The Best Food Markets in Granada

Granada´s smart and plentiful covered market is a joy to walk around, as well as shop in. Situated just opposite the cathedral and Alacaiceria – once the market to end all markets – this densely-packed cluster of stalls sells the freshest meat, fruit, vegetables, cheeses along with some of the finest quality olive oils and wines in the city. As a tribute to the fact that Andalucians can transform the most prosaic of activities into social occasions, San Augustin also has a few bars and cafes providing drinks and tapas for pit stops in between purchases. The market informally creeps out into the streets surrounding it, with improvised stalls selling yet more fruit – including the eponymous pomegranates, called ‘Granadas‘ in Spanish – and vegetables, flowers and spices. Shopping here is a noisy, vigorous and hugely enjoyable experience.

Every Saturday morning, the liveliest square in Albaicín hosts this market. It is a happily chaotic affair and saves the locals the ordeal of heading down into the centre to shop, then returning up the hill laden with their purchases – a task which, in summer, would defeat even the fittest of them. The Plaza Larga market is unbeatable in Albaicín for vegetables, fruit and flowers, all of which are attractively displayed next to Arabic fabrics and ceramics (and sometimes pirated CDs and DVDs). Just down the road there are also some superb little shops selling bread, organic olive oils and wines.

The Alcaiceria market, situated in a few narrow little alleyways in between the cathedral and Plaza Bib-Rambla, used to be home to Granada´s Grand Bazaar. Here, on a site that originally stretched all the way to Plaza Nueva, the finest herbs and spices from north Africa were sold alongside Arabic silks, fabrics and ceramics. The Grand Bazaar burnt down in the nineteenth century but the modern-day Alcaiceria is still the only place in Granada to go for spices, spice blends, herbs and herbal tea mixes. The spice shop Medievo runs a huge street stall under the shadows of the cathedral, selling various types of ground peppers, paprikas, curry blends and, of course, saffron. Plaza Bib-Rambla is also host to Granada´s annual medieval market, usually held sometime around the city’s week-long Easter celebrations.