Markets in Pilar de la Horadada

Staying in Torre de la Horadada puts you close to the coast and within easy reach of the town's markets, with plenty of cafés and restaurants to fill the gaps between browsing. The Pilar de la Horadada town centre is another solid base if you want to be right in the heart of things, with good transport links to the surrounding area.

Scale is the main thing that separates them. The Torre de la Horadada Summer Market is the largest by a wide margin at up to 300 stalls, more than the other five put together, and it is the one to aim for if you want the full range in a single morning. The rest are neighbourhood markets serving the urbanisation or barrio they set up in, the smallest of them around 15 stalls.

What is on sale is consistent. Clothing turns up at all six; fresh fruit and vegetables at four of them; footwear, flowers, jewellery and handicrafts at three or four each. Stall counts, days and locations vary across the six, and the rest of the coast is covered from the Alicante province hub.

Friday and Sunday are the busiest days, with three of the six markets trading on each. Tuesday and Wednesday carry two apiece, and Monday, Thursday and Saturday one each, which makes Saturday, the day most visitors assume is the big one, the quietest trading day in the city. Several of the markets run on more than one day of the week, so the daily totals add up to more than six.

Timing matters as much as the day. With a typical start at 7pm and a typical finish at 1am, a pitch that looks empty at four in the afternoon may well be setting up three hours later.

For current dates and any seasonal changes, the Pilar de la Horadada tourism website is worth checking before you visit.

The Torre de la Horadada Summer Market is the biggest market in Pilar de la Horadada, with up to 300 stalls, more than the city's other five street markets put together. Fresh produce, clothing, footwear and flowers all trade there, and it sets up on the coast rather than in the town centre.

Yes, Pilar de la Horadada has a night market at Mil Palmeras with around 35 stalls of handicrafts, jewellery and clothing. Evening trading is the norm here rather than the exception: across the city's six street markets the commonest opening time is 7pm and the commonest closing time is 1am.

Friday is the busiest market day in Pilar de la Horadada, with three of the city's six street markets trading, against one each on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. That includes a morning market selling fresh produce, flowers and clothing, and a covered market of around 40 stalls given over to fruit, vegetables, clothing and footwear.

Yes, three of the six street markets in Pilar de la Horadada trade on Sunday, which ties with Friday as the busiest market day here. Tuesday and Wednesday carry two each, and Monday, Thursday and Saturday one apiece. Fresh fruit and vegetables, clothing and handicrafts are on sale across them.

Yes, Mil Palmeras has two weekly markets: a daytime street market of about 25 stalls selling clothing, footwear, jewellery and handicrafts, and a separate night market of about 35 stalls trading handicrafts, jewellery and clothing. Both sit inside Pilar de la Horadada, on the coastal side of the municipality.