A mouth-watering walk around Atarazanas Market in Malaga – Spain

The city of Malaga and most of its surrounding towns and resorts offer a street market once a week. You can pick up anything from fresh fruit and vegetables to souvenirs and crafts. In Malaga city itself, head to the famous Atarazanas Market. It’s a great place to admire all the produce, but you can also pick up a nice picnic lunch for some foodie souvenirs to take home with you.

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What to see at Atarazanas Market

The Atarazanas market building is located right in the middle of Malaga city. This market runs Monday through to Saturday, from 8am to 2pm, selling fresh fish, meat, cheese and fruit and vegetables.

There are over 260 stalls in the building, many of which will happily offer you free samples of their produce. I dare you to enter this market and come out empty handed, as the sheer volume and quality of the stuff on sale here is nothing short of irresistible.

The real highlight is the fish market, where the display of fresh, local catch is spectacular.

Read More: 10 festive reasons to visit Malaga, Spain at Christmas

A history of the Atarazanas Market

The building that houses the Atarazanas Market was once a seven arched shipyard. The word ‘atarazanas’ itself means shipyard in Arabic and old Castellano. As late as the eighteenth century, the sea reached right up to the back of the building.

After housing a convent and a medical school, amongst other things, the old building fell into disrepair in the nineteenth century. It was ordered that the building be completely demolished to make way for a new market building.

The architect, Joaquin Rucoba rebuilt the building in Arabic style, saving one of the seven arches, which is now the main doorway. Further refurbishment took place more recently, between 2008 and 2010, and now the building boasts a gorgeous stained glass window featuring various monuments from Malaga city.

The lively atmosphere of Atarazanas Market

Both the building itself and the mouthwatering array of produce inside is a real taste of traditional, authentic Andalusian culture. It is a place where locals and tourists alike mingle under the rainbow reflections of the stained glass windows, brought together by the common love of good food.

Markets really are one of the best ways to get under the skin of any travel destination in which you find yourself. These are places where you get to see, first hand, how people engage with food, and with each other, in a lively, bustling environment.

Read Next

10 festive reasons to visit Malaga at Christmas

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This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com

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