Mercat de La Boqueria

La Rambla’s history is the Boqueria Market’s history. The evolution from a past of peddlers to a modern and charming present, full of colour and life. The market is a metaphor for Barcelona’s life. (map)

From ancient times there had been, more or less in the same place, an open-air market in which the farmers  sold their products to the inhabitants of the walled city. Famous for the quality of its merchandise, the market occupies the former site of the Discalced Carmelite monastery of Sant Josep, which was burnt down in July 1835.

The first of Barcelona’s local markets was opened on Saint Joseph’s day, on the 19th of March 1840, after four years of work. The market was built as a large porticoed square with Ionic columns under which the travelling tradesmen of the city could offer their varied products.

Marquis Campo Sagrado, Catalonia’s general captain, started to establish the rules for this travelling market in an area that became a large square after the convent was gone. With time the Boqueria Market of Barcelona transformed itself in a modern market.  A few years later, in 1914, it incorporated the gas illumination and an attractive metal roof designed by the engineer Miquel de Bergue was added. The market and its surroundings have been restored in recent years to the way they were in the early 20th century. 

Nowadays, the third and fourth generation of sellers proudly show the oldest and most complete food market of Barcelona. They offer us vegetables, meat, fish and thousands of other products in stalls with great charm and imaginative presentation. Boqueria Market is a space full of life, history and unquestionable architectural value 

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