- market
- (214)
-
The Douz Festival is based on an ancient Bedouin gathering when Saharan tribes met to trade and, legend has it, to marry off their daughters. Instead, today, the Saharan Bedouins compete in camel, horse and dog races, folklore performances and traditional plays. Their backdrop is the 150-mile salt lake of Chott El Ferid, which set the scene for the film, The English Patient and the golden sand dunes that were a setting for Star Wars.
Walk about, listen to bands from competing tribes, ride a camel called Mustapha, attend a busy market and eat fresh fish, such as red snapper, sea bass, bream, grouper, red mullet, tuna and prawns. The sweet baklava is to die for.
Running away from the Piazza Garibaldi down to the Piazza del Mercato are Naples' markets. In keeping with the city's general atmosphere, they're a noisy, chaotic affair (with more than a whiff of the mafia about them by all accounts!).
Watching the fish market at Porta Nolana - and every other specimen of market stall imaginable scattered across the area - is an essential Naples experience in and of itself.
To the west/southwest of Piazza Garibaldi
One of the best organic farmer's markets I've ever been to. Amazing cheese, bread, vegetable stalls, even a stall selling all sorts of mushrooms in season (bought some chanterelles and a black truffle last time). Smoked mozzarellas, huge focaccias, stunning veg - a truly superb market. 9am - 4pm Saturdays (the rest of the week it's a flea market).
Noordermarkt is in the shadow of Noorderkerk, about 10 minutes' walk from Centraal Station, on the edge of the Jordaan district.
Forget Silk Market for your Chinese tat and clothes. It's crowded and vendors are very pushy.
Go down the road instead. It's the same stuff, including great tailors, just as big but less crowded and therefore more fun.
Remember to haggle!
Yashow Market, 58 Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang District
A pedestrian shopping street in a real market town without any chain stores or significant supermarkets. Halesworth is in the 'Cranbook Triangle' that has seen off predatory supermarkets but for how long?
The Thoroughfare is a pedestrian street of friendly and helpful independent retailers of clothing, hardware, stationery, health foods, gourmet foods, toys and most other essential services like banks, chemist, opticians and so on.
It also has several cafes and two art galleries at either end without the heaving crowds and parking hassles of Southwold (which is a great town too). If you're going to Latitude in the summer, drop in for supplies.
Halesworth is on the East Suffolk rail line and ten minutes off the A12 by road.
Under its dazzling coloured tiled roof and ironwork is a huge array of specialty foods and preserves, liqueurs, caviar, berry jams, and some tourist tat. Wander round the many stalls, and if nothing else, at least buy a colourful string or two of chillies to take home. Take a little care of your possessions, but get stuck in.
Vamhaz korut, right by the river across the green Szabadsag Bridge from Gellert
The real hub of the East End; lots of great bargains to be had; a great atmosphere on a Saturday afternoon.
Victoria Park just down the road to sit and unwind in!
just off Parnell road; Bow; E3
Amazing mix of colours, sights and sounds.
Best tip - buy a couple of kilos of crickets from the old lady sitting under the umbrella at the very far end of the market. Crickets? Yes, don't be squeamish! They are caught by children for Ugandan pennies, de-winged, and then kept alive in a huge covered barrel, which keeps them docile and sleepy.
Fry them quickly over a high heat - they taste exactly like prawns! My children couldn't stop eating them, and we had to fight them for a grown up share!
Grown up tip: fried crickets are delicious nibbled as you sip your Ugandan beer sitting in the sunshine, waiting your meal to arrive freshly cooked...yum.
Kampala Market, centre of Kampala, by the taxi rank.
We had a fantastic time in Beijing; it's definitely one of my favourite Asian cities. It has an energy about it (aside from that generated by the neon signs and buildings everywhere) that's very infectious and belies its reputation as a bit of a concrete jungle.
One of the best things I did was to take a bicycle around the backstreet hutongs of the city, true Chinese style. The architecture is from Imperial times and it really feels like you're stepping back in time to when the Forbidden City was still really
forbidden to mere mortals. This way you can escape the crowds too, and find some street markets where you
can bargain to buy anything from knockoff designer clothes to Chairman Mao alarm clocks and the
ubiquitous Little Red Book. And make sure you have your hotel's business card so you can show it to
someone when you get lost!
You will find everything under the sun - antiques, pets, plants, clothes, books, food. Get there before the proposed plans to raze it and build another air-conditioned shopping centre become a reality.
Take the skytrain to Chatuchak station. Market open on weekends only.
Winner of the 2006 Manchester Food and Drink Festival for Best Food Outlet, Bolton Market will blow you away in what it has to offer. Whether it is fresh lobster, rabbit, organic veg, cheeses it is definitely worth a trip.
I go there for the fish. I have never seen so much choice and the quality is superb.
Forget your trendy expensive farmers' markets. I have found Bolton Market to be cheap, friendly, original and without doubt the best place for foodies in Greater Manchester.
Great Moor Street
Bolton
For great, traditional and some unusual Vietnamese food, try Highway 4. The actual Highway 4 crosses the mountains and hill tribes (and ethnic minorities) of northern Vietnam, and this defines the cuisine (and the great fruit, herbal or medicinal flavored rice wine) of Highway 4 in Hanoi as well. All this can be had at reasonable prices, in a pleasant environment that evokes the highlands.
Recommended dishes: Nem Cá, or famous Highway 4 spring rolls with fried catfish and wasabi soy dipping sauce. But tell them to go light on the mayo inside the rolls.
Grilled chicken with lemon leaves (Gà Nương Lá Chanh) and the Bò Xào Dưa Chua (beef sautéed with local pickled mustard greens—translated as sauerkraut but it’s quite different).
A unique and wonderfully textured green that’s only available seasonally is Hoa Thien Lý Xào (sautéed Thien Ly vegetable/flower).
For seafood, try the soft shell crab roasted with Tamarind or Salt (Cua Dong Rang Me/Muoi) and Ca Kho To (fish simmered in clay pot). Also good: Green mango (Xoài Xanh) marinated with salt and chili; and for the pork lover—Thịt Kho Tộ (pork carmelized in clay pot with coconut—tourist places tend to use lean sliced pork, while more traditional places like Hwy 4 will use pork belly). Try the sampler set of their Son Tinh liquor.
5 Hang Tre, just east of the north end of Hoan Kiem Lake. For more restaurant recommendations (and travel itineraries and other great tips) go to www.savourasia.com - they really throw themselves into eating in Asia, and especially Hanoi!
Although it is a little frantic, with everyone wanting your business, it is an experience not to be missed. Ask your taxi driver for a price to get there (it should be quite cheap) and there are loads of shoe shops leading up to it. Also in Varna (minutes' walk away) they have a Bulgarian market, some of the stallholders won't leave you alone, but it's worth the visit anyway. The Cathedral is quaint and the shopping parade leads right up to the beach. All in all give it a try...
Krakow is a truly beautiful city that I am lucky enough to call home.
People often refer to it as the 'new Prague' and I'm never really sure what they mean by this. It is becoming a popular stag destination but it hasn't grown to a level that overshadows the cultural and historic atmosphere that the city has. Thankfully Krakow hasn't developed the rash and mercantile tourism enterprises found in Prague either. Only time will tell how this will all work out.
Whether you are coming to Krakow on a weekend break, business trip or backpacking adventure a good all-round guide I can recommend is www.cracow-life.com which has all the information you could need. I even find it handy as expat as it lists local news, events and weather.
I think the best time to visit Krakow is in December when the Christmas market is in full swing on the main market square. It's setting in the medieval streets, with a bit of snow thrown in, is perfect for a bit of festive magic.
The Christmas market in Krakow is wonderful and a great tonic for those suffering from the winter blues back home. I’m lucky enough to have been living in Krakow for nine months and in my opinion the old town has never looked as beautiful as it does right now.
After a week or so of preparation the market is now in full swing. Stalls selling spicy mulled wine, roasted meats and grilled mountain cheese served with cranberry sauce help keep the cold at bay long enough to get some good Christmas shopping done.
Those looking for something a bit different for the loved ones back home have plenty to choose from the huts selling festive ornaments, wooden toys, woollen clothing from the highlands and delicious soft gingerbread from Torun. The old cloth hall (Sukiennice) on the market square also has a plethora of stalls hoping to tempt you to part with your cash. Here you will find items such as amber jewellery from the Baltic coast, hand-stitched embroidery and other bits and pieces such as wooden chess sets and even swords!
