Central Market

THE CENTRAL MARKET - Shopping with the 5 senses

TheCentral Market of Valencia has always been known for the quality,variety and freshness of its products as well as the helpful,personalised service provided by its traders.

Inaddition to the market’s main activity, the innovative andbusiness-like character of the traders has made the market grow andimprove day by day. Nowadays, it is an important place for the saleof fresh products and a major cultural and tourist attraction notonly for foreign visitors but also for the people of Valencia.

TheMercat Central of Valencia covers exactly 8,160 square metres dividedinto two areas or zones.

TheCentral Market brings together almost 300 small traders and 1,500people are involved in its daily activity. It is the largest centreof its kind in Europe specialising in fresh products and the firstmarket in the world to rise to the challenge of computerising salesand offering home delivery, services which have been available since2nd October 1996.

Nowadays,the Mercat Central is an important economic focal point of Valencia,not only because of the work of its traders but also because of thelarge number of visits it receives and events it organices.

Thereis no doubt that the Mercat Central is a spectacular piece ofarchitecture and one of the most attractive and visited buildings inValencia. Its architecture matches the aesthetics of the square andblends perfectly with two other important monuments: La Lonja de laSeda (the silk exchange) and the Church of Los Santos Juanes. TheCentral Market is undoubtedly the most representative building ofearly 20th century Valencia, a city which was advancing towardstechnological and commercial progress and felt proud of theagricultural potential of its farmland. This commitment to progressand farming production can be seen in the modernist structure of themarket and the allegorical decoration of its interior.

Theiron, glass and ceramic domes (the central one is 30 metres high) andthe two weather vanes on top of them (in the shape of a parrot and afish) blend into a typically Valencian skyline of towers and belltowers.