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A marketplace, market place, or just market, is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''
souk A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets that have doors ...
'' (from
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
), ''
bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...
'' (from
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
), a fixed '' mercado'' (
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
), itinerant ''
tianguis A is an open-air market or bazaar that is traditionally held on certain market days in a town or city neighborhood in Mexico and Central America. This bazaar tradition has its roots well into the pre-Hispanic period and continues in many cases ...
'' (
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
), or ''
palengke A ''palengke'' (Chavacano: ''palenque'') is a permanent wet market in the Philippines (differentiated from periodic wet markets called ''wiktionary:talipapa, talipapa''). Etymology The word ''palengke'' is a local variant of the Spanish languag ...
'' (
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
). Some markets operate daily and are said to be ''permanent'' markets while others are held once a week or on less frequent specified days such as festival days and are said to be ''periodic markets.'' The form that a market adopts depends on its locality's population, culture, ambient, and geographic conditions. The term ''market'' covers many types of trading, such as
market square A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...
s,
market hall A market hall is a covered space or a building where food and other articles are sold from stalls by independent vendors. A market hall is a type of indoor market and can be found in many European countries. The most common variation of a mar ...
s,
food hall A food hall is a large standalone location or department store section where food and drinks are sold. Overview Unlike food courts made up of fast food chains, food halls typically mix local artisan restaurants, butcher shops and other food- ...
s, and their different varieties. Thus marketplaces can be both outdoors and indoors, and in the modern world,
online marketplace An online marketplace (or online e-commerce marketplace) is a type of e-commerce website where product or service information is provided by multiple third parties. Online marketplaces are the primary type of multichannel ecommerce and can be a wa ...
s. Markets have existed for as long as humans have engaged in trade. The earliest bazaars are believed to have originated in Persia, from where they spread to the rest of the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
and
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. Documentary sources suggest that zoning policies confined trading to particular parts of cities from around 3000 BCE, creating the conditions necessary for the emergence of a bazaar. Middle Eastern bazaars were typically long strips with stalls on either side and a covered roof designed to protect traders and purchasers from the fierce sun. In Europe, informal, unregulated markets gradually made way for a system of formal, chartered markets from the 12th century. Throughout the
medieval period In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
, increased regulation of marketplace practices, especially weights and measures, gave consumers confidence in the quality of market goods and the fairness of prices. Around the globe, markets have evolved in different ways depending on local ambient conditions, especially weather, tradition, and culture. In the Middle East, markets tend to be covered, to protect traders and shoppers from the sun. In milder climates, markets are often open air. In
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
, a system of morning markets trading in fresh produce and night markets trading in non-perishables is common. Today, markets can also be accessed electronically or on the internet through
e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile co ...
or matching platforms. In many countries,
shopping Shopping is an activity in which a customer browses the available goods or services presented by one or more retailers with the potential intent to purchase a suitable selection of them. A Retail#Shopper profiles, typology of shopper types ha ...
at a local market is a standard feature of daily life. Given the market's role in ensuring food supply for a population, markets are often highly regulated by a central authority. In many places, designated marketplaces have become listed sites of historic and architectural significance and represent part of a town's or nation's cultural assets. For these reasons, they are often popular tourist destinations.


Etymology

The term ''market'' comes from the Latin ''mercatus'' ("market place"). The earliest recorded use of the term ''market'' in English is in the ''
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...
'' of 963, a work that was created during the reign of
Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...
(r. 871–899) and subsequently distributed, copied throughout English
monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...
. The exact phrase was "", meaning "I desire that there be a market in the same town".


History


In prehistory

Markets have existed since ancient times.Bintliff, J., "Going to Market in Antiquity", in ''Stuttgarter Kolloquium zur Historischen Geographie des Altertums'', Eckart Olshausen and Holger Sonnabend (eds), Stuttgart, Franz Steiner, 2002, pp. 209–250 Some historians have argued that a type of market has existed since humans first began to engage in trade. Open air and public markets were known in ancient Babylonia, Assyria,
Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...
,Greece, Egypt, and the Arabian peninsula. However, not all societies developed a system of markets. The Greek historian
Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...
noted that markets did not evolve in ancient Persia. Across the Mediterranean and Aegean, a network of markets emerged from the early Bronze Age. A vast array of goods were traded, including salt,
lapis lazuli Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color. Originating from the Persian word for the gem, ''lāžward'', lapis lazuli is ...
, dyes, cloth, metals, pots, ceramics, statues, spears, and other implements. Archaeological evidence suggests that Bronze Age traders segmented trade routes according to geographical circuits. Both produce and ideas travelled along these trade routes. In the Middle East, documentary sources suggest that a form of bazaar first developed around 3000 BCE. Early bazaars occupied a series of alleys along the length of the city, typically stretching from one city gate to a different gate on the other side of the city. The bazaar at Tabriz, for example, stretches along kilometers of street and is the longest vaulted bazaar in the world. Moosavi argues that the Middle Eastern bazaar evolved in a linear pattern, whereas the market places of the West were more centralised. The Greek historian Herodotus noted that in Egypt, roles were reversed compared with other cultures, and Egyptian women frequented the market and carried on trade, while the men remained at home weaving cloth. He also described the Babylonian marriage market, an account that inspired an 1875 painting by Edwin Long.


In antiquity

In antiquity, markets were typically situated in the town's centre. The market was surrounded by alleyways inhabited by skilled artisans, such as metal workers, leather workers, and carpenters. These artisans may have sold wares directly from their premises, but also prepared goods for sale on market days. Across
ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...
, market places were to be found in most city states, where they operated within the (open space). Between 550 and 350 BCE, Greek stallholders clustered together according to the type of goods carried – fish-sellers were in one place, clothing in another, and sellers of more expensive goods such as perfumes, bottles, and jars were located in a separate building. The Greeks organised trade into separate zones, all located near the city centre and known as . A freestanding colonnade with a covered walkway, the was both a place of commerce and a public promenade, situated within or adjacent to the agora. At the in Athens, officials were employed by the government to oversee weights, measures, and coinage to ensure that the people were not cheated in market place transactions. The rocky and mountainous terrain in Greece made it difficult for producers to transport goods or surpluses to local markets, giving rise to the , a specialised type of retailer who operated as an intermediary purchasing produce from farmers and transporting it over short distances to the city markets. In
ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
, trade took place in the
forum Forum or The Forum may refer to: Common uses *Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example * Internet forum, discussion board ...
. Rome had two forums: the
Forum Romanum A forum (Latin: ''forum'', "public place outdoors", : ''fora''; English : either ''fora'' or ''forums'') was a public square in a municipium, or any civitas, of Ancient Rome reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, along ...
and
Trajan's Forum Trajan's Forum (; ) was the last of the Imperial fora to be constructed in ancient Rome. The architect Apollodorus of Damascus oversaw its construction. History This forum was built on the order of the emperor Trajan with the spoils of war f ...
.
Trajan's Market Trajan's Market (; ) is a large complex of ruins in the city of Rome, Italy, located on the Via dei Fori Imperiali, at the opposite end to the Colosseum. The surviving buildings and structures, built as an integral part of Trajan's Forum and ...
at Trajan's forum, built around 100–110 CE, was a vast expanse, comprising multiple buildings with shops on four levels. The Roman forum was arguably the earliest example of a permanent retail shopfront. In antiquity, exchange involved
direct selling Direct selling is a business model that involves a party of people buying products from a parent organization and selling them directly to customers. It can take the form of either single-level marketing (in which a direct seller makes money pu ...
via merchants or
peddler A peddler (American English) or pedlar (British English) is a door-to-door and/or travelling vendor of good (economics), goods. In 19th-century United States the word "drummer" was often used to refer to a peddler or traveling salesman; as exem ...
s and bartering systems were commonplace. In the Roman world, the central market primarily served the local peasantry. Market stall holders were primarily local primary producers who sold small surpluses from their individual farming activities and also artisans who sold leather goods, metalware and pottery. Consumers were made up of several different groups; farmers who purchased minor farm equipment and a few luxuries for their homes and urban dwellers who purchased basic necessities. Major producers such as the great estates were sufficiently attractive for merchants to call directly at their farm gates, obviating the producers' need to attend local markets. The very wealthy landowners managed their own distribution, which may have involved importing and exporting. The nature of export markets in antiquity is well documented in ancient sources and archaeological case studies. At
Pompeii Pompeii ( ; ) was a city in what is now the municipality of Pompei, near Naples, in the Campania region of Italy. Along with Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Villa Boscoreale, many surrounding villas, the city was buried under of volcanic ash and p ...
, multiple markets served the population of approximately 12,000. Produce markets were located in the vicinity of the Forum, while livestock markets were situated on the city's perimeter, near the amphitheatre. A long narrow building at the north-west corner of the Forum was some type of market, possibly a cereal market. On the opposite corner stood the
macellum A ''macellum'' (: ''macella''; , ''makellon'') is an ancient Roman indoor market building that sold mostly provisions (especially meat and fish). The building normally sat alongside the forum and basilica, providing a place in which a market cou ...
, thought to have been a meat and fish market. Market stall-holders paid a market tax for the right to trade on market days. Some archaeological evidence suggests that markets and street vendors were controlled by local government. A graffito on the outside of a large shop documents a seven-day cycle of markets: "Saturn's day at Pompeii and Nuceria, Sun's day at Atella and Nola, Moon's day at Cumae", etc. The presence of an official commercial calendar suggests something of the market's importance to community life and trade. Markets were also important centres of social life.


