Municipal Markets in Premià de Mar

Fifteen stalls is small enough that one walk covers the whole hall, and the mix is weighted towards fresh food you cook the same day. Fish and seafood, meat and poultry, fruit and vegetables, bread and bakery, and cheese and dairy are all represented, which is the full weekly shop for anyone staying in a flat with a kitchen. Because the hall is a fixed building rather than a set of trestle tables, the same traders are behind the same counters five mornings a week, and it is worth asking them what came in that morning.

Come before 10am. The hall opens at 8am and closes at 2pm with no afternoon session, so the fish and vegetable counters are at their fullest early and thinning out by midday. There is no trading on Sunday or Monday, which catches out weekend visitors who arrive expecting a market town on a Sunday morning. Bring a bag, and bring cash, since some of the smaller stalls do not take cards.

The market's hours decide where to stay here more than anything else, since the doors open at 8am and the stalls pack up at 2pm. Staying in the town centre puts you within walking distance of the hall for an 8am start, while the seafront area works well if you want the beach as well as the shopping. Watch the day you arrive: the hall does not trade on Sunday or Monday, so a Saturday-night-to-Monday stay misses it completely.