Food Markets in Madrid

Food Markets in Madrid

This is a wheelchair accessible walking/rolling private guided tour and also a gastronomic experience of 4h of duration. We will be visiting two of the most important Food Markets in Madrid: Barcelo Market and San Anton Market. We will have some tastings in each market. Both Food Markets are located in the neighborhood of Chueca (Madrid). Chueca is one of the trendiest Neighbourhoods in the city of Madrid.

During our wheelchair accessible walking/rolling tour between the two markets, we will have the opportunity to know more about interesting spots like: the Museum of History of Madrid, the Museum of the Romanticism, the building of the General Society of Authors, La Duquesita and the Official College of Architects of Madrid.

History of the Food Markets in Madrid

The history of the Food Markets in Madrid dates back to the 19th century, when the Madrid City Council, concerned about the risks to citizens from the street sale of food, began to build several markets to improve the quality of food products. The first three major markets built in Madrid were the Plaza de la Cebada Market, Los Mostenses Market and La Paz Market.

Food Markets in Madrid continue to be a very important part of the lives of the people of the city. There are many small markets distributed throughout the Madrid neighbourhoods and they are usually never too far from each other. For those interested in gastronomy, or in the way of life of the people of Madrid, a visit to any of these markets is a must. The markets offer a great variety of excellent vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, etc. and stalls where you can taste the local product.

Where does our tour start?

This private accessible walking tour starts at the Barcelo Market on Calle Barcelo 6.

Barcelo Market

The new building -inaugurated in 2014- has been accompanied by a new idea: shopping can or should be a pleasure. The traditional trade stalls coexist with new initiatives, ranging from a barbershop to a shop selling ecological cleaning products. he Barceló market doubles the bet with Food Gourmet, an island of pleasures and senses located on the third floor and called to be the breakwater of gastronomic leisure in the Central district.

The Barcelo Market or Mercado Municipal de Barceló was a market of supplies that was inaugurated in June 30, 1956. This market opened in 1937, the first supermarket in Spain (in the middle of the civil war). This market takes its name in honour of the sailor Antonio Barceló, born in Mallorca in 1717. With the creation of this market the stalls of the Corredera disappeared. In the market there are different stalls distributed in 3 floors: fish shops, poultry shops, delicatessens, cheese shops and many other stalls and has a terrace on the upper floor which can be accessed by elevator and escalators.

In the Barcelo Market we will have the opportunity to do a wine tasting and also try local ham and ibericos and local cheese (included in the price)

Other points of interest of this tour

Once visited the market, we will head the Museum of History of Madrid, which is located at 78 Fuencarral Street, just 350m from the market. The visit inside is optional and the tickets are not included in the price. The museum is located in one of the great baroque buildings of Madrid, the old Hospicio de San Fernando. This museum exhibits one of the best examples of Madrid's historical evolution and offers an overview of the arts, industries, daily life and customs of its inhabitants from the time it was chosen as the capital of Spain in 1561 to the present day.

After this stop, we will head to towards the Museum of Romanticism which is located in Calle San Mateo 13, just 290 m away. For this visit it is recommended to book tickets well in advance (tickets are not included in the price of the tour). The former palace of the Marquis of Matallana, built in 1776, houses an interesting collection of 19th century paintings, furniture and decorative arts, recreating the daily life and customs of the high bourgeoisie during Romanticism. You will get to know what society was like during this historical period, as well as who were the main protagonists of this cultural movement in Spain: works by Goya, Esquivel, Madrazo, Alenza and the Becquer brothers, ceramics by Sargadelos and Sèvres, ebonite jewellery, lava or natural hair, a collection of porcelain dolls, 15 pianos, empire or Elizabethan-style furniture and the pistol with which Larra committed suicide. One of the most special corners of this unique museum is the Magnolia Garden, which follows the structure of the French model of the 18th century, organized in four streets separated by flowerbeds of different sizes and with a circular fountain at its intersection. In it is the Café del Jardín del Museo, where you can enjoy a coffee and a wide variety of homemade cakes.