In medieval Europe

In early Western Europe, markets developed close to monasteries, castles or royal residences. Priories and aristocratic manorial households created considerable demand for goods and services, both luxuries and necessities, and also afforded some protection to merchants and traders. These centres of trade attracted sellers which would stimulate the growth of the town. The ''
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
'' of 1086 lists 50 markets in England; however, many historians believe this figure underestimates the actual number of markets in operation at the time. In England, some 2,000 new markets were established between 1200 and 1349. By 1516, England had some 2,464 markets and 2,767 fairs, while Wales had 138 markets and 166 fairs. From the 12th century, English monarchs awarded a charter to local Lords to create markets and fairs for a town or village. A charter protected the town's trading privileges in return for an annual fee. Once a chartered market was granted for specific market days, a nearby rival market could not open on the same days. Fairs, which were usually held annually, and almost always associated with a religious festival, traded in high value goods, while regular weekly or bi-weekly markets primarily traded in fresh produce and necessities. Although a fair's primary purpose was trade, it typically included some elements of entertainment, such as dance, music, or tournaments. As the number of markets increased, market towns situated themselves sufficiently far apart so as to avoid competition, but close enough to permit local producers a round trip within one day (about 10 km). Some British open-air markets have been operating continuously since the 12th century. A pattern of market trading using mobile stalls under covered arcades was probably established in Italy with the open
loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...
s of (1547) designed and constructed by Giovanni Battista del Tasso (and funded by the
Medici family The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th ...
); , Florence, designed by
Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work ''Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ideol ...
(1567); and (1619) by
Giulio Parigi Giulio Parigi (6 April 1571 – 13 July 1635) was an Italian architect and designer. He was the main member of a family of architects and designers working for the Grand Ducal court of the Medici. His father, Alfonso Parigi the Elder, was a ...
. Braudel and Reynold have made a systematic study of European market towns between the thirteenth and fifteenth century. Their investigation shows that in regional districts markets were held once or twice a week while daily markets were common in larger cities. Over time, permanent shops began opening daily and gradually supplanted the periodic markets, while peddlers or itinerant sellers continued to fill in any gaps in distribution. During the Middle Ages, the physical market was characterised by transactional exchange. Shops had higher overhead costs, but were able to offer regular trading hours and a relationship with customers and may have offered added value services, such as credit terms to reliable customers. The economy was primarily characterised by local trading in which goods were traded across relatively short distances. Beach markets, which were known in north-western Europe, during the Viking period, were primarily associated with the sale of fish. From around the 11th century, the number and variety of imported goods sold at beach markets began to increase. giving consumers access to a broader range of exotic and luxury goods. Throughout the medieval period, markets became more international. The historian, Braudel, reports that in 1600, grain moved just 5–10 miles; cattle 40–70 miles; wool and wollen cloth 20–40 miles. However, following the European age of discovery, goods were imported from afar –
calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...
cloth from India, porcelain, silk and tea from China, spices from India and South-East Asia and tobacco, sugar, rum and coffee from the New World. Across the boroughs of England, a network of chartered markets sprang up between the 12th and 16th centuries, giving consumers reasonable choice in the markets they preferred to patronise. A study on the purchasing habits of the monks and other individuals in medieval England suggests that consumers of the period were relatively discerning. Purchase decisions were based on purchase criteria such as the consumer's perceptions of the range, quality, and price of goods. Such considerations informed decisions about where to make purchases and which markets to patronise. As the number of charters granted increased, competition between market towns also increased. In response to competitive pressures, towns invested in developing a reputation for quality produce, efficient market regulation and good amenities for visitors such as covered accommodation. By the thirteenth century, counties with important textile industries were investing in purpose built halls for the sale of cloth. London's
Blackwell Hall Blackwell Hall in the City of London (also known as Bakewell Hall) was the centre for the wool and cloth trade in England from mediaeval times until the 19th century. Cloth manufacturers and clothiers from provincial England brought their material ...
became a centre for cloth,
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
became associated with a particular type of cloth known as ''Bristol red'',
Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...
was known for producing fine woollen cloth, the town of
Worsted Worsted ( or ) is a high-quality type of wool yarn, the fabric made from this yarn, and a yarn weight category. The name derives from Worstead (from Old English ''Wurðestede'', "enclosure place"), a village in the English county of Norfolk. T ...
became synonymous with a type of yarn;
Banbury Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...
and
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
were strongly associated with cheeses. In the market economy, goods are ungraded and unbranded, so that consumers have relatively few opportunities to evaluate quality prior to consumption. Consequently, supervision of weights, measures, food quality, and prices was a key consideration. In medieval society, regulations for such matters appeared initially at the local level. The Charter of Worcester, written between 884 and 901 provided for fines for dishonest trading, amongst other things. Such local regulations were codified in 13th century England in what became known as the
Statute of Winchester The Statute of Winchester of 1285 ( 13 Edw. 1. St. 2; ), also known as the Statute of Winton, was a statute enacted by King Edward I of England that reformed the system of Watch and Ward (watchmen) of the Assize of Arms of 1252, and revived th ...
. This document outlined the
assizes The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...
for 16 different trades, most of which were associated with markets – miller, baker, fisher, brewer, inn-keeper, tallow-chandler, weaver, cordwainer, etc. For each trade, regulations covered such issues as fraud, prices, quality, weights, and measures and so on. The assize was a formal codification of prior informal codes which had been practised for many years. The courts of assize were granted the power to enforce these regulations. The process of standardizing quality, prices and measures assisted markets to gain the confidence of buyers and made them more attractive to the public. A sixteenth century commentator, John Leland, described particular markets as "celebrate", "very good", "quik", and conversely as "poore", "meane", and "of no price". Over time, some products became associated with particular places, providing customers with valuable information about the types of goods, their quality and their region of origin. In this way, markets helped to provide an early form of product branding. Gradually, certain market towns earned a reputation for providing quality produce. Today, traders and showmen jealously guard the reputation of these historic chartered markets. The 18th century commentator
Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, merchant and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translati ...
visited Sturbridge fair in 1723 and wrote a lengthy description which paints a picture of a highly organised, vibrant operation which attracted large number of visitors from some distance away. "As for the people in the fair, they all universally eat, drink and sleep in their booths, and tents; and the said booths are so intermingled with taverns, coffee-houses, drinking-houses, eating-houses, cookshops &c, and all tents too, and so many butchers and higglers from all the neighbouring counties come in to the fair every morning, with beef, mutton, fowls, bread, cheese, eggs, and such things; and go with them from tent to tent and from door to door, that there is no want of provision of any kind, either dress'd or undress'd."


In Asia Minor

In the Asia Minor, prior to the 10th century, market places were situated on the perimeter of the city. Along established trade routes, markets were most often associated with the
caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...
typically situated just outside the city walls. However, when the marketplace began to become integrated into city structures, it was transformed into a covered area where traders could buy and sell with some protection from the elements. Markets at Mecca and Medina were known to be significant trade centres in the 3rd century (CE) and the nomadic communities were highly dependent on them for both trade and social interactions. The Grand Bazaar in
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
is often cited as the world's oldest continuously operating, purpose-built market; its construction began in 1455.


In Asia

Dating the emergence of marketplaces in China is difficult. According to tradition, the first market was established by the legendary
Shennong Shennong ( zh, c=神農, p=Shénnóng), variously translated as "Divine Farmer" or "Divine Husbandman", born , was a mythological Chinese ruler known as the first Yan Emperor who has become a deity in Chinese and Vietnamese folk religion. H ...
or the "Divine Farmer" who arranged for markets to be held at midday.Chonglang, F., and Wenming, C., ''An Urban History of China'', Springer, 2019, p. 201. In other ancient sayings, markets originally developed around wells in the town or village centre. Scholars, however, question the reliability of traditional narratives unless backed by archaeological evidence. The earliest written references to markets dates to the time of Qi Huanggong (ruled 685 to 643 BCE). Qi's Prime Minister, the great reformer,
Guan Zhong Guan Zhong (; c. 720–645 BC) was a Chinese philosopher and politician. He served as chancellor and was a reformer of the State of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. His given name was Yiwu (). ''Zhong'' was his courtes ...
, divided the capital into 21 districts () of which three were dedicated to farmers, three to hand-workers and three to businessmen, who were instructed to settle near the markets. Some of these early markets have been the subject of archaeological surveys. For instance, the market at Yong, the capital of the Qi state, measured 3,000 square metres and was an outdoor market.Chonglang, F., and Wenming, C., ''An Urban History of China'', Springer, 2019, p. 202 According to the ''Rites of Zhou'', markets were highly organized and served different groups at different times of day; merchants at the morning market, every day people at the afternoon market and
peddler A peddler (American English) or pedlar (British English) is a door-to-door and/or travelling vendor of good (economics), goods. In 19th-century United States the word "drummer" was often used to refer to a peddler or traveling salesman; as exem ...
s at the evening market. The marketplace also became the place were executions were carried out, rewards were published and decrees were read out. During the Qin empire and the
Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
which followed it, markets were enclosed with walls and gates and strictly separated from residential areas. Vendors were arranged according to the type of commodity offered, and markets were strictly regulated with departments responsible for security, weights and measures, price-fixing, and certificates. Over time, specialised markets began to emerge. In Luoyang, during the Tang Dynasty, a metal market was known. Outside the city walls were sheep and horse markets.
Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...
's account of 13th century markets specifically mentions a silk market. He was also impressed by the size of markets. According to his account, the ten markets of
Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...
, primarily a fish market, attracted 40,000 to 50,000 patrons on each of its three trading days each week. In China, negative attitudes towards mercantile activity developed; merchants were the lowest class of society. High officials carefully distanced themselves from merchant classes. In 627, an edict prohibited those of rank five or higher from entering markets. One anecdote from the time of Empress Wu relates the tale of a fourth rank official who missed out on the opportunity for promotion after he was seen purchasing a steamed pancake from a market.


In the Middle East

Since circa 3000 BCE, ''
bazaars A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets that have doors ...
'' have dominated the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
- respectively extending to
Northern Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
- as regards to numerous areas from retail towards resources, with
trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...
amongst merchants commonplace, likewise with
bartering In trade, barter (derived from ''bareter'') is a system of exchange in which participants in a transaction directly exchange goods or services for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. Economists usually ...
amongst participants. They are often described as economic and cultural hubs within cities across the
Islamic world The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is ...
, and are generally the most bustling areas within urban localities. Given such dense activity, ''bazaars'' became an attraction for foreigners in exchanging resources, such as
spices In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...
,
textiles Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...
, labour, et cetera, drawing the attention of Arabs,
Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...
,
Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
,
Persians Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They ...
,
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
as well as
Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...
, not to mention
Westerners The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also constitute the West. ...
since the late-16th to early-17th centuries. In the modern era, ''bazaars'' remain a vital economic hub in numerous Arab nations.


In Mesoamerica

In Mesoamerica, a tiered system of traders developed independently. Extensive trade networks predated the Aztec empire by at least hundreds of years. Local markets where people purchased their daily necessities were known as ''
tianguis A is an open-air market or bazaar that is traditionally held on certain market days in a town or city neighborhood in Mexico and Central America. This bazaar tradition has its roots well into the pre-Hispanic period and continues in many cases ...
'', while a ''
pochteca ''Pochteca'' (singular ''pochtecatl'') were professional, long-distance traveling merchants in the Aztec Empire. The trade or commerce was referred to as ''pochtecayotl''. Within the empire, the ''pochteca'' performed three primary duties: marke ...
'' was a professional merchant who travelled long distances to obtain rare goods or luxury items desired by the nobility. The system supported various levels of pochteca – from very high status through to minor traders who acted as a type of peddler to fill in gaps in the distribution system. Colonial sources also record Mayan market hubs at
Acalan Acalan (Chontal Maya: ''Tamactun'', Nahuatl: ''Acallan'') was a Chontal Maya region in what is now southern Campeche, Mexico. Its capital was Itzamkanac. The people of Acalan were called ''Mactun'' in the Chontal Maya language. Cuauhtemoc, rule ...
, Champotón,
Chetumal Chetumal (, , ; , ) is a city on the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. It is the capital of the List of states of Mexico, state of Quintana Roo and the municipal seat of the Othón P. Blanco, Quintana Roo, Municipality of Othón ...
,
Bacalar Bacalar () is the municipal seat and largest city in Bacalar Municipality (until 2011 a part of Othón P. Blanco Municipality) in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, about north of Chetumal. In the 2010 census the city had a population of 11, ...
, Cachi, Conil, Pole,
Cozumel Cozumel (; ) is an island and municipality in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen. It is separated from the mainland by the Cozumel Channel and is close to the Yucatán Channel. The ...
,
Cochuah Cochuah (also Kock Wah) (in the Mayan language: toponymic; ''K-'': our + ''Och'': food + ''Wah'': bread. "Our food of bread"?) is the name of one of the sixteen Maya civilization, Mayan provinces into which the central Yucatán Peninsula was div ...
, Chauaca, Chichén Itzá, as well as markets marking the edges of Yucatecan canoe trade such as Xicalanco and Ulua. The Spanish conquerors commented on the impressive nature of the local markets in the 15th century. The
Mexica The Mexica (Nahuatl: ; singular ) are a Nahuatl-speaking people of the Valley of Mexico who were the rulers of the Triple Alliance, more commonly referred to as the Aztec Empire. The Mexica established Tenochtitlan, a settlement on an island ...
(
Aztec The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...
) market of Tlatelolco was the largest in all the
Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
and said to be superior to those in Europe.


