How to Navigate a Spanish Market

Traveling to Spain is an extremely enriching cultural experience that everyone should try.

The different cities in Spain all offer diverse histories of traditions, art, culture, food, and a variety of other elements that make them appealing to tourists. However, one similarity that seems to carry through every big Spanish city, is the presence of the local Mercado Central, or, Central Market.

These markets are huge and often buzzing with locals stocking up on their fruits and veggies to tourists purchasing sweets and drinks to take back home with them as souvenirs. These markets sell all types of local goods that are sure to appeal to a variety of your senses.

One of the most popular items sold at these markets are the fresh fruit juices and containers. Shops in the market line their vending station with coconut, blood orange, mango, kiwi, strawberry, and all other types of freshly squeezed juices. These juices are 100% natural and are very fresh and delicious.

These vendors also sell a variety of fresh fruit as well.  And, if you’re not a fan of fresh fruit, there are many vendors that sell a huge variety of dried fruits and nuts that are displayed beautifully.

All you have to do is go up to a vendor and politely tell them which fruits you would like them to put in a bag for you. These fruits range from simply dried apples to exotic star fruits.

Now, if you are brave, you may want to travel into the meat and fish section of these markets. You typically won’t have trouble finding these sections of the market because of the smells. The fish market smell, well, quite fishy.

It is sometimes hard to walk through this section without clenching your nose. And while the fish section may be hard to smell, the meat section can be hard to look at as slabs of meat, whole-bodied pigs and lambs, and a variety of other meats are often displayed out in the open for all to see.