Mercado de La Boqueria – A Visual Essay

by Raymund · Published December 31, 2019 · Updated December 2, 2019

No travel in Barcelona is complete without a visit to The Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria or what is simple referred to as La Boqueria. This large public market in La Rambla is one of the city’s foremost tourist landmarks, a market with a very diverse selection of food and goods, anything from seafood, fresh fruits, dried fruits, jamon, lollies, fresh meat, chocolates, etc name it this market has it.

It’s one of the oldest markets out there, origins of this place started in 1217 as meat stalls were installed on Pla de la Boqueria, as part of a series of street market located on the Rambla. In 1777 the stalls were moved to a different location and 1797 and 1801 they were set up on the Rambla de Sant Josep. Then again it was moved when Carlos IV visited the place in 1802, it was relocated gardens of the Convent of St. Joseph for aesthetic reasons but did not last as it was back to the Ramble in 1823. In 1826 the market was legally recognized then a convention was held in 1835 and decided to build an official structure. 1840 the construction began, many modifications happened then the inauguration of the market finally took place in 1853. 166 years later the place is still here and very vibrant and luckily, we had a chance to see this amazing market.

Like I said there are a lot of things to buy here plus there are also several restaurants where you can try the amazing Spanish cuisine. We bought our jamon here, we also bought some food to snack on as we strolled to the city, we also had merienda here in the form of tapas and beer. So if you visit Barcelona, don’t leave the city without checking out this place, trust me it won’t let you down especially when you are a foodie!

Ok, enough of the talk, I will let the pictures draw you to this place.