Types

There are many different ways to classify markets. One way is to consider the nature of the buyer and the market's place within the distribution system. This leads to two broad classes of market, namely
retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...
market or
wholesale markets The consumption and production of marketed food are spatially separated. Production is primarily in rural areas while consumption is mainly in urban areas. Agricultural marketing is the process that overcomes this separation, allowing produce to b ...
. The economist,
Alfred Marshall Alfred Marshall (26 July 1842 – 13 July 1924) was an English economist and one of the most influential economists of his time. His book ''Principles of Economics (Marshall), Principles of Economics'' (1890) was the dominant economic textboo ...
classified markets according to time period. In this classification, there are three types of market; ''the very short period market'' where the supply of a commodity remains fixed. Perishables, such as fruit, vegetables, meat, and fish fall into this group since goods must be sold within a few days and the quantity supplied is relatively inelastic. The second group is the ''short period market'' where the time in which the quantity supplied can be increased by improving the scale of production (adding labor and other inputs but not by adding capital). Many non-perishable goods fall into this category. The third category is ''the long-period market'' where the length of time can be improved by capital investment. Other ways to classify markets include its trading area (local, national or international); its physical format or its produce. Major physical formats of markets are: *
Bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...
: typically a covered market in the Middle East *
Car boot sale Car boot sales or boot fairs are a form of market in which private individuals come together to sell household and garden goods. They are popular in the United Kingdom, where they are often referred to simply as 'car boots'. Some scientific ...
: a type of market where people come together to trade household and garden goods; very popular in the United Kingdom *Dry market: a market selling durable goods such as fabric and electronics, as distinguished from "wet markets" *
E-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile co ...
: an online marketplace for consumer products which can be sold anywhere in the world *Indoor market of any sort *Marketplace: an open space where a market is or was formerly held in a town *
Market square A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...
in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
: open area usually in town centre with stalls selling goods in a public square *Public market in the United States: an indoor, fixed market in a building and selling a variety of goods *Street market: a public street with stalls along one or more sides of the street *
Floating market A floating market is a market (place), market where goods are sold from boats. Originating in times and places where water transport played an important role in daily life, most floating markets operating today mainly serve as tourist attractio ...
: where goods are sold from boats, chiefly found in
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
and
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
*
Night market Night markets or night bazaars ( zh, 夜市) are street markets which operate at night and are generally dedicated to more leisurely strolling, shopping, and eating than more businesslike day markets. The culture of night markets originates from C ...
: Popular in many countries in Asia, opening at night and featuring much
street food Street food is food sold by a Hawker (trade), hawker or vendor on a street or at another public place, such as a market, fair, or park. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumption ...
and a more leisurely shopping experience. In Indonesia and Malaysia they are known as ''
pasar malam ''Pasar malam'' is a Malay language, Malay word that literally means "night market" (the word ''pasar'' comes from ''bazaar'' in Persian language, Persian). A ''pasar malam'' is a street market in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore that o ...
.'' * Wet market (also known as a public market): a market selling fresh meat, fish, produce, and other perishable goods as distinguished from "dry markets"Wholesale Markets: Planning and Design Manual (Fao Agricultural Services Bulletin) (No 90) Markets may feature a range of merchandise for sale, or they may be one of many specialist markets, such as: *
Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...
markets (i.e. livestock markets) *
Antique An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...
markets *
Farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or ...
s, focusing on fresh produce and gourmet food lines (preserves, chutneys, relishes, cheeses etc.) prepared from farm produce *
Fish market A fish market is a marketplace for selling Fish as food, fish and fish products. It can be dedicated to wholesale trade between Fisherman, fishermen and fish merchants, or to the sale of seafood to individual consumers, or to both. Retail fish ma ...
s *
Flea market A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously owned (secondhand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...
s or swap meets, a type of
bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...
that rents space to people who want to sell or
barter In trade, barter (derived from ''bareter'') is a system of exchange (economics), exchange in which participants in a financial transaction, transaction directly exchange good (economics), goods or service (economics), services for other goods ...
merchandise.
Used good Used goods, also known as secondhand goods, are any item of personal property that have been previously owned by someone else and are offered for sale not as new, including metals in any form except coins that are legal tender. Used goods may ...
s, low quality items, and high quality items at low prices are commonplace *Flower markets, such as the
Mercado Jamaica Mercado Jamaica is one of Mexico City’s Traditional fixed markets in Mexico, traditional public markets where various vendors sell their wares in an established location. This market began in the 1950s as part of efforts to urbanize the market ...
in
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
and the
Bloemenmarkt The Bloemenmarkt () is the world's only floating flower market (place), market. Founded in 1862, it is sited in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Singel (Amsterdam), the Singel canal between Muntplein (Amsterdam), Muntplein and Koningsplein in the city' ...
in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
*
Food hall A food hall is a large standalone location or department store section where food and drinks are sold. Overview Unlike food courts made up of fast food chains, food halls typically mix local artisan restaurants, butcher shops and other food- ...
s, featuring gourmet food to consume on- and off-premises,"The 5 Best Food Halls in America"
''Bon Appétit'' magazine
such as those at
Harrods Harrods is a Listed building, Grade II listed luxury department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It was designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, and opened in 1905; it replaced the first store on the ground ...
(London) and
Galeries Lafayette Galeries Lafayette () is an upmarket French department store chain, the biggest in Europe. Its flagship store is on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris but it now operates a number of locations in France and other countries ...
(Paris) department stores. In North America, these may be also referred to simply as "markets" (or "mercados" in Spanish), such as the
West Side Market } The West Side Market is the oldest operating indoor/outdoor market space in Cleveland, Ohio. It is located at the corner of West 25th Street and Lorain Avenue in the Ohio City neighborhood. On December 18, 1973, it was added to the National ...
in
Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
,
Ponce City Market Ponce City Market is a mixed-use development located in a former Sears catalogue facility in Atlanta, with national and local retail anchors, restaurants, a food hall, boutiques and offices, and residential units. It is located adjacent to the ...
in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, and the
Mercado Roma Mercado Roma ("Roma market") is a Marketplaces#Types, public market in the format of a gourmet food hall located on Querétaro street in the Colonia Roma Norte neighborhood of Mexico City. The market stalls offer organic and other food products fo ...
in Mexico City. *
Grey market A grey market or dark market (sometimes confused with the similar term "parallel import, parallel market") is the trade of a commodity through distribution channels that are not authorised by the original manufacturer or trademark proprietor. ...
: where second hand or recycled goods are sold (sometimes termed a ''green market'') *
Handicraft A handicraft is a traditional main sector of craft making and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid material ...
markets * Markets selling items used in the occult (for magic, by witches, etc.) *
Supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...
s and
hypermarket A hypermarket or superstore is a big-box store combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including full grocery lines and general merchandise. In ...
s File:Schaufschod 2009 11.JPG, Livestock market at Schaufschod, 2009 File:Grand-Bazaar Shop.jpg,
Bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...
:
Grand Bazaar, Istanbul The Grand Bazaar (, meaning ‘Covered Market’; also , meaning ‘Grand Market’Müller-Wiener (1977), p. 345.) in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest Bazaar, covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shopsMü ...
,
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
File:Krakow rynek 01.jpg, Marketplace:
Main Market Square, Kraków Main may refer to: Geography *Main River (disambiguation), multiple rivers with the same name *Ma'in, an ancient kingdom in modern-day Yemen * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province * Spanish Main, the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish terri ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
: Europe's largest medieval town square File:Damoen Saduk Floating Market.jpg,
Floating market A floating market is a market (place), market where goods are sold from boats. Originating in times and places where water transport played an important role in daily life, most floating markets operating today mainly serve as tourist attractio ...
: Damnoen Saduak floating market in
Ratchaburi Ratchaburi (, ) or Rajburi, Rat Buri) is a town ('' thesaban mueang'') in western Thailand, capital of Ratchaburi Province. Ratchaburi town covers the entire ''tambon'' Na Mueang (หน้าเมือง) of Mueang Ratchaburi District. As o ...
,
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, is a famous tourist attraction. File:TWShiLinNightMarketRichy2.jpg,
Night market Night markets or night bazaars ( zh, 夜市) are street markets which operate at night and are generally dedicated to more leisurely strolling, shopping, and eating than more businesslike day markets. The culture of night markets originates from C ...
:
Shilin Night Market Shilin Night Market () is a night market in Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan, often considered to be the largest and most famous night market in Taiwan. Overview The night market encompasses two distinct sections sharing a symbiotic relations ...
,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
File:WetmarketHK.jpg, Wet market in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
File:Flohmarkt2.JPG,
Flea market A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously owned (secondhand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...
in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
File:Wet market in Singapore 2.jpg, Wet market in
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
File:Fish market Jagalchi Busan.jpg, Fish market Jagalchi Busan File:ShopsCraftVillMet.JPG, Crafts Village Market, Mexico File:Mallick Ghat Flower Market, Kolkata 03.jpg, Mallick Ghat Flower Market,
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
, India File:Harrods Food Department Halls (8473364801).jpg, Harrods Food Hall, London, England


In literature and art

Markets generally have featured prominently in artworks, especially amongst the Dutch painters of Antwerp from the middle of the 16th century.
Pieter Aertsen Pieter Aertsen (1508, Amsterdam – 2 June 1575, Amsterdam), called ''Lange Piet'' ("Tall Pete") because of his height, was a Dutch painter in the style of Northern Mannerism. He is credited with the invention of the monumental genre scene, whi ...
was known as the "great painter of the market". Both he and his nephew,
Joachim Beuckelaer Joachim Beuckelaer (c. 1533 – c. 1570/4) was a Flemish painter specialising in market and kitchen scenes with elaborate displays of food and household equipment.
, painted market scenes, street vendors and merchants extensively. Elizabeth Honig argues that painters' interest in markets was in part due to the changing nature of the market system at that time. The public began to distinguish between two types of merchant, the which referred to local merchants including bakers, grocers, sellers of dairy products and stall-holders, and the , which described a new, emergent class of trader who dealt in goods or credit on a large scale. With the rise of a European merchant class, this distinction was necessary to separate the daily trade that the general population understood from the rising ranks of traders who operated on a world stage and were seen as quite distant from everyday experience. During the 17th and 18th centuries, as Europeans conquered parts of North Africa and the Levant, European artists began to visit the Orient and painted scenes of everyday life. Europeans sharply divided peoples into two broad groups – the ''European West'' and the ''East or Orient''; ''us'' and the ''other''. Europeans often saw Orientals as the photographic negative of Western civilisation; the peoples could be threatening – they were "despotic, static and irrational whereas Europe was viewed as democratic, dynamic and rational". At the same time, the Orient was seen as exotic, mysterious, a place of fables and beauty. This fascination with the other gave rise to a genre of painting known as ''Orientalism''. Artists focussed on the exotic beauty of the land – the markets and bazaars, caravans and snake charmers. Islamic architecture also became favourite subject matter, and the high vaulted market places features in numerous paintings and sketches. Individual markets have also attracted literary attention.
Les Halles Les Halles (; 'The Halls') was Paris' central fresh food market. It last operated on 12 January 1973 and was replaced by an underground shopping centre and a park. The unpopular modernist development was demolished yet again in 2010, and replac ...
was known as the "Belly of Paris", and was so named by author,
Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, ; ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of Naturalism (literature), naturalism, and an important contributor to ...
in his novel , which is set in the busy 19th century marketplace of central Paris. Les Halles, a complex of market pavilions in Paris, features extensively in both literature and painting.
Giuseppe Canella Giuseppe Canella (28 July 1788 – 11 September 1847), also referred to as Giuseppe Canella the Elder, was an Italian painter. Biography Initially trained by his father Giovanni, an architect, fresco painter and set designer, Giuseppe Canella st ...
(1788 - 1847) painted Les Halles et la rue de la Tonnellerie. Photographer, Henri Lemoine (1848–1924), also photographed Les Halles de Paris.


