette, a counter-seating, lunch-only restaurant that’s hugely popular for its cuisine du marché menu, but get there early. AL

Herceg Novi, Montenegro 

Green Market 

Tucked away in one corner of the old stone town, this small market offers an unusual mix of high-quality continental and Mediterranean food. Located at the entry of Montenegro Boka Bay, it is supplied by tropical fruit grown in villages on the coast, such as fortunela, oranges, pomegranate, lemons and kiwis, as well as fresh seafood. Farmers from villages in the mountains surrounding the town bring traditional authentic produce such as the renowned prosciutto from Njeguši, potatoes from Kruševice, goat’s cheese, wild asparagus and wild garlic. TM

Adelaide 

Adelaide Central Market 

This is in my hometown, and it certainly beats more renowned markets like La Boqueria. It’s a combination of great food stalls, particularly Asian, veggie shopping for the ordinary person and lot of foodie-type stalls. It’s a tale of a market that can provide a focus for a city and enrich it – and a tale of the integration of the various tides of immigrants from Italy and Greece in the postwar period, Vietnamese, Cambodians and Lebanese in the 1970s and ’80s and Chinese and Indians more recently. Tony Tassell

Philadelphia

Clark Park Farmers’ Market 

West Philadelphia converges with Pennsylvania’s yeoman tradition at the Clark Park Farmers’ Market. Every Saturday, Amish farmers hawk their produce across from West Philly and East Kensington businesses selling pound cakes or seafood. One can enjoy new Philadelphia favourites Nilaa Coffee, Aaji’s Kitchen or Lost Bread or just as easily buy preserves and cheese from a family-owned farm, in a space that is testament to Philadelphia’s shifting yet venerable culinary scene. Aiden Reiter

Dubrovnik

Gruž harbour market

This is the largest and cheapest market in the city, with its home in the garden of the Gundulić summer villa. Locals come early in the morning to buy fresh fish straight off the boats from the Elafiti islands. Farmers from Dubrovnik’s Konavle suburb sell a wide selection of their organic produce here throughout the day. Traditional local delicacies such as dried figs, candied orange peel, extra-virgin olive oil and quince jelly are also available as souvenirs for visitors. TM

Belgrade

Kalenić Pijaca

This is the most popular and the best-stocked food market in the Serbian capital. Located in Vračar in the heart of the city, it is named after Vlajko Kalenić, who donated the land on which it was built almost a century ago. A vast variety of produce, from home-distilled brandy rakija, kaymak cheese and fruit and vegetables to cured meats and spices, is on display on stalls where sellers and buyers haggle, joke and even sing. Many locals tell me they change their walking routes just to enjoy the splendid site of colourful stalls full of fragrant produce. TM

Rennes

Marché des Lices 

Described by the preeminent Breton chef Olivier Roellinger as “the best larder in Brittany”, the second-largest food market in France was founded in 1622. Some 300 stalls sell everything from seafood landed only hours earlier to Roscoff onions, big snowy cauliflowers, dozens of apple varieties, honey and other foods that comprise what Roellinger describes as “the Celtic diet”. Treat yourself to a grilled pork sausage rolled up in a hot buckwheat galette, the city’s favourite market snack, to fortify yourself before shopping. AL

Sydney 

Sydney Fish Market

The largest market of its kind in the southern hemisphere is a cornerstone of Australia’s gourmet tourist trade, with a vast array of fresh fish and seafood on show – including oddities like blood cockles and Moreton Bay Bugs – and sushi, oysters, fish and chips and lobsters served on site. The famous blue-coloured market building, located in Pyrmont to the west of the centre of the city, is set to move next year but only by a few hundred metres into a new purpose-built facility. Nic Fildes

Athens

Exarchia farmers’ market

Every Saturday in Athens, the historic anarchist district of Exarchia hosts a farmers’ market, which runs along Kallidromiou under the famous graffitied steps. Musicians play traditional Greek music as sellers flaunt their wares: olive oil, honey and an assortment of fresh fish, herbs and vegetables. While Exarchia has been gentrified over the past few decades, and police tensions have amplified since the building of a new metro station nearby, the market remains a touchstone in the neighbourhood: a place where students, anarchists, artists and academics meld with tourists. Lucinda Smyth

