Street Markets in Sotogrande

The split between the two sessions is the thing worth checking before you set out. Turn up at the marina on a Wednesday morning and there is nothing to see: midweek trading does not begin until 7pm and carries on to midnight. Sunday reverses it, opening at 10am and packing away by 2pm. The market's own organisers publish session details at sotogrande.com.

Six categories are on sale here: antiques, books and magazines, clothing and textiles, handicrafts, jewellery and prepared foods. There is no fresh produce, fish or meat, so this is a browsing market rather than a shop for the week's food, and the prepared foods stalls are what make the evening sessions work as somewhere to eat as much as somewhere to buy. Sotogrande has no municipal market hall, so see all markets in Sotogrande, or Cádiz province for covered food markets within driving distance.

The market is on the quayside, so anywhere around the port puts you within a walk of it, which matters most for the evening sessions that finish at midnight. Sotogrande Port is the natural base, with cafes and restaurants on the same stretch.

If you would rather be on the coast, Hotel Trocadero Playa is a short drive away, and Hotel La Casona de Sotogrande is quieter again while still keeping the marina close. A car is useful for either, since the Sunday session ends at 2pm and there is little reason to linger afterwards.