It’s de rigour for us to check out the local farmers’ market whenever we travel and visit a town, city or country.
Squeezing in Happy Time– Local and Abroad
In past blog posts, I’ve enjoyed showcasing a few in Toronto, Vancouver, Freiburg (Germany) and Hilo (Hawai’i) –wonderful local foods, sometimes crafts and ambience which puts them on the map as must-see, places to experience. Yes, some markets were lengthy happy bike stops while others, we deliberately plotted our hotel choice within a 15 min. walk.
In France, we squeezed in 2 hrs. during a train stop switch, before hitting Spain, by dropping by Les Halles in Lyon.
Taste and Culture Stops – Europe, North America
Lyon’s downtown market has several patisserie cafes with lovely cakes and tartes for a leisurely coffee. On our second visit when returning from Spain via high speed train, we munched delicately through some smoked salmon, sea asparagus and some dainty raw fish slices.
In Dijon, France we went to the market every evening to take advantage of quality French restaurant meals at reasonable prices with glass of red wine (4 euros) each time. I didn’t find the market crowds in Dijon overly thronging. Most likely the locals are buying small amounts of groceries each time more than once a week.
Like Les Halles, the Boqueria in Barcelona, Spain operates 6 days per week with a large indoor market as its base. There, crowds jammed at various times with mixed hordes of tourists and locals. The market buzzed with
energy, colour and roar of conversation among shoppers, bar and restaurant patrons usually found in establishments along the market perimeter. If you want to see piles of raw seafood for sale as well as piles of flash-cooked seafood dishes at tapas bars, Boqueria is the place for you.
Quite different from Seattle’s Pike Market where there are show-off vendors with their ice packed seafood from nearby Pacific waters. Cooked seafood places are tucked in corners of the market where people chow down deep fried, grilled seafood or seafood chowder –comfort food of the northern climate countries. The older Pike Market is a bit dark compared to street-plaza side vendors and restaurants.
Dijon, Lyon and Boqueria, were true food markets whereas some other markets that we still enjoy, carefully mix in some local arts and crafts.
Island Market by Ocean
By the Pacific Northwest coast, Saltspring Island’s Saturday summer market is always our enjoyable Gulf Islands’ summer bohemian haunt. After biking 12 km. from the B.C. Ferry dock and parking our bikes to this bike-friendly market, we browsed tables of island arts and crafts before settling down usually to coffee and a large pastry or sandwich either listening to buskers or by the Pacific harbour waters with coastal mountain views. On different bike trips, we also stopped by the Saltspring winery for a bottle of wine after grinding up a road hill.
Canadian Mountain Outdoor Markets
Going inland you can still see mountains, while browsing among fresh fruits, veggies and meat. Interior mountain towns of Revelstoke , British Columbia and Canmore, Alberta, include some local art and crafts. Contrary to any thought that locals are isolated folks, these markets demonstrate there are forward thinking and creative locals. It’s hard to leave when breathing in mountains views and fresh air with music, coffee and local pastry.
Prairie Goodness at Markets
With now multiplicity of local farmers’ markets to support local business and products, we’ve noticed expansion of current market facilities. Edmonton’s downtown Saturday market in the summer has bloomed into an active, busy and happy place to shop, simply hang out for hours with a snack under the bright sun and blue skies. Meanwhile Calgary’s Crossroads Market added a new wing several years ago and slowly adding some bike racks for cyclists.
At times, the local farmers’ market is the best place to snare local food specialities, not grocery stores. If you want to buy Saskatoon berry pie, then you must go to a local farmers’ market. Saskatoon berries are native to the prairies but not grown nor harvested in huge volumes. If you want best
perogies, stuffed with more filling, then we drop by a farmers’ market in Calgary. If you want sea asparagus that is a bit cheaper, it will be at a summer farmers’ market in Vancouver. If you want best, fresh variety of wild forest mushrooms, then hit an outdoor farmers’ market in Seattle or Vancouver, where Pacific rain result in a mushroom foragers’ delight.
Look at again, browse and forage among the local markets for food and products that are unique to the area. We’ve often find it’s a great way to jumpstart understanding the flavour and sometimes even the local history –through food, crafts and wine.
More Blog Posts on Farmers’ Markets
Chong, J. Cycling to Devour Favourite Foods at Farmers’ Markets. In Cycle Write Blog. Nov. 1, 2011.
