Costa Blanca and Costa Cálida markets: which market to visit each day?

Want to understand a region? Put the guidebooks away for a morning and go to the market. That’s where locals debate the price of tomatoes, fishmongers call out the day’s catch and grandmothers compare oranges with diplomatic seriousness. On the Costa Blanca and in Valencia, two kinds of market live side by side: the great covered markets, genuine monuments, and the mercadillos, the weekly open-air markets.

Which market today?

Monday in San Pedro del Pinatar, Friday in Torrevieja, Sunday in Cabo de Palos… On the coast there’s almost always a mercadillo somewhere. Here’s our day-by-day selection. For each market we give our source and say whether the day has been confirmed by the town hall or still needs checking: days, times and locations sometimes change (roadworks, fiestas, seasons), so a quick check before you set off never hurts.

This selection isn’t exhaustive: it will grow with our outings, and the best markets will soon get their own guide. A market we keep forgetting? Tell us about it.

Valencia’s Mercado Central, a cathedral of fresh food

Opened in 1928, Valencia’s Mercat Central is one of Europe’s most beautiful markets: domes, stained glass, ceramics and wrought iron in exuberant modernist style. Beneath its vaults, 259 stalls — 244 of them selling food — are piled with fruit, huerta vegetables, fish, ham, cheese and olives.

Alicante’s Mercado Central

Smaller but just as lively, Alicante’s Mercado Central fills a handsome building on Avenida Alfonso el Sabio. Fish and seafood on one side, fruit, vegetables, cured meats and spices on the other: it has everything. It’s also the best place to discover the coast’s traditional salted fish (roe, dried tuna, anchovies).

The mercadillos, open-air markets

Every town and village has its weekly mercadillo on a set day. You’ll find cheap seasonal fruit and veg, olives and cheeses, but also clothes, bags and bric-a-brac. The atmosphere is thoroughly local.

What to taste or take home

• Valencian oranges and mandarins, in winter.
• Elche dates, grown in the palm grove.
• Salted fish (mojama, roe) from the Alicante coast.
• Turrón, the almond sweet from Xixona, around Christmas.
• Marinated olives, sold by weight in dozens of varieties.

Our tips

Bring cash: at the mercadillos, many stallholders don’t take cards.

Bring a reusable bag, or a wheeled shopping trolley if you want to do it like the regulars.

Go early: the best produce goes fast, and midday heat is no friend to fruit.

Don’t turn up five minutes before closing: stalls pack up quickly, especially at the covered markets that close in the early afternoon.

And after the market?

Move on to an aperitif: our tapas guide will teach you to order like a local. And to explore Alicante or Valencia around the market, see our articles on Alicante and Valencia with kids.