La Boqueria Market

La Boqueria - formally the Mercat de Sant Josep - opens off La Rambla through a modernist iron-and-glass entrance into Barcelona's most theatrical food hall: traders have sold at this spot since the 13th century, when stalls clustered by the old city gate, and the market settled into its present iron-roofed form in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Inside, the choreography is dazzling - pyramids of fruit cut into jewel-coloured cups, curtains of jamon iberico, counters of Mediterranean fish and percebes still wet from the Atlantic, wild mushrooms in season and eggs of every persuasion. The front rows play to the crowds; the deeper aisles still serve the city's cooks and restaurant buyers, and the little stand-up counters where chefs work the market's produce in front of you remain among Barcelona's best quick meals.

What you actually see

• The fruit pyramids - jewel-stacked displays and fresh-cut juice at the front.
• The jamon curtains - iberico hams hanging in ranks over the counters.
• The fish aisles - Mediterranean and Atlantic catch on crushed ice.
• The stand-up counters - market produce cooked in front of you.

When to go

Mornings are the market at its truest, before the crowds thicken and stocks thin; it is closed on Sundays. Autumn brings the wild mushroom stalls into their glory.

Honest expectations

This is one of Europe's most visited markets - by midday the aisles are a slow shuffle, and the front stalls price for tourists; walk deeper for honest counters. Watch pockets and bags in the crush, as anywhere on La Rambla. The famous lunch counters seat few and queue long - go early or oddly timed.

Nearby

La Rambla, the Gothic Quarter and the Liceu opera house next door.