Our next stop takes us to La Duquesita, which is located at Calle Fernando VI, 2 just 190 m away. This is one of the most emblematic pastry shops in Madrid. In 1914, La Duquesita opened in Fernando VI Street, distinguished by its desserts and artisan sweets. Since its inception, the pastry is associated with quality and tradition and is a temple of reference in the sweet gastronomy of Madrid.

Just 30 metres from where we are, at number 4 of Calle Fernado VI, we can contemplate the spectacular modernist-style building of the Longoria Palace, which is the headquarters of the Sociedad General de Autores (General Society of Authors). The headquarters of the Sociedad General de Autores (SGAE) is known as one of the few modernist buildings in Madrid. The building was built by the financier Javier González Longoria as a family residence and offices for his bank headquarters. It is a building known for its exterior appearance, luxurious, and very ornate, to the taste of modernism. The great novelty of this building was the treatment given to the facades, made of artificial stone with soft, vegetal and organic forms that give a spatial continuity to the surfaces with a decoration that invades everything linking some elements with others. The building is crowned with an impressive iron and glass dome. Inside, the main staircase stands out, an imperial staircase with a circular perimeter inspired, like the rest of the ornamentation, by French modernist architecture.

Once we have made this stop, we will stop at the building of the Official College of Architects of Madrid, which is located in Calle Hortaleza 63, just 290 m from where we are. The COAM is one of the most outstanding cultural spaces in the district of Chueca. It is the headquarters of the Official College of Architects of Madrid, inside we find exhibitions, rooms for public or private events, an interior garden, a restaurant, swimming pools with views and other municipal facilities.

San Anton Market

Our last stop takes us to the San Anton Market which is located in Augusto Figueroa, 24 only 300 m from where we are. The history of the market begins in the 19th century with a wooden box market called "San Anton". Its name is given because it is located next to the parish church of San Anton. The first building was inaugurated in 1945 under the project of the architect Carlos de la Torre y Costa. The market has a boom and downturn throughout various periods of the twentieth century, coupled with the evolution of the neighborhood and consumption habits. At the beginning of the 21st century, the Association of Traders of the San Anton Market decided to renew the Market. To this end, the old Market was demolished in 2007 and the construction of a new space began. Following the mixed model, spaces are designed for stalls and restaurants. In May 2011, the new market is inaugurated with a renovated building. This renovation offers new services such as restaurant, bars with terrace, tasting of products.

The first floor is dedicated to the sale of perishable products. It is divided into 10 stalls where visitors can find products that have placed our cuisine in the number one position worldwide. Fish Shop, Butcher Shop, Delicatessen, etc. It hosts the best and most varied products of the Spanish gastronomy. Magnificent fish or seafood, Iberian charcuterie and products from the orchard come together in unique stands also in terms of design. This floors also has a gastrobar where to take, in the form of tapas, sophisticated dishes.

The second floor is made up of 10 "show cooking/take away" stands. It is a perfect space for the visitor to feel like a protagonist and to be able to choose between a wide range of stalls where to eat and drink. A seafood stall, a smoked food stall, a Japanese stall, a canary, a confectionery, a Greek stall, a foie gras stall, a Spanish tapa stall or a wine-tavern sum up the restaurant offer. Its perimeter bar offers a panoramic view of the entire building.

The third floor has the Restaurant-Terraza "La Cocina de San Anton". It has a terrace lounge of almost 400m2 with spectacular views of the sky of Madrid and is supported by a cocktail bar with soft drinks, juices and snacks. Inside, you can enjoy a 300m2 restaurant with a different ambience and attention to detail.

In the San Anton Market we will have the opportunity to do a wine tasting and also try local olive pickels, salty and smoke fish (included in the price)

What tastings are included in this tour?

In the Barcelo Market we will have the opportunity to do a wine tasting and also try local ham and ibericos and local cheese (included in the price)

In the San Anton Market we will have the opportunity to do a wine tasting and also try local olive pickels, salty and smoke fish (included in the price)