Around the world


Africa

Markets have been known in parts of
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
for centuries. An 18th century commentator noted the many markets he visited in
West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
. He provided a detailed description of market activities at Sabi, in the Wydah (now the part of the Republic of Benin): In the
Kingdom of Benin The Kingdom of Benin, also known as Great Benin, is a traditional kingdom in southern Nigeria. It has no historical relation to the modern republic of Benin, which was known as Dahomey from the 17th century until 1975. The Kingdom of Benin's c ...
(modern
Benin City Benin City serves as the Capital city, capital and largest Metropolitan area, metropolitan centre of Edo State, situated in Nigeria, southern Nigeria. It ranks as the List of Nigerian cities by population, fourth-most populous city in Niger ...
), he commented on the exotic foods available for sale at a market there:


Botswana

In
Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...
, the sale of agricultural produce to the formal market is largely controlled by large corporations. Most small, local farmers sell their produce to the informal market, local communities and street vendors. The main wholesale market is the Horticultural market in
Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Botswana, largest city of Botswana, with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its metropolitan area is home to 534, ...
. The government made some attempts to build markets in the north of the country, but that was largely unsuccessful and most commercial buyers travel to Johannesburg or Tshwane for supplies.


Ethiopia

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
is a major producer and exporter of grains and a number of wholesale markets assist with the distribution and export of such products. Important wholesale markets include:
Nekemte Nekemte, also spelled as Neqemte (, Amharic: ነቀምት), is a market city and separate woreda in western Ethiopia. Located in the East Welega Zone of the Oromia Region, Nekemte has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2,088 mete ...
in the
East Welega zone East Welega () is one of the zones in the central Oromia Region of Ethiopia. This administrative division acquired its name from the former province of Welega. Towns and cities in this zone include Nekemte. East Welega is bounded on the southwe ...
,
Jimma Jimma () is the largest city in southwestern Oromia Region, Ethiopia. It is a special zone of the Oromia Region and is surrounded by Jimma Zone. It has a latitude and longitude of . Prior to the 2007 census, Jimma was reorganized administrativ ...
in the
Jimma zone Jimma is a Zones of Ethiopia, zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Jimma is named after former Kingdom of Jimma, which was absorbed into the former province of Kaffa Province, Ethiopia, Kaffa in 1932. Jimma is bordered on the south by the Southern ...
, Assela and
Sagure Sagure is a town in south-eastern Ethiopia. Located in the Arsi Zone of the Oromia, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 2568 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of Digeluna Tijo, woreda. Based on f ...
in the
Arsi zone Arsi () is a Zones of Ethiopia, zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia, named after a clan of the Oromo people, Oromo, who inhabit in the area. Arsi is bordered on the south by Bale Zone, on the southwest by the West Arsi Zone, on the northwest by Ea ...
, Bahir Dar and Bure in the Gojjam zone, Dessie and Kombolcha in the Wollo zone, Mekele in the
Tigray region The Tigray Region (or simply Tigray; officially the Tigray National Regional State) is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob and Kunama people. I ...
,
Dire Dawa Dire Dawa (; , meaning"where the Dir (clan), Dir hit his spear into the ground" or "The true Dir", , Harari language, Harari: ድሬዳዋ, lit. "Plain of Medicine"; ) is a city in eastern Ethiopia near the Somali Region and Oromia, Oromo borde ...
and Harar in the
Oromia region Oromia (, ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. Under Article 49 of 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Constitution, the capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa, also called Finfinne. The ...
, and Addis Ababa. Some of the major retail markets in Ethiopia include:
Addis Mercato Merkato (Amharic: መርካቶ; Italian language, Italian: "market") is a large open-air marketplace in the Addis Ketema, district of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the name refers to the neighborhood in which it is located. Overview Mercato is the l ...
in Addis Ababa, the largest open air market in the country; Gulalle and Galan, both in Addis Ababa; Awasa Lake Fish Market in Awasa, the Saturday market
Harar Harar (; Harari language, Harari: ሀረር / ; ; ; ), known historically by the indigenous as Harar-Gey or simply Gey (Harari: ጌይ, ݘٛىيْ, ''Gēy'', ), is a List of cities with defensive walls, walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is al ...
, and the Saturday market in
Axum Axum, also spelled Aksum (), is a town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia with a population of 66,900 residents (as of 2015). It is the site of the historic capital of the Aksumite Empire. Axum is located in the Central Zone of the Tigray Re ...
. File:MercatoAddisAbeba08.jpg,
Addis Mercato Merkato (Amharic: መርካቶ; Italian language, Italian: "market") is a large open-air marketplace in the Addis Ketema, district of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the name refers to the neighborhood in which it is located. Overview Mercato is the l ...
, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia File:Awasa fish market.jpg, Awasa fish market, Awasa, Ethiopia File:Adigrat Market, Ethiopia (12581353584).jpg, Adigrat Market, Ethiopia File:Konso Sorghum Market, Ethiopia (15221883581).jpg, Konso Sorghum Market, Ethiopia File:Street Market, Harar, Ethiopia (8112097174).jpg, Street Market, Harar, Ethiopia


Ghana

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
ian markets have survived in spite of sometimes brutal measures to eradicate them. In the late 1970s, the Ghanaian government used market traders as a scapegoat for its own policy failures which involved food shortages and high inflation. The government blamed traders for failing to observe pricing guidelines and vilified "women merchants". In 1979, the Makola market was dynamited and bulldozed, but within a week the traders were back selling fruit, vegetables and fish, albeit without a roof over their head. File:Kumasi Market.jpg, Kumasi Market in
Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
File:Ghana Market.jpg, Market between Accra and Cape Coast, Ghana File:Madina ghana market4.jpg, Madina Ghana Market File:Market in Anaynui, Ghana.jpg, Market in Anaynui, Ghana File:Street Outside Makola Market, Accra, Ghana.JPG, Street Outside Makola Market, Accra, Ghana


Kenya

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
's capital,
Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...
, has several major markets. Wakulima market is one of the region's largest markets, situated on Haile Selassie Avenue in Nairobi. Other markets in Nairobi are: Kariakor Market, Gikomba Market, and Muthurwa Market. In Mombasa, Kongowea market is also a very large market with over 1500 stalls and covering 4.5 ha. File:Mombasa-MarketHall.jpg, Mombasa Market File:Wakulima market (1295043526).jpg, Wakulima market, Nairobi File:Masai Market Nairobi 01.jpg, Masai Market, Nairobi File:Kilingili Market thru car 1.jpg, Kilingili Market


Morocco

In
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
, markets are known as
souk A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets that have doors ...
s, and are normally found in a city's Medina (old city or old quarter). Shopping at a produce market is a standard feature of daily life in Morocco. In the larger cities, Medinas are typically made up of a collection of souks built amid a maze of narrow streets and laneways where independent vendors and artisans tend to cluster in sections which subsequently become known for a particular type of produce – such as the silversmith's street or the textile district. In
Tangiers Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Morocco. Many c ...
, a sprawling market fills the many streets of the medina and this area is divided into two sections, known as the
Grand Socco The Grand Socco (), officially the Place du 9 Avril 1947, is a historic quasi-circular roundabout square separating the old medina from newer developments in downtown Tangier, Morocco. Overview The term ''socco'' is a Spanish corruption of th ...
and the
Petit Socco The Petit Socco (), also known as the Place Souk Dakhel, or in Spanish as Zoco Chico, is a small square in the medina quarter of Tangier, Morocco. Name The words are a combination of the French word ''petit'', meaning 'little/small', and the ...
. The term ''socco'' is a Spanish corruption of the Arabic word for ''souk'', meaning marketplace. These markets sell a large variety of goods: fresh produce, cooking equipment, pottery, silverware, rugs and carpets, leather goods, clothing, accessories, electronics, alongside cafes, restaurants and take-away food stalls. The medina at Fez is the oldest, having been founded in the 9th century. The medina at Fez has been named a UNESCO World Heritage site. Today it is the main fresh produce market and is noted for its narrow laneways and for a total ban on motorized traffic. All produce is brought in and out of the marketplace by donkey or hand-cart. In
Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...
, the main produce markets are also to be found in the medina and a colourful market is also held daily in the Jemaa el-Fnaa (main square) where roaming performers and musicians entertain the large crowds that gather there. Marrakesh has the largest traditional Berber market in Morocco. File:Marktstände in der Medina.jpg, Market stalls in Tangiers' medina File:Gewürzladen in der Medina von Tanger.jpg, Spice shop in Tangiers' medina File:Tangier2.JPG, Market scene, Tangiers File:BerberWoman.jpg, Berber woman selling produce at a Moroccan market File:Jemaa el-Fnaa at night.jpg, Jemaa el-Fnaa at night


Namibia

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...
has been almost entirely dependent on South Africa for its fresh produce. Dominated by rolling plains and long sand dunes and an unpredictable rainfall, many parts of Namibia are unsuited to growing fruit and vegetables. Government sponsored initiatives have encouraged producers to grow fresh fruit, vegetables, legumes and grains The Namibian Ministry of Agriculture has recently launched a system of fresh produce hubs to serve as a platform for producers to market and distribute their produce. It is anticipated that these hubs will assist in curbing the number of sellers who take their produce to South Africa where it is placed on cold storage, only to be imported back into the country at a later date. File:Market Scene Oshakati Namibia.jpg, Market Scene Oshakati Namibia File:Street Market in Namibia - Windhoek.jpg, Street Market in Namibia, Windhoek File:Swakopmund-Marché artisanal (1).jpg, Artisans' Market, Swakopmund File:Marché artisanal d'Okahandja (1).jpg, Artisan's market, d'Okahandja File:Oshakati New market 2016-2.jpg, Oshakati New market, 2016


Nigeria


South Africa

Fresh produce markets have traditionally dominated the
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
n food chain, handling more than half of all fresh produce. Although large, vertically integrated food retailers, such as supermarkets, are beginning to make inroads into the supply chain, traditional hawkers and produce markets have shown remarkable resilience. The main markets in Johannesburg are: Jozi Real Food Market, Bryanston Organic Market, Pretoria Boeremark specialising in South African delicacies, Hazel Food Market, Panorama Flea Market, Rosebank Sunday Market, Market on Main (a periodic arts market), and neighbourhood markets.