Delhi

Chandni Chowk 

This bustling Old Delhi bazaar is a maze of streets and narrow alleys, with the iconic Red Fort at its eastern end. Enormous piles of cardamom and cloves, dried fruit and nuts, Kashmiri saffron and every imaginable street food – curries, roti, samosas and kebabs – send smells wafting through the thick air. Of special note are the stalls offering sweets including mango-stuffed kulfi, crispy fried jalebi and Karachi halwa. COE

Mexico City

Mercado San Juan

A favourite of Mexico City chefs, Mercado San Juan is packed with every ingredient you might need, and plenty you don’t. Stalls in the downtown market sell everything from pitaya, clams and cacao fruit to dozens of varieties of chilies. It’s also a frequent stop for food-tour groups ogling a selection of more exotic choices, including an array of protein-packed scorpions and crocodile meat. For the less adventurous, there are plenty of wine and cheese options. Christine Murray

Melbourne

Queen Victoria Market  

The aroma of frying doughnuts and brewing coffee wafts over the market as tourists and locals alike pick through acres of fresh fruit and vegetable stands. The bustling meat, seafood and cheese halls are chock-a-block with people trying tastes of Australian and farther-flung specialities. Officially opened in 1878, the “Queen Vic” draws 10 million visitors annually. More than 600 food and non-food stalls are open five days a week, and there’s a weekly night market focusing on street food, live entertainment and crafts. Brooke Masters

Livorno

Mercato delle Vettovaglie 

The 1890s Liberty-style market of the Tuscan port city of Livorno is a vibrant and down-to-earth place to savour torta di ceci (chickpea flour flatbread), fresh oysters shucked on the spot or acciughe alla povera (fresh marinated anchovies). Visit speciality food shops (one is devoted entirely to prized Livornese hens’ eggs), then ogle the stalls showing off the Ligurian Sea’s bounty while you plan dinner – the earlier you arrive, the better. Emiko Davies

Morelia, Mexico

Mercado de Dulces 

For anyone with a serious sweet tooth, this sprawling, sugar-filled mega-market is worth a detour. Start a market tour with the local delicacy ate (ah-tay) – slow-cooked guava, pear and quince that are served in jellied, chilli-powder-dusted cubes and chunks of crystallised pineapple and pumpkin. Morelianas, one of the most iconic candies, are rich caramel discs that are found next to chocolate balls and jars of cajeta, a favoured spread for breads or served over ice cream. COE

Taipei

Ningxia Night Market

The Ningxia Night Market is relatively small compared to the island’s other sprawling competitors, but it is mighty. Its oyster omelette shop is famous and well worth a visit, but if you want to avoid the queues, there are plenty of other treats to indulge in. Seek out the deep-fried taro balls, stinky tofu and the unsung hero of desserts: the ice-cream wrap with peanut candy shavings and coriander. Go hungry, leave full. Eleanor Olcott

Seoul

Gwangjang Market 

Thousands of eateries comprise this sprawling soul-food mecca, offering everything from kimchi dumplings to steaming bowls of bibimbap and noodles that are perfect for slurping, grilled meat and mung-bean pancakes. Pull up a plastic stool in the food court and absorb the energy of the many hawkers – and a sea of voracious eaters savouring local delicacies. The market features an area dedicated to clothing and home goods as well, and it’s the ideal place to buy an exquisite silk hanbok (traditional Korean dress). COE

Queens, NYC

Queens Night Market 

A highlight of the New York summer is the Queens Night Market, a nocturnal festival attracting more than 60 independent food and art vendors. Located in Flushing, it begins in April, and continues until October. From early evening until midnight, visitors can sample street food from across the globe, and unlike many glossy food-stall markets, the food vendor prices are capped at $6. Check out the Trinidadian bake and shark from Caribbean Street Eats or curry crab at Trini Treats, or the arepa sampler at Arepalicious. Madison Darbyshire

Oaxaca, Mexico

Mercado 20 de Noviembre 

A stroll down the Mercado 20 de Noviembre’s “smoke corridor” is an immersive experience. The market itself is famed for stalls selling tlayudas – giant, crispy tortillas with beans, local cheese, and other toppings. In its dark, sweltering smoke passage, sellers display an assortment of meats they will chargrill and put into a tortilla for you. A word of warning: you might take the smell with you. CM