Mercado Central

The Mercado Central, in Alicante

The Mercado Central is a gastronomic institution of Alicante, a magnificent hall of the 1920s in the Valencian modernist style, built on the former enclosure wall of the town. The Alicante audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this temple of fresh products where the inhabitants have come to stock up for a century, and the grave memory of the bombardment that struck it in 1938.

The gastronomic temple of the town

Here you are in front of a true institution of Alicante, its central market. The visit of a town is not complete without having entered its gastronomic lair, its halls, and this is particularly true in Spain, where the tapas wink at us at every street corner. Just at the sight of the building, you understand that we are getting down to serious matters. This magnificent building of eclectic style, adorned with motifs of Valencian modernism, that is to say of Art Nouveau, was designed in the 1920s by the architects Juan Vidal Ramos and Enrique Sánchez Sedeño. It has the particularity of having been built on the former enclosure wall that protected the town in the eighteenth century, and of having one of its floors in the basement, because of the slope of the neighbouring streets. It is necessary to evoke here, with gravity, a painful page of its history: on the 25th of May 1938, during the Spanish civil war, Alicante, having remained on the side of the republicans, was bombarded by planes come from Majorca. The market was heavily struck, and this drama made very numerous victims among the civilian population. Today, these conflicts are happily behind us, and the hall has recovered its joyful vocation. You find there fresh products of quality: meats, hams and fish, cheeses, fruit and vegetables. It is here that the inhabitants have come to stock up for a century already. A modernist hall and a gourmet institution, the Mercado Central is a fine stop of the discovery of Alicante.

What to see

Here you discover a gastronomic institution of Alicante, a magnificent hall of the 1920s of eclectic and Valencian modernist style, signed by Juan Vidal Ramos and Enrique Sánchez Sedeño, built on the former enclosure wall of the eighteenth century; heavily struck by a bombardment in 1938 during the civil war, it is today the temple of fresh products, meats, hams, fish, cheeses and greengrocery. The Mercado Central is an institution of Alicante. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Mercado Central lies in the heart of Alicante, on the avenue Alfonso el Sabio, reachable on foot. It is a food hall whose stalls follow their own hours, generally in the morning, from Monday to Saturday. It is best to come early to enjoy the atmosphere and the fresh products. You discover it during a walk in the centre.

What is the Mercado Central of Alicante?

A gastronomic institution of the town, a magnificent hall of the 1920s of eclectic and Valencian modernist style, designed by Juan Vidal Ramos and Enrique Sánchez Sedeño and built on the former enclosure wall of the eighteenth century; heavily struck by a bombardment in 1938 during the civil war, it has been for a century the place where the inhabitants stock up on fresh products.

Where is the Mercado Central in Alicante?

In the heart of Alicante, on the avenue Alfonso el Sabio, in Spain.