The Gambia

The "
Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...
is Good" initiative was established in 2004 with a view to encouraging a market for locally grown fresh produce rather than imported ones. The plan was designed to "stimulate local livelihoods, inspire entrepreneurship and reduce the environmental and social cost of imported produce". A great deal of the produce trade is carried out informally on street corners and many shops are little more than market booths. However, dedicated open air and covered markets can be found in the larger towns. Notable markets include: the Serekunda Market in Gambia's largest city,
Serekunda Serekunda (or Serrekunda; ) is a major city and the largest metropolitan area in The Gambia. It is situated close to the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast, on the Gambia River, near the capital, Banjul. Serekunda and Banjul form an urban area kno ...
, which opens from early morning to late at night 7 days a week and trades in produce, live animals, clothing, accessories, jewellery, crafts, second hand goods and souvenirs; The Albert Market in the capital,
Banjul Banjul (, (US) and ), officially the City of Banjul, is the capital city of The Gambia. It is the centre of the eponymous administrative division which is home to an estimated 400,000 residents, making it The Gambia's largest and most densely ...
, which sells fresh produce, colourful, locally designed fabrics, musical instruments, carved wooden masks and other local products. Other interesting markets include: Bakau Fish Market in
Bakau Bakau is a town on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Gambia, Gambia, west of Gambia's capital city of Banjul. It is known for its botanical gardens, its crocodile pool ''Bakau Kachikally'' and for the beaches at Cape Point (Gambia), Cap ...
; Tanji Fish Market, Tanji, where brightly painted fishing boats bring in the fish from where it is immediately preserved using traditional methods and prepared for distribution to other West African countries; The Woodcarvers Market in
Brikama Brikama is one of the largest cities in the Gambia. It is also called 'Satey Ba' by the locals, meaning "big town". It lies southwest of the country's capital, Banjul. Brikama is the headquarters of the Brikama Local Government Area (formerly th ...
which boasts the largest concentration of woodcarvers in the country; the Pottery Market in Basse Santa; the Atlantic Road Craft Market at Bakau and the Senegambia Craft Market at Bakau. File:Serekunda market.jpg, Serekunda Market,
Serekunda Serekunda (or Serrekunda; ) is a major city and the largest metropolitan area in The Gambia. It is situated close to the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast, on the Gambia River, near the capital, Banjul. Serekunda and Banjul form an urban area kno ...
, The Gambia File:GambiaSerekunda003 (30580187363).jpg, Vendor at Serekunda Market, The Gambia File:1014036-Banjul Albert market-The Gambia.jpg, The
Albert Market The Albert Market, formerly known officially as Royal Albert Market, is a street market in Banjul, The Gambia. Located on Liberation Avenue, the market was built in the mid-nineteenth century. It is named after Albert, Prince Consort, husband of ...
, Banjul, The Gambia File:GambiaTanji052 (30426214214).jpg, Tanji Fish Market, Tanji, The Gambia File:GambiaSerrekundaBrikama029 (12029266475).jpg, Traditional wood carvings at a market in The Gambia


Uganda

*
Nakawa Market Nakawa Market, is a fresh produce market in Nakawa, a neighborhood in the city of Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda. It is one of the 51 markets in the city, as of June 2018. Location Nakawa Market is located along the Kampal ...


Asia

Produce markets in Asia are undergoing major changes as supermarkets enter the retail scene and the growing middle classes acquire preferences for branded goods. Many supermarkets purchase directly from producers, supplanting the traditional role of both wholesale and retail markets. In order to survive, produce markets have been forced to consider value adding opportunities and many retail markets now focus on ready-to-eat food and take-away food.


East Asia


= China

= In
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, the existence of street and wet markets has been known for centuries; however, many of these were restricted in the 1950s and 1960s and only permitted to re-open in 1978. The distinction between wholesale and retail markets is somewhat ambiguous in China, since many markets serve both as distribution centres and retail shopping venues. To assist in the distribution of food, more than 9,000 wholesale produce markets operate in China. Some of these markets operate on a very large scale. For example, Beijing's Xinfadi Wholesale market, currently under renovation, is expected to have a footprint of 112 hectares when complete. The Beijing Zoo Market (retail market) is a collection of 12 different markets, comprising some 20,000 tenant stall-holders, 30,000 employees and more than 100,000 customers daily. China is both a major importer and exporter of fruit and vegetables and is now the world's largest exporter of apples. In addition to produce markets, China has many specialised markets such as a silk market, clothing markets and an antiques market. China's fresh produce market is undergoing major change. In the larger cities, purchasing is gradually moving to online with door-to-door deliveries. Some of the more important markets in China include: *Wholesale produce market: Xinfadi (wholesale produce market, Beijing) - with an annual turnover volume of 14 million tonnes of meat, fruit and vegetables, it supplies 70 percent of Beijing's vegetables and Nanzhan (Shenyang, Liaoning) which supplies the northern provinces. * Retail produce markets: The fresh produce market at
Hutong market ''Hutong'' () are a type of narrow street or alley commonly associated with northern Chinese cities, especially Beijing. In Beijing, ''hutongs'' are alleys formed by lines of ''siheyuan'', traditional courtyard residences. Many neighbourhoods ...
(Beijing);
Xiabu Xiabu market Xiabu may refer to: * Xiabu Xiabu, a chinese restaurant chain * Hiabu, a Coahuiltecan The Coahuiltecan were various small, autonomous bands of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native Americans who inhabited the Rio Grande valley in what is no ...
(Beijing),
Panjiayuan market Panjiayuan () may refer to: * Panjiayuan Subdistrict, Chaoyang, Beijing * Panjiayuan Station on line 10 of the Beijing Subway * Beijing Antique Market, Chaoyang, Beijing {{Disambiguation ...
(Beijing);
Dazhongsi market Dazhongsi may refer to: * Dazhongsi Square, also known as Dazhongsi Plaza, 1733 Shopping Mall or 1733 Commercial Space, the shopping mall (floors 1, B1, B2) and headquarters (floors 2 and above) of ByteDance, in Haidian, Beijing, China * Dazhong ...
(Beijing),
Tianyi market Tianyi may refer to: *Tianyi Pavilion, Ningbo, the oldest existing library in China *Tianyi Square, Ningbo *Tianyi Film Company, one of the biggest film production companies in pre-World War II China *Tianyi UAV * Tianyi, the proper name of the sta ...
(Beijing),
Beijing Zoo market Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city as well as China's second largest city by urban area after Shanghai. It is lo ...
,
Dahongmen market Dahongmen may refer to: * Dahongmen Subdistrict, Beijing * Dahongmen Station, Beijing Subway {{dab ...
(Fengtai District, Beijing),
Sanyuanli market Sanyuanli (三元里) is a neighbourhood in Baiyun District, in the northern suburbs of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. Sanyuanli Subdistrict (三元里街道) was created in 1987 and covers an area of 6.8 square km, with a population of 85,000 r ...
(Beijing), Shengfu Xiaoguan morning market (Beijing), Lishuiqiao seafood farmers' market (Beijing),
Wangjing Zonghe market Wangjing may refer to several places: __NOTOC__ China *Wangjing, Beijing (望京), a major residential, technological and business area in Beijing *Wangjing SOHO, a tower complex in Beijing *Wangjing, Tang County (王京镇), town in Tang County, B ...
(Beijing),
Chaowai market Chaowai Subdisrict () is a Subdistricts of China, subdistrict inside Chaoyang District, Beijing, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China. It is bordering Sanlitun Subdistrict, Beijing, Sanlitun and Dongzhimen Subdistricts to the north, Hujialou Subdistr ...
(Beijing), Zhenbai market (Shanghai's largest produce market) File:5646-Linxia-City-market-porcelain-and-traditional-Linxia-sunglasses.jpg, Hui vendors at Linxia City Market File:Beijing silk market.jpg, Beijing silk market File:Panjiayuan Market Beijing China.jpg, Panjiayuan Market, Beijing (exterior) File:2016-09-10 Beijing Panjiayuan market 30 anagoria.jpg, Panjiayuan Market, Beijing (external stallholder) File:2016-09-10 Beijing Panjiayuan market 74 anagoria.jpg, Panjiayuan Market, Beijing (interior) File:Dunhuang market.jpg,
Dunhuang Dunhuang () is a county-level city in northwestern Gansu Province, Western China. According to the 2010 Chinese census, the city has a population of 186,027, though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800. Sachu (Dunhuang) was ...
market


Hong Kong

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
relies heavily imports to meet its fresh produce needs. Importers are consequently an important part of the distribution network, and some importers supply directly to retail consumers. Street markets in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
are held every day except on a few traditional Chinese holidays like
Chinese New Year Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival (see also #Names, § Names), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holi ...
. Stalls opened at two sides of a street are required to have licenses issued by the
Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the ...
. The various types of street markets include fresh foods, clothing, cooked foods, flowers and electronics. The earliest form of market was a ''gaa si'' ( wet market). Some traditional markets have been replaced by
shopping centre A shopping center in American English, shopping centre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences), shopping complex, shopping arcade, ...
s, markets in municipal service buildings and
supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...
s, while others have become tourist attractions such as
Tung Choi Street Tung Choi Street () is a street situated between south of Sai Yeung Choi Street and Fa Yuen Street in Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is one of the most well-known street markets in Hong Kong. Its southern section, popularly known as Ladies ...
and
Apliu Street Apliu Street () is a street in the Sham Shui Po area of Kowloon, Hong Kong. Location Apliu Street runs parallel to Cheung Sha Wan Road between Yen Chow Street and Nam Cheong Street. An easy way to reach it is to get off at the MTR Sham Shui ...
. The
Central Market, Hong Kong Central Market is a fresh food market (place), market in Central, Hong Kong, Central, Hong Kong and the first wet market in the city. It is one of only two existing Bauhaus market buildings in Hong Kong, the other one being Wan Chai Market. ...
is a grade II listed building. File:Fish market in Hong Kong.jpg, Fish Market in Hong Kong


= Japan

= *
Tsukiji fish market is a major tourist attraction for both domestic and overseas visitors in Tokyo. Located in Tsukiji in central Tokyo between the Sumida River and the upmarket Ginza shopping district, the area contains retail markets, restaurants, and associ ...
*
Kochi Sunday Market Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...
* Hirome Ichiba


= South Korea

= Although the majority of markets in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
are wholesale markets, retail customers are permitted to make purchases in all of them. The
Gwangjang Market Gwangjang Market (), previously Dongdaemun Market (), is a traditional street market in Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea. The market is one of the oldest and largest traditional markets in South Korea, with more than 5000 shops and 20,000 emp ...
is the nation's top market and is a popular tourist destination.


= Taiwan

=
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
meets most of its produce needs through local production. This means that the country has a very active network of wholesale and retail markets. According to ''The Guardian'' newspaper, Taiwan has "the best night market scene in the world and some of the most exciting street food in Asia". File:Fish market in Taipei, Taiwan 2.jpg , Fish market in Taipei File:Fish market in Tamsui, Taiwan.jpg, Fish market in Tamsui File:Fruit market in Taipei, Taiwan.jpg, Fruit market in Taipei


South Asia

In South Asia, especially Nepal, India, and Bangladesh, a ''haat'' (also known as ''hat''), refers to a regular rural produce market, typically held once or twice per week.


