La Boquería

One of the best food markets in Europe
Talk of the town: Many of the current vendors are the fourth or fifth generation of the families who helped to create this market.

We challenge your pulse not to quicken on first stepping into La Boquería: Barcelona's main food market is a genuinely thrilling spectacle, buzzing with life and bursting with colour. Seemingly endless streets of stalls offer everything from beautifully-displayed fruit to live lobsters to piles of spongey tripe, whilst busy make-shift restaurants serve up lunches of freshly cooked chorizo and razor clams and a cerveza to diners perched on stools.
The market has a rich history stretching back to the 13th century, when it was founded as an open-air space for farmers to sell their wares in front of one of the old city walls. Now the place has evolved into one of Barcelona's top tourist attractions yet remains very much used by locals, a fact that accounts for its very special atmosphere.