Chong, J. Growing Up and Cycling Through the Years to Farmers’ Markets. In Third Wave Cycling Blog. Dec. 3, 2010.
Thanks for that interesting article. I love Farmers’ markets.
Have a great day,
Pit
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What would be your local market foods unique to your area?
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I agree. hat’s why we like ours so much.
Have a great weekend.
Pit
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Such a fascinating article about farmers markets around the world. Do these markets open all day? Here in Australia we have quite a few of these markets in the city and outer areas, and they tend to open early and start closing by 2 or 3pm. I’ve never heard of a pretzel bun before. Is it a normal pretzel, or a really big one?
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A pretzel bun has the outer layer and inside like a pretzel but just a different shape. It’s a slightly chewy bun. In Canada and U.S., for the markets that I am familiar with only St. Lawrence Market, Pike’s Market and Granville Market are open daily for about 8 hrs. So the produce is not always totally local at all. Most of the true markets I am familiar with real local produce, are only for 1 day and run approx. for 4-5 hrs. on that day.
In Rothenburg, Germany I think the market is just on weekends. Boqueria Market in Barcelona, Dijon and Lyon France are markets that run year round with local prepared foods and produce from around their country. Europe is different since people would be pickier where their stuff comes from..it’s a long, long tradition for them. In North America, I think we have higher tolerance for veggies and fruits from afar…which means more possibility of chemicals used.
What would an Aussie farmers’ market offer that is especially to your area/country?
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Aussie farmers’ markets are definitely big on selling fruit grown locally all year round – strawberries, berries, oranges, mangoes, bananas, apples, grapes and so much more. We do get some fruit imported but most of them are local. As for meat such as poultry and fish, some are local and some are from afar.
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What a tasty post! I devoured the French photos, of course, but love all of these different markets. I love the Montreal biking hens:)
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It would be great if more vendors could see ..just a tiny bit of whimsy goes a long way in marketing their wares. Of course, the select French markets we went felt a little more upscale. Or errrr, upscale to North Americans. 😀
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Yeah, I agree on the superiority of French markets 🙂
But your photos showed great markets in Canada and Washington state.
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I recommend northwest Pacific coast in the summer or early Oct. We also have been to the San Juan Islands in Washington state. Lovely. Some great local seafood places.
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The market in Barcelona still looks like what I remember from my varios trips there some 13-15 years ago.
I do enjoy such markets whenver we find the time to visit one, here in my hometown we got a small one three times a week in the city center but it is outdoors. In Finland we went always to a hall in the Helsinki when we needed special ingredients
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I like both indoor and outdoor markets. As you may know, some cities have year-round indoor market (which in CAnada includes imported veggies and fruits from U.S. and Asia during especially winter) and with outdoor market during late spring to mid-autumn.
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In Finland we had this one indoor market and then right next to it few times a week the outdoor market. Here in my hometown we only have the outdoor market and I believe the next “food hall/ market hall” is in Hamburg. In Hamburg is also the famous fish market but I must admit I have never been there
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One certainly wouldn’t think of Hamburg having a noticeable fish market! My partner did go through Hamburg by bike a few years ago.
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Jean we too love exploring markets when we travel. In very large cities we do our best to find where the locals go rather than markets set up more for tourists. I so enjoyed walking with you through this immense variety. It has inspired me this summer to be visiting more Farmer’s Markets close by.
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For sure, Canada does offer a range of different farmers’ markets. I’m so grateful to have lived in several regions. My experiences go far back, to Kitchener Farmers’ Market where I helped my mother carry groceries from there as a teenager. I had expected all markets to be as interesting as the German-Mennonite markets that are my first experiences….:)
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What a fantastic and fun post, Jean– delightful!! Seeing all that wonderful food makes me rejoice in the wonders and plenty of creation!! That shot of you making a face while eating the blueberry ice cream made me laugh– must have been tangy!! Superb, crisp and clear photos, truly excellent, and that last one with the chickens on bicycles was the perfect closer. Great job, and thanks for sharing!! 👍🏆🚴😊
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Time for thxgiving soon. 🙂 Yes, rejoice in local food and creations from gardens and farms. Blueberry ice cream was lovely and deep in flavour. Hope your thxgiving is memorable. I envy you since you live in an area full of blazing red flaming and gold colour.
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