= India

= The marketing historian, Petty, has suggested that Indian marketplaces first arose during the Chola Dynasty (approx. 850–1279 CE) during a period of favourable economic conditions. Distinct types of markets were evident: ''nagaaram'' (streets of shops, often devoted to specific types of goods; ''angadi'' (markets) and ''perangadi'' (large markets in the inner city districts)). The sub-continent may have borrowed the concept of covered marketplaces from the Middle East around the tenth century with the arrival of Islam. The caravanserai and covered market structures, known as suqs, first began to appear along the silk routes and were located in the area just outside the city perimeter. Following the tradition established on the Arabian peninsula, India also established temporary-seasonal markets in regional districts. In Rajasthan's
Pushkar Pushkar is a temple town near Ajmer City and headquarters of Pushkar tehsil in the Ajmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is situated about northwest of Ajmer and about southwest of Jaipur.Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...
in northern India during the 16th century, this arrangement changed. A covered bazaar or market place became integrated into city structures and was to be found in the city centre. Markets and bazaars were well known in the colonial era. Some of these bazaars appear to have specialised in particular types of produce. The Patna district, in the 17th century, was home to 175 weaver villages and the Patna Bazaar enjoyed a reputation as a centre of trade in fine cloth. When the Italian writer and traveller,
Niccolao Manucci Niccolao Manucci (19 April 1638 – 1717) was a Venetian writer, a self-taught physician, and traveller, who wrote accounts of the Mughal Empire as a first-hand witness. His work is considered to be one of the most useful foreign sources for th ...
, visited there in 1863, he found many merchants trading in cotton and silk in Patna's bazaars. In India today, many different types of market serve retail and commercial clients: # Wholesale markets #* Primary wholesale markets: Held once or twice per week, these sell produce from local villages e.g.
Rice Bazaar Rice Bazaar is a wholesale market for different kinds of rice, located in the heart of City of Thrissur in Kerala state of India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and depen ...
at Thissur in Kerala. #* Secondary wholesale markets (also known as mandis): Smaller merchants purchase from primary markets and sell at secondary markets. A small number of primary producers may sell direct to mandis. #* Terminal markets: Markets that sell directly to the end-user, whether it be the consumer, food processor, or shipping agent for export to foreign countries e.g. Bombay Terminal Market. # Retail markets #* Retail markets: Spread across villages, towns and cities. #* Fairs: Held on religious days and deal in livestock and agricultural produce. In
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
(and also
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
and
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
), a ''
landa bazaar Landa bazaar, also known as Linda bazaar, or Lunda bazaar, is a type of flea market in Pakistan, where secondhand imported goods are sold. Sourcing Pre-owned clothing, donated in countries such as Australia, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom ...
'' is a type of a ''bazaar'' or a marketplace with lowest prices where only secondhand general goods are exchanged or sold. A ''haat'' also refers to a bazaar or market in Bangladesh and Pakistan and the term may also be used in India. A ''saddar'' refers to the main, central market in a town while a ''mandi'' refers to a large marketplace. A
Meena Bazaar Meenā Bāzār or Mina Bazaar (, , ) is a special bazaar to sell items to raise money for charity and non-profit organizations. It also refers to a number of modern-day shopping centres and retail stores. In the Mughal era in India During the ...
is a marketplace where goods are sold in an effort to raise money for charity. File:Makar Sankranti Hindu festival, Magh Mela at Prayaga Sangam Uttar Pradesh India.jpg,
Magh Mela Magh mela, also spelled Magha mela, is an annual festival with fairs held in the month of ''Magha'' (January/February) near river banks and sacred tanks near Hindu temples. About every twelve years, ''Magha melas'' coincide with what is believed b ...
at Prayaga Sangam Uttar Pradesh India is a fair associated with the Sankranti Hindu festival Image:Bombay-market.jpg, The Bombay Street Market is a terminal market File:Goan sausages being sold at the Mapusa market, Goa, India 03.jpg, Goan sausages being sold at the Mapusa market,
Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
, India Image:New Market, Kolkata, 2011.jpg,
New Market, Kolkata New Market, formally known as Sir Stuart Hogg Market, is a market complex in Kolkata situated on Lindsay Street at Dharmatala. Although primarily "New Market" referred to the original enclosed market, but in local parlance, the entire shopping ...
, India File:Pushkar.in Camel Fair 2007 - panoramio.jpg, Annual camel market at Pushkar in Rajasthan, India


Agra

*
Sadar Bazaar, Agra Sadar Bazaar is a popular shopping destination for tourists visiting Agra. It is located close to Agra Cantonment railway station and is in proximity to the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. Shopping Taj Mahal being a popular attraction for tourism, ...


Bangalore

*
Gandhi Bazaar Gandhi Bazaar is a busy market area in Basavanagudi, Bangalore, known mainly for its flower and condiment Hawker (trade), hawker shops. One of the oldest areas in the city, Gandhi Bazaar is said to be traditional and conservative. The area also ...


Chennai

*
Pondy Bazaar Pondy Bazaar, officially called Soundarapandianar Angadi, is a Market (place), market and neighborhood located in T. Nagar, Chennai, India. It is one of the principal shopping districts of Chennai. Etymology The market Soundarapandianar Bazaar ...
(officially named ''Soundarapandian Angadi''), T. Nagar, Chennai


Delhi

* Lajpat Nagar market, Delhi *
Dilli Haat Dilli Haat is a paid-entrance open-air market, food plaza, and craft bazaar located in Delhi. The area is run by Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC), and unlike the traditional weekly market, the village Haat, Dill ...
*
Sadar Bazaar, Delhi Sadar Bazaar is a wholesale market in Old Delhi, Delhi, India. Like other major markets of Old Delhi, this market is very crowded and buzzes with activity. Although it is primarily a wholesale market, it also caters to occasional retail buyers ...
*
Palika Bazaar Palika Bazaar is an underground market located between the inner and outer circle of Connaught Place, Delhi, India. It is named after Palika Bazaar of Mumbai. Palika Bazaar hosts 380 numbered shops selling a diverse range of items; howev ...
– an underground market in Delhi


Goa

*
Mapusa Friday Market Mapusa Municipal Market (also known as Mapusa Market and Mapusa Friday Market) is a traditional market in Mapusa, North Goa and a major tourist attraction. It was built in 1960, the first planned market in Goa. The market has three blocks with ...
Mapusa, North Goa


Himachal Pradesh

* Lakkar Bazaar Shimla, Himachal Pradesh


Manipur

*
Khwairamband Bazar The Ima Market (; literally, Mothers' Market), also known as the Nupi Keithel () or the Khwairamband Keithel (), is a women-only market in the middle of Imphal in the state of Manipur. It is the only market in the world run entirely by women. In ...
Imphal, Manipur, India – a market operated entirely by women


Mumbai

*
Bhendi Bazaar Bhendi Bazaar is a market (bazaar) in South Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Bhendi Bazaar occupies an area between Mohammed Ali Road and Khetwadi. The closest Central and Harbour lines station for the Mumbai Suburban Railway is Sandhurst Road, ...
*
Chira Bazaar Chira Bazaar is a neighborhood in Mumbai. It is famous for its jewellery and Marathi people, Marathi community. There is also a famous fish market called Chirabazar. It also has a wide range of Jewelry shops. It is located near Kalbadevi and Ma ...
, Mumbai – known for its jewellery *
Dava Bazaar Dava Bazaar (also spelled Dawa Bazaar and Dava Bazar) is an area in South Mumbai famous for medical and scientific instruments, and lab chemicals. It is located near Lohar Chawl, Crawford Market and opens into Princess Street. ''Dava'' in Hi ...
also known as Dawa Bazaar *
Zaveri Bazaar Zaveri Bazaar is a jewellery market and a major hub for Business-to-business, B2B and B2C jewellery industry in Mumbai, India. Located at Bhuleshwar in South Mumbai, just north of Crawford Market, Zaveri Bazaar is a muddle of narrow lanes, dott ...
– jewellery market


Punjab

*
Chaura Bazaar Chaura Bazaar, Ludhiana is the main and old market of the city. It is like a commercial hub of the Ludhiana. History Chaura Bazaar is an old market of 19th century. Some old building are still located in the streets of Chaura Bazaar. It was esta ...
, Ludhiana, Punjab


Uttar Pradesh

*
Ajhuwa Ajhuwa, (also spelled Ajuha) is a town, and nagar panchayat in Kaushambi district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Overview Ajhuwa is located in Sirathu tehsil, of Kaushambi district in Allahabad Pin Code 212217. It is on National Highway ...
Bazaar, Ajhuwa, Kaushambi district, Uttar Pradesh, India


Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is noted for its night markets, floating markets and pirate markets (markets that specialise in selling "knock off" copies of designer brands). Some Asian countries have developed unique distribution systems and highly specialised types of market place. Throughout Asia, a '' wet market'' refers to a place where fruit, vegetables, fish, seafood, and meat products are sold. Throughout much of Asia, produce markets are known as ''morning markets'' due to their hours of operation, while ''night markets'' specialise in selling non-perishables including clothing, accessories, local artefacts, souvenirs, and a wide assortment of personal goods.


= Cambodia

=


Phnom Penh

*
Central Market, Phnom Penh The Central Market (, ; meaning "New Grand Market") is a Market (economics), market and an art deco landmark in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The bright yellow building completed in 1937 has a 26-metre high central dome, with four tall ...


= Indonesia

= In
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, a is a particular type of wet market, also known as a "morning market" which typically operates from early morning to the afternoon. refers to a night market operated in later hours from late afternoon to night, approximately from 17:00 to 22:00, and only on selected days of a week. The types of goods being sold is also quite different. is where many housewives, domestic help, and local folks appear to shop their daily needs, mostly fresh produce. The products which are on sale are usually fresh produce, including
fruits In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
,
vegetables Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including flowers, fruits, ...
,
spices In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...
, fish, meat, eggs, and a variety of perishable products. Major textile, fashion, and clothing markets in Indonesia are
Tanah Abang Tanah Abang () is a districts of Indonesia, district of Central Jakarta, Indonesia. The district hosts the biggest textile Market (place), market in Southeast Asia, Tanah Abang Market. It also hosts Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Kelurahan Gelora ...
market in central Jakarta and Pasar Baru in
Bandung Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, the city is the List of Indonesian cities by population, fourth-most populous city and fourth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabay ...
. Notable markets specializing in traditional
batik Batik is a dyeing technique using wax Resist dyeing, resist. The term is also used to describe patterned textiles created with that technique. Batik is made by drawing or stamping wax on a cloth to prevent colour absorption during the dyein ...
clothing include
Pasar Klewer Klewer Market (, ) is the largest textile market in Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia. The market which located beside Surakarta Sunanate, Kraton Surakarta complex is also shopping center for batik traders from Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Semarang and ...
in Solo and Pasar Beringharjo in Yogyakarta. The major in
Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
are Pasar Pagi Mangga Dua, Pasar Induk Kramat Jati,
Pasar Minggu Pasar Minggu is a district () in the administrative city of South Jakarta, Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific ...
and
Pasar Senen Senen (or Senen Toyota Rangga, with Toyota Astra Motor granted for naming rights) is a Transjakarta Bus station, bus rapid transit station located at the western end of Letjen Suprapto street in Senen, Jakarta, Indonesia, which serves corridors ...
. Pasar Minggu specialized on fruits and vegetables, while Pasar Kue Subuh in Senen specialized on selling , as they offer a rich variety of traditional Indonesian snack, open every (dawn). Notable markets in
Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...
, include: Pasar Beringharjo, a traditional market; Kranggan Market, a flea market; Pasar Organik Milas, organic and flea market; Malioboro Road, a street market and Yogyakarta Bird Market. Notable markets in
Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
include Pasar Badung central market of
Denpasar Denpasar (; Balinese script, Balinese: ᬤᬾᬦ᭄ᬧᬲᬃ, ''Dénpasar'') is the capital city of the province of Bali, Indonesia. Denpasar is the largest city in the Lesser Sunda Islands and the second largest city in Eastern Indonesia after ...
city, Pasar Seni Sukowati art market specializing in artworks and handicrafts, and Pasar Ubud. In several cities and towns in
Kalimantan Kalimantan (; ) is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area, and consists of the provinces of Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan. The non-Ind ...
and
Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
, there are
floating market A floating market is a market (place), market where goods are sold from boats. Originating in times and places where water transport played an important role in daily life, most floating markets operating today mainly serve as tourist attractio ...
s, which is a collection of vendors selling various produce and product on boats. For example, the Siring floating market in
Banjarmasin Banjarmasin is the largest city in South Kalimantan, Indonesia. It was the capital of the province until 15 February 2022. The city is located on a delta island near the junction of the Barito and Martapura rivers. Historically the centre of t ...
and Lok Baintan floating market in Martapura, both in
South Kalimantan South Kalimantan () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is the second most populous province on the island of Kalimantan, the Indonesian territory of the island of Borneo after West Kalimantan. The provincial capital was Banjar ...
. File:Pasar Gedhe 2009 Bennylin 13.jpg, Pasar Gede central market,
Solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity * Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character * Napoleon Solo, fr ...
File:Pasar Keputran Surabaya.JPG, Pasar Keputran, a or morning wet market,
Surabaya Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...
File:Pasar Malam Rawasari 6.JPG, Vendor selling
rissole A rissole (from Latin , meaning ''reddish'', via French , meaning "to redden") is "a ball or flattened cake of chopped meat, fish, or vegetables mixed with herbs or spices, then coated in breadcrumbs and fried." Variations Europe France In ...
at the
pasar malam ''Pasar malam'' is a Malay language, Malay word that literally means "night market" (the word ''pasar'' comes from ''bazaar'' in Persian language, Persian). A ''pasar malam'' is a street market in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore that o ...
(night market) in Rawasari,
Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
File:The flowers markrt in Bali.JPG, Flower market,
Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
File:Pasar Terapung, Siring.jpg, Siring floating market,
Banjarmasin Banjarmasin is the largest city in South Kalimantan, Indonesia. It was the capital of the province until 15 February 2022. The city is located on a delta island near the junction of the Barito and Martapura rivers. Historically the centre of t ...


= Malaysia

= In
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
the term refers to a night market which operates from around 17:00 through to approximately 23:00. morning wet market is also familiar in Malaysia. In parts of Malaysia, jungle produce markets trade in indigenous fruits and vegetables, all of which are gaining popularity as consumers switch to pesticide-free food products. Some of the more nutritional indigenous produce includes fruits such as dabai (''
Canarium odontophyllum ''Canarium odontophyllum'', also referred to as the Borneo olive, is a fruit-bearing tree of the genus '' Canarium'' in the family Burseraceae. Native to Borneo, where it is locally known as dabai in Sarawak and Kalimantan, and kembayau in Sabah a ...
''), kembayau (''
Dacryodes rostrata ''Dacryodes rostrata'' is a tree in the family Burseraceae. The specific epithet ' is from the Latin meaning 'beaked', referring to the narrow-tipped leaves. Description ''Dacryodes rostrata'' grows up to tall with a trunk diameter of up to . T ...
f. cuspidata''), durian nyekak (''
Durio kutejensis ''Durio kutejensis'', commonly known as durian pulu, durian merah, nyekak, Pakan, Kuluk, or lai, is a primary rainforest substorey fruit tree from Borneo. Description It is a very attractive small- to medium-sized tree up to 30 m tall. It h ...
''), durian kuning (''
Durio graveolens ''Durio graveolens,'' sometimes called the red-fleshed durian, orange-fleshed durian, or yellow durian, is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae. It is one of six species of durian named by Italian naturalist Odoardo Beccari. The specific epi ...
''), letup (''
Passiflora foetida ''Passiflora foetida'' (common names: stinking passionflower, wild maracuja, bush passion fruit, wild water lemon, stoneflower, love-in-a-mist, or running pop) is a species of passion flower that is native to the southwestern United States (south ...
''), kepayang (''
Pangium edule ''Pangium'' is a genus in the family Achariaceae containing the sole species ''Pangium edule'', a tall tree native to the mangrove swamps of Southeast Asia (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea). It produces a large poisonous fruit (the "football ...
''), and tubu (''Pycnarrhena tumetacta'') and vegetables such as tengang (''
Gnetum ''Gnetum'' is a genus of gymnosperms, the sole genus in the family Gnetaceae within the Gnetophyta. They are tropical evergreen trees, shrubs and lianas. Unlike other gymnosperms, they possess vessel elements in the xylem. Some species have bee ...
'' sp.), riang batu (''Begonia chlorosticia''), kampung (''Leucosyke capitellata''), and tongkat langit (''Musa troglodytarum''). The main markets in Kuala Lumpur include: Pudu market: rated as KL's largest wet market by the ''Lonely Planet Guide'';
Central Market, Kuala Lumpur Central Market Kuala Lumpur is a market in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Background Central Market Kuala Lumpur is situated at Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (Foch Avenue) and the pedestrian-only section of Jalan Hang Kasturi (Rodger Street), just a fe ...
; Chow Kit Wet Market; Kampong Bahru Pasar Minggu; China Town; Petaling Jaya SS2; Bangsar Baru and Lorong Tuanka Abdul Rahman. File:Sapeh player, Central Market, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - 20070401.jpg,
Sapeh Sapeh, also spelled sape, sapeʼ, sapek, sapeik, sapeq, sampeh, sampeʼ, sampek, or sampeq () is a traditional string instrument of Borneo-origin that developed in northern, eastern, and central regions of Kalimantan and Sarawak. It is a w ...
player, performing at the Central Market, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia File:Central Market, Kuala Lumpur 02.JPG, Central Market, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (interior) File:Pasar Seni (Central Market) Kuala Lumpur.jpg, Pasar Seni (Central Market) Kuala Lumpur (exterior) File:Behind the Scenes DeliciouslyDiverse Malaysia Gina Keatley Jalan Alor.jpg, Night market at Jalan Alor, Malaysia


= Philippines

= In the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, the word refers to a group of stalls under a covered roof. Locals use for daily shopping. Public markets are the primary trading centres in cities. In rural districts, public markets are in a state of disrepair. Weekend markets are popular for organic and artisanal foods purchases. In addition, a number of farmers' markets have sprung up. The Cubao Farmers Market, in Quezon City gained international attention following a feature spot on the cable network program, ''No Reservations'', with Anthony Bourdain in 2009. File:Palengke - Danao City 01 by Hulagway.jpg, A
Palengke A ''palengke'' (Chavacano: ''palenque'') is a permanent wet market in the Philippines (differentiated from periodic wet markets called ''wiktionary:talipapa, talipapa''). Etymology The word ''palengke'' is a local variant of the Spanish languag ...
, Danao City
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
File:FvfVillasisBagsakan9425 24.JPG, Produce market, Pangasinan File:0161jfPedestrian footbridge Tayuman Juan Luna Bridge Estero de la Reina C-22 Capulong Pritil Tondo Manilafvf.jpg, New Pritil Public Market, Manila File:Star Market Palengke in Novaliches.jpg, A palengke in Novaliches, Quezon City


= Thailand

=


Bangkok

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
's markets are popular with both locals and visitors. Floating markets can be found in Bangkok and elsewhere. Vendors not only sell fresh produce from boats, but will also cook meals and snacks on their vessels for sale to the public. These floating markets are a popular tourist attraction. File:Bangkok Chatuchak Market 2.jpg, Bangkok's Chatuchak Market, one of the largest markets in the world File:Taling Chan Floating Market in Taling Chan District, Bangkok, Thailand 2.jpg, Food vendors at Taling Chan Floating Market,
Taling Chan District Taling Chan (, ) is one of the Districts of Bangkok, 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. Its neighbours, clockwise from the north, are Bang Kruai district of Nonthaburi province and Bang Phlat district, Bang Phlat, Bangkok Noi district ...
File:Asiatique The Riverfront Bangkok.jpg, The Harbour Market, The Riverfront File:BobaeTowerEntrance.jpg, Entrance to Bobae Tower Market File:Suan Lum Night Bazaar information.jpg, Suan Lum Night Bazaar File:Insect vendor in Bangkok, Thailand.JPG, Insect vendor in Bangkok


West Asia

In the West Asia, markets are known as
bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...
s or souks. The earliest bazaars are believed to have originated in Persia, and spread to the rest of the Middle East and Europe from there. Documentary sources suggest that zoning policies confined trading to particular parts of a city from around 3,000 BCE, creating the conditions necessary for the emergence of a bazaar. In the ancient cities of Iran, three types of bazaar have been identified; periodic bazaars, urban bazaars, and local bazaars. ''Periodic bazaars'' could be organised anywhere and typically took place in open spaces and traded in specialities such as handicrafts, clothing, livestock and foodstuffs. These took place at regular intervals such as monthly or yearly. ''Urban bazaars'' were held in covered public walkways with shops or stores on both sides. Its architecture varied according to local conditions including climate, culture and the economic power of the city in which it was situated. Urban bazaars were places for commercial, social and cultural interactions. ''Local bazaars'', held in specific districts of larger cities, were similar to urban bazaars, but on a smaller scale with fewer shops. In pre-Islamic Arabia, markets took on two forms, permanent urban markets and temporary, seasonal markets often located in regional districts. Gradually, markets or bazaars gradually became central features of urban towns and were relocated to the city centre. Permanent markets are mentioned frequently in ancient literary sources.


=Iran

= Markets in
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
with historical or architectural significance include: *
Grand Bazaar, Tehran The Grand Bazaar () is a bazaar, located in Central Tehran, Iran. Split into several corridors that are over in length, each specializing in different types of goods, the bazaar has several entrances, with Sabze Meydan being the main entrance. ...
*
Bazaar of Kashan Bazaar of Kashan ( ''Bāzār-e Kāshān'') is a bazaar in the center of the city of Kashan, Iran. See also *Iranian architecture * List of historical Iranian architects *History of Persian domes Buildings and structures completed in the 13th ...
, Iran *
Bazaar of Isfahan The Grand Bazaar (, : Bāzār-e Bozorg) is a market located in Isfahan, Iran, also known as the Qeysarriyeh Bazaar (), Qeysarie bazaar or Soltani bazaar. The bazaar was one of the greatest and most luxurious trading centers during the Saf ...
, Iran – historic site which dates to Saljuqid and Safavid era and is the longest roofed market in the world. *
Bazaar of Tabriz The Bazaar of Tabriz (, also Romanized as ''Bāzār-e Tabriz'' , also Romanized as ''Tabriz Bazari'') is a historic market in central Tabriz, Iran. It is one of the oldest bazaars in the Middle East and the largest covered bazaar in the world. It ...
, Iran – historic site that originally developed along the ancient silk routes; listed as a World Heritage Site *
Vakil Bazaar Vakil Bazaar () is a bazaar in central Shiraz, Iran. See also * Iranian architecture Iranian architecture or Persian architecture (, ''Me'māri e Irāni'') is the architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia, the Caucasus and C ...
in Shiraz, Iran File:Isfahan 1200977 nevit.jpg, Isfahan Bazaar, Iran File:Antiguo Bazar de Kashan, Kashan, Irán, 2016-09-19, DD 86.jpg, Bazaar of Kashan, Kashan, Iran File:Carpet Bazaar of Tabriz.JPG, Carpet Bazaar of Tabriz, Iran


= Israel

= The Hebrew word for market is (plural: ), and food markets are found in every major city. Famous markets include the
Carmel Market Carmel Market (, ''Shuk HaCarmel'') is an outdoor marketplace in Tel Aviv, Israel. History The Carmel market was established in the 1920s.Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
and
Mahane Yehuda Market Mahane Yehuda Market (), often referred to as "The Shuk" (), is a marketplace (originally open-air, but now partially covered) in Jerusalem. Popular with locals and tourists alike, the market's more than 250 vendors sell fresh fruits and vegetable ...
in
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
. File:Jaffa bazzar 1906-2.jpg, Jaffa Bazaar in 1906 File:Early-Morning Scene in Mahane Yehuda Market - Jerusalem - Israel (5676607844).jpg, Early-Morning Scene in Mahane Yehuda Market, Jerusalem File:Old Jerusalem Damas Gate Market.JPG, Entrance Damascus Gate Market File:Entrance to Nazareth market.jpg, Entrance to Nazareth market File:Acre (Akko) - Israel (24846804171).jpg, Turkish Bazaar, Acre (Akko)


=Turkey

= Street markets are called in Turkish and usually named after the name of the day since they are only installed at around 05:00 on that specific day and ended on same day around 18:00, in every week. Every district in
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
has its own open market where people can choose and buy from a very wide range of products, from fresh fruits and vegetables to clothing, from traditional
white cheese White cheese includes a wide variety of cheese types discovered in different regions, sharing the sole common characteristic of their white hue. The specific type of white cheese can vary significantly depending on the geographical location. Na ...
(which some people may consider
feta Feta ( ; ) is a Greek brined white cheese made from sheep milk or from a mixture of sheep and goat milk. It is soft, with small or no holes, and no skin. Crumbly with a slightly grainy texture, it is formed into large blocks and aged in brin ...
-like), to household items. In
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
area ''Wednesday Pazar'' of
Fatih Fatih () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 15 km2, and its population is 368,227 (2022). It is home to almost all of the provincial authorities (including the mayor's office, police headquarters, metro ...
district, ''Tuesday Pazar'' of
Kadıköy Kadıköy () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district on the Asian side of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 25 km2, and its population is 467,919 (2023). It is a large and populous area in the Asian si ...
, and ''Friday Pazar'' of
Ortaköy Ortaköy (, ''Middle Village)'' is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Beşiktaş, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 9,121 (2024). It is on the European shore of the Bosphorus. it was originally a small fishing villag ...
are the most popular and crowded open markets of the city. A market with shops or permanent stalls is called and may include covered streets that are closed at night. Famous examples include the ( Grand Bazaar) and
Spice Bazaar The Spice Bazaar (, meaning "Egyptian Bazaar") in Istanbul, Turkey, is one of the largest bazaars in the city. Located in the Eminönü quarter of the Fatih district, it is the most famous covered shopping complex after the Grand Bazaar. Histor ...
in Istanbul. File:Fish market in Istanbul 2.jpg , Fish market in Istanbul File:Fish market in Istanbul 3.jpg , Fish market in Istanbul File:Dried fish at the market in Istanbul.jpg, Fish market in Istanbul File:Spices at the market in Istanbul.jpg, Spices in Istanbul File:Olives in Spice Bazaar, Istanbul.jpg, Olives in Spice Bazaar File:Nuts in Spice Bazaar, Istanbul.jpg, Nuts in Spice Bazaar


Europe


Northern Europe


= Denmark

= * Torvehallerne Market, Copenhagen – specializing in Nordic foods File:Copenhagen Torvehallerne (30267894558).jpg, The inside of the Torvehallerne Market File:20190709 copenhagen jpeg2 06.jpg, The outside of the Torvehallerne Market


= Finland

= *
Market Square, Helsinki The Market Square (Finnish: ''Kauppatori'', Swedish: ''Salutorget'') is a central square in Helsinki, Finland. It is located in central Helsinki, at the eastern end of Esplanadi and bordering the Baltic Sea to the south and Katajanokka to the east ...
* Market Square, Kuopio *
Market Square, Turku The Market Square (, ) is a city square in the city of Turku, in Finland. It is located in the city's VI District, and is generally considered the city's central square. It hosts a lively market on weekdays, and there are several cafés and resta ...
*
Tammelantori Tammelantori is a market square in the Tammela district in the center of Tampere in Pirkanmaa, Finland. It is one of Tampere's most significant marketplaces, which is very popular, especially during the summer. The market is very famous for its ...
, Tampere


= Netherlands

= * Markthal Market, Rotterdam * Vismarkt, Groningen File:Sybrand van Beest 001.jpg, Fruit and vegetable market by Sybrand van Beest, 1652 Image:Alkmaar.jpg, Cheese market in Alkmaar File:Vrijmarkt Den Haag Koninginnedag 30 april 2005 versie 2.JPG,
Jumble sale A jumble sale (UK), bring and buy sale (Australia, also UK) or rummage sale (US and Canada) is an event at which second hand goods are sold, usually by an institution such as a local Boys' Brigade, Boys' Brigade Company, Scouting, Scout group, ...
in The Hague File:Roermond markt.jpg, Market in Roermond


= Latvia

= *
Riga Central Market Riga Central Market () is Europe's largest market and bazaar in Riga, Latvia. It is one of the most notable structures from 20th century in Latvia and has been included in UNESCO World Heritage Site list together with Vecrīga, Old Riga in 1998. ...
File:Riga Central Market (47780146551).jpg, Fruit and vegetable pavilion of
Riga Central Market Riga Central Market () is Europe's largest market and bazaar in Riga, Latvia. It is one of the most notable structures from 20th century in Latvia and has been included in UNESCO World Heritage Site list together with Vecrīga, Old Riga in 1998. ...
File:Smoked fish in Riga main market.jpg, Smoked fish in Riga Central Market


Eastern Europe


= Romania

= *
Christmas market A Christmas market is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent. These markets originated in Germany, but are now held in many countries. Some in the U.S. have Phono-semantic matching, adapted ...
File:Bucharest market, 1869.jpg, Fish Market at Bucharest by Amadeo Preziosi, 1869


= Russia

=


= Ukraine

= *
Besarabsky Market The Bessarabskyi Market (), or Besarabskyi Market (), also referred to as the Bessarabka (), is an indoor market located in the center of Kyiv on the Bessarabska Square at the southwest end of the city's main thoroughfare, the Khreshchatyk. Con ...
*
Pryvoz Market Pryvoz Market, located at 14 Pryvozna Street, is the largest food market in Odesa, Ukraine. p. 18 History Pryvoz began in 1827, with wares sold from the back of horse-driven carts. The market was a large area where carts with goods that wer ...
*
Seventh-Kilometer Market The Seventh-Kilometer Market (, ''Rynok Siomyi Kilometr'') is an outdoor market outside of Odesa, Ukraine. Description Originally, in the 1960s and 1970s, it was open only on Sundays (later on Saturdays) in Slobidka, near the 3rd Jewish cemetery ...


Central Europe


= Austria

= *
Naschmarkt The Naschmarkt is a popular fruit and vegetable market in Vienna. Located at the Wienzeile over the Wien River, it is about long. Originally known as Aschenmarkt, it started to be called the Naschmarket around 1820. Nowadays, one can buy fres ...
,
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
– a 16th-century market


= Czech Republic

=


= Hungary

= * Central Market Hall, Budapest – built in 1897, the largest market in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
File:Nádler Grand Market Hall in Budapest 1898.jpg, Grand Market Hall in Budapest by Róbert Nádler, 1898


= Slovakia

= File:Perlmutter Market at Besztercebánya 1906.jpg, Market at Besztercebánya by Izsák Perlmutter, 1906 File:Deák Ébner, Lajos - Market of Melons.jpg, Market of Melons, Lajos, by Deák Ébner, n.d.


Western Europe


= Belgium

= With the rise of global trade in the 16th century,
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
became the largest market town in Europe. * Grote Markt, Antwerp * Gare du Midi, Brussels – Sunday market


= France

= Paris was one of the first European cities to implement a system of formal, centralised and covered market places.
Les Halles Les Halles (; 'The Halls') was Paris' central fresh food market. It last operated on 12 January 1973 and was replaced by an underground shopping centre and a park. The unpopular modernist development was demolished yet again in 2010, and replac ...
, a vast centralised wholesale market, was known to be in existence at least by the 13th century when it was expanded, and was demolished in 1971 to make way for an underground shopping precinct. The French system of organised, designated central retail markets was extensively studied by architects in London with a view to emulating the system and ultimately eradicating the informal supply of produce via street vendors. * Raspail Market, Paris File:Louise Moillon - At the Market Stall - WGA16074.jpg, At the market stall, painting by
Louise Moillon Louise Moillon (c. 1610–1696) was a French people, French still life Painting, painter in the Baroque era. It is recorded that she became known as one of the best still life painters of her time, as her work was purchased by King Charles I of En ...
, 1609 File:Street market rue Mouffetard St Medard dsc00727.jpg, Street market,
Rue Mouffetard Rue Mouffetard () is a street in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. Description Rue Mouffetard is one of Paris's oldest and liveliest neighbourhoods. These days the area has many restaurants, shops, and cafés, and a regular open market. I ...
File:Georges Stein Flower Market.jpg, Flower market, Quai de l'Horloge File:Rue Debelleyme. Marché. - panoramio.jpg, Rue Debelleyme, second-hand market File:Marché Saint-Quentin 2016.jpg, Market Saint-Quentin, 2016


= Germany

= *
Christkindlesmarkt, Nuremberg The Christkindlesmarkt of Nuremberg (German language, German: ''Nürnberger Christkindlmarkt''; Bavarian language, Bavarian: ''Niamberga Christkindlmarkt'') is a Christmas market that is held annually in Nuremberg, Germany. It takes place durin ...
, (Christmas market), Germany * Markthalle IX, Berlin, Germany – built in 1891 *
Striezelmarkt The Striezelmarkt in Dresden is one of the first genuine Christmas markets in the world. Founded as a one-day market in 1434, it celebrated its 585th anniversary in 2019. Its 240 stands attract about 3 million visitors from all over the world. ...
Dresden, Germany File:Springer Cornelis Many Figures On The Market Square In Front Of The Martinikirche Braunschweig.jpg, ''Figures on the Market Square in Front of the Martinikirche Braunschweig'', by Cornelis Springer, 1874


=United Kingdom

=


Background and licensing

The majority of retail markets are operated by the public sector and administered by local governments. A small number are operated by private groups or individuals. Traders can be licensed to trade on a single pitch but not at a national level or when trading on private land. This piecemeal licensing system has contributed to declining public confidence in the reputation of markets. A voluntary scheme has been set up by The Market People, backed by the National Association of British Market Authorities (NABMA) to address this problem. It provides consumers with traceability of traders and goods as well as the ability to rate and contact the traders. A MarketPASS is issued to an operator or trader, once they have provided proof of identity, insurance and, where required, a hygiene certificate. A study conducted by the Retail Alliance noted that Britain had 1,124 traditional retail markets, 605 farmers' markets, 26 wholesale markets and more than 45,700 retail traders and that retail markets had an annual turnover of over £3.5 billion while wholesale markets had turnover of £4.1 billion annually. The data also shows that traditional outdoor street markets continue to dominate the market space, but are in decline. Markets also have significant appeal for tourists and visitors. Some researchers make a distinction between ''traditional markets'' and ''gentrified markets.'' Traditional markets which are primarily held outdoors on specific days, focus on high volume produce sold with low margins. In the gentrified market, the focus is on specialty produce, notably organic foods, hyper-local produce, artisanal products, vintage clothing, or designer brands. Whereas traditional markets are in decline, gentrified markets represent a major growth opportunity. File:Jacques-Laurent Agasse - Old Smithfield Market - Google Art Project.jpg, Old Smithfield Market painting by Jacques-Laurent Agasse, 1824 File:Market Square in 1853, Portsmouth, NH.jpg, Market Square in Portsmouth, 1853 File:Leadenhall Market entrