In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The Central Market is free and open Monday to Saturday from 7:30 to 15:00. It is closed on Sundays. It has more than 250 stalls, and most take cards. Eat at the Central Bar, run by the chef Ricard Camarena, which serves the esmorzaret, the Valencian mid-morning sandwich with a drink. A free cold store in the basement holds your shopping until 21:00. On Sundays from 10:00 to 13:00 a collectors’ market runs outside. The Mercado de Colón is the evening alternative, open until 02:00 or 03:00. Prices are in euros. Or book a tour: the morning food tour with a Central Market visitad is from €59 and the paella class with a Central Market tourad from €70 (GetYourGuide).
Hours and what it costs
Entry is free, and the hours are from the market’s own site.
| Day | Central Market |
|---|---|
| Monday to Saturday | 7:30 to 15:00 |
| Sunday | Closed; collectors’ and craft market outside, 10:00 to 13:00 |
- Address: Plaza de la Ciudad de Brujas, across Plaza del Mercado from La Lonja de la Seda, with the church of Santos Juanes beside the Lonja.
- Doors. There are entrances on Calle Palafox, Plaza del Mercado, Calle Vieja de la Paja, Calle Calabazas, Avenida del Oeste and Plaza Ciudad de Brujas.
- Cards. Most stalls have a card terminal, the market says.
- Cold store. A free refrigerated store in the basement holds shopping until 21:00. Pay at each stall, then take the purchases down.
- Parking. The public car park “Centre Històric - Mercat Central” has more than 300 spaces, entered from Calle Guillem de Castro. The market gives an hour’s parking for 15 loyalty points, one for every €3 spent.
Tours worth paying for
The market is free to walk, so a tour buys a guide and the tastings. Both of these need a day the market is open, so not a Sunday. Prices are the lowest “from” prices, per person.
Morning food tour with a Central Market visit
From €59 · 4.9 stars from 267 reviews
Valencia: Morning Food Tour with Central Market Visitad is a 3-hour guided tour sold by Food Lover Tour.
Paella class with a Central Market tour
From €70 · 5.0 stars from 1,225 reviews
Valencia: Paella Cooking Class with Central Market Tourad is a 3 to 3.5 hour class sold by Sea Saffron. The market visit runs on mornings from Monday to Saturday.
What to see
Visit València counts more than 250 stalls. The market’s own history dates the present building to a design of 1914 by Alejandro Soler March and Francisco Guardia Vial, finished by two other architects and opened to the public on 15 March 1928.
The front of the Central Market, with its tiled gables and arched entrances. Photo: Felivet, Wikimedia Commons.
- The building. The iron, glass and ceramic domes, the central one 30 metres high, carry two weathervanes, a parrot and a fish. The parrot is the market’s mascot, and the market’s history puts it beside the Lonja and Santos Juanes as one of the three monuments of the square.
- The stalls. Fish, meat and charcuterie, fruit and vegetables, bread and a range of prepared food fill the straight aisles. Visit València advises asking before you photograph a stall, not touching produce and not stopping in the aisles.
- What to buy. Valencian rice in its three varieties, Senia, Bomba and Albufera, saffron, tigernut for horchata, nougat, salted fish, ham and olives, which the stalls vacuum-pack, and Valencian wines, horchata and mistela. Souvenir stalls sell ceramics and paella pans of every size.
- The Sunday collectors’ market. From 10:00 to 13:00, stamps, coins, postcards, comics, records, books and ceramics trade between Plaza Ciudad de Brujas and Calle de las Calabazas.
The central dome from inside the market. Photo: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The order that works: go on a weekday morning, since it closes at 15:00. Walk the fish and fruit stalls, buy what travels, and eat at the Central Bar. What to skip: the market on a Sunday, when it is shut; use the Mercado de Colón instead.
A main aisle of the Central Market, with stalls on both sides. Photo: Simon Burchell, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where to eat
Central Bar
Inside the market · run by Ricard Camarena
The bar inside the market is run by the chef Ricard Camarena. Visit València recommends it for the esmorzaret, the Valencian mid-morning snack of a sandwich on crusty bread with a beer or wine, taken between 9:00 and 12:00. Where to eat in Valencia lists the restaurants.
Mercado de Colón
Visit València lists Sunday to Thursday 7:30 to 02:00 and Friday and Saturday 7:30 to 03:00 · Calle Cirilo Amorós and Calle Jorge Juan
The Colón is a modernist market hall of 3,500 square metres in the Eixample, now about twenty shops, cafés, bars and restaurants rather than a food market. Each unit sets its own hours. Horchatería Daniel, inside, serves horchata with fartons, the long soft pastries you dip in it, and Habitual is Ricard Camarena’s restaurant. It opens when the Central Market is shut, so it is the Sunday answer.
The neighbourhood markets
The Mercat de Russafa is open Monday to Saturday 7:30 to 15:00, and the Mercat del Cabanyal Monday to Saturday 7:00 to 15:00. Both are closed on Sundays. Ruzafa says what surrounds its market, and the beaches cover the Cabanyal.
What to book in Valencia has the closed days for every sight. Valencia food tours compares the guided options. Best paella in Valencia and best horchata in Valencia say where to eat what you have seen. The Lonja and the cathedral are a short walk away, and the old town walk links them in an order that fits the market’s 15:00 close. 3 days in Valencia puts the market on a morning. For a bed, see where to stay in Valencia.
Common questions
What are the opening hours of the Central Market in Valencia?
Monday to Saturday from 7:30 to 15:00. It is closed on Sundays. Entry is free.
Is the Central Market open on Sundays?
No. On Sundays from 10:00 to 13:00 a collectors' and craft market runs outside, between Plaza Ciudad de Brujas and Calle de las Calabazas.
Can I pay by card at the Central Market?
At most stalls, yes: the market says most have a card terminal.
Where can I leave my shopping while I sightsee?
In the market's free cold store in the basement, open until 21:00. Pay at the stalls and take the purchases down yourself.
What should I buy at the Central Market?
Valencian rice in its three varieties, Senia, Bomba and Albufera, tigernuts for horchata, saffron, nougat, salted fish, ham and olives, which can be vacuum-packed, and Valencian wines. Souvenir stalls sell paella pans of every size.
Where can I eat at the Central Market?
At the Central Bar, run by the chef Ricard Camarena, which serves the traditional mid-morning sandwich, the esmorzaret.
