- Local Food
- Tapas
- Architecture
Where form meets function, for the public good. Beneath its spectacular, wave-inspired roof, this avant-garde structure is home to a traditional food market rich in deliciousness.
Metro: L1 (Red) - Urquinaona
L4 (Yellow) - Urquinaona & Jaume I
Like a moth to a flame, tourists flock to the Santa Caterina Market in the hundreds, to get a good look at its colorful, wavy, and totally original roof. What’s even more surprising is that this remarkable structure is home to a traditional marketplace full of fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish, whose variety complements the chromatic intensity of the building’s vibrant exterior.
The present structure dates to 2005, and is a remodeling of the ancient marketplace of Santa Caterina, nourishing the popular neighborhood of the Born. When it was first founded in 1845, atop the ruins of an ancient convent, it was the only covered marketplace in the city. It was remodeled by the prestigious architectural firm Miralles-Tagliabue, who designed the Gaudi-inspired roof to be absolutely bursting in color and spectacular when viewed from above. The roof meets the body of the building through wooden structures, lending an avant-garde touch to an otherwise traditional food market.
The renovations made the Santa Caterina market one of the most popular in the city, aglow with beauty inside and out. While it might not be as well known as the Boqueria, it has learned to fuse form and function to bring neighborhood residents a vast array of fresh and local produce, displayed in a delightful and aesthetically pleasing way.
It’s a small market, not many people (we mainly saw locals) but there’s a lot of room to have a look around, taste and choose different kinds of products. But still a bit small overall, so it gets boring very fast.
This market is definitely underrated in Barcelona. It’s true that it’s a bit small, but if you look everywhere there are a lot of things for everyone. Very colorful and in fact we took great shots!! Never thought a market could be that beautiful.