Most markets in Barcelona have an information point and many have free parking. You can also check how busy markets are in real time (updated every ten minutes).

The city’s markets offer quiet hours on Wednesdays from 10 am to 12 noon, toning down lighting and noise levels to offer a more pleasant environment for people with special needs.

Green commerce

The markets have launched a Green Commerce programme, representing a qualitative leap in the volume of local organic products from small producers, farmers and fish auctions consumed in Barcelona. The seal enables consumers to identify establishments promoting seasonal and sustainable local organic produce from small producers.

Markets as educational spaces

These facilities offer information and training programmes for schools, with healthy eating and sustainability as the main themes. For instance:

• Education programme “Mengem sa, mengem de mercat”: aimed at children from infant schooling through to the age of 16.
• Learning and service projects (ApS): aimed at students between their third year of secondary school and first year of baccalaureate studies.
• Education project  “Un mercat més sostenible”: promoting the adoption of sustainable food consumption habits and waste management among primary school children.

Learning with markets

Market classrooms are places where members of the public and professionals from the culinary world can interact through education, tastings, workshops, food and drink pairing, presentations and lots of other activities. Six city markets offer gastronomy classrooms: La Boqueria, Sants, El Ninot, La Guineueta, Sant Andreu and Sant Antoni.

Activities

Barcelona’s markets are constantly organising all manner of recreational and cultural activities which are open to all, such as artistic exhibitions, poetry readings, children’s activities and workshops. Check out the full programme.

They also contribute to neighbourhood life with projects to add more vitality to commerce and foster social cohesion, such as the itinerant gastronomy cycle Tasta’m to take music and seasonal produce to different city markets, or the Mercat de Mercats, offering the finest produce from our markets, local restaurants and producers.

Tips and recipes

Who knows products better than those who stock, prepare and sell them? Your trusted stall can offer full information on produce, along with health and nutrition tips and recipes. Discover the Chinese culinary tradition with jiaozi, recipes for the best Catalan escudella broth and the finest Christmas cannelloni, or head and hoof, a typical market dish!  You can also find information on the Mercats de Barcelona blog.