Shopping aside, it is the magic and the old town and surrounding cobbled streets that make Krakow so special this time of year. I can’t recommend it enough.
Borough Market hasn’t got a patch on Shilin Night Market in Taipei. Instead of going to bars and pubs, the Taiwanese congregate at night markets, so it’s also a great place to get a feel for local life. Shilin was one of the best I went to and it’s great for sampling Taiwan’s delicacies from stinky tofu and pearl tea to oyster omelette and Shilin sausages. The market extends down rabbit warrens of streets and is also great for picking up cheap Converse trainers, clothes and gifts.
Taipower Building MRT station
The Sunday market is a must. Get off the Metro at Gambetta and go straight, you're there. Otherwise walk from the centre across Place de Republique down rue Gambetta and get more of the atmosphere. If you walk take a break at Le Stout for a coffee and cognac - it is the café on the corner with a bike suspended in the window. Then twenty yards later you are in the flower market and behind that the covered market. In the covered market there are plenty of treats.
A Polish stall which does the best smoked filet mignon in the world although a bit expensive at 27 euros per kilo. We call it 'baby' at home because it is so tender.
There is also a cheese stand that is good value and massive - so they always cut more than you want.
The other side of the covered is the open market. A mix of farmers' and bulk buy, but both are good value. Olives beside endives. The spice stands used to be good but they have doubled their prices recently. There is also haberdashery and second hand clothes and a fine selection of elephant-shaped underpants.
There is plenty to eat - banks of roast chicken, ribs, Chinese noodles and pies (try the cheese maroilles on a pie or traditionally dunked in coffee). All the cafés on the square are fine but I prefer those on the street on the side of the covered market as they are where all the stall holders go. In front of the church it is more trendy, very people-watching and people who have not been to bed.
There is a great family restaurant on the square but I'm not telling as they refuse to be in guidebooks. It serves a fixed menu of what is fresh and cheap. Fantastic veal liver, fish and chips (French style, no batter) and if the kidneys don't appeal there is a tender rump steak as standard. All this with a starter and a cheese plate or a dessert for 25 euros. Find it!
The market is on Sunday morning from 7am to about 2pm depending on the weather. If it isn't raining it is packed - the Lillois don't mind the cold, only the rain. France is very kid-friendly, but don't take a pushchair as all your kid will see are bums and you get stuck in pram jams.
Lots of other stuff to see in Lille: museums, medieval buildings, general Flemish architecture. A very under-rated place to visit.
Metro Gambetta
or walk through the town across Republique and down rue Gambetta
If you're arriving at San Marco airport, do splash out the 12 euros to get the blue line Alilaguna boat to your nearest stop. Day or night it's the only way to arrive, but once you're there, enjoy Venice most by just walking and getting lost in the quieter backstreets, and seeing a glimpse of what's left of the life of a diminishing non-tourist resident population. Small shops, bars, galleries and markets will welcome you.
Try Arsenale or around Campo Santa Margherita and the beautiful Del Frari Church for a start. If it's raining or misty, so much the better. If it's December, the Christmas market near Accademia Bridge will warm you up. For half a euro cross the canal by shared traghetti gondala and stand like the locals.
www.alilaguna.it/
Then have a map handy for use in emergencies only
One of the few remaining typical local open markets which sells fresh vegetables, seafood, and meat, among other things. Busiest in the morning and the evening (right after office hours when the locals go and get fresh food for their dinner)
the government has planned to 'renovate' some of the streets in the area, and many stalls/stores will be closed if the plan goes ahead. Go see it before it disappears forever.
Gage Stree and Graham Street and around, Central, Hong Kong
Fabulous array of fresh food of every kind, also wine and other drinks, something for everyone. Definitely the place to shop if self catering, but some very good cheap vegetarian hot food outlets associated with the market. On a budget, or want to treat yourself, this is the place! The place buzzes, and is particularly atmospheric after dark. A little art nouveau as well! Open till 8.30pm, closed Sundays.
La Rambla 91 Nearest metro: Liceu
Send your feedback or queries to been.there@guardian.co.uk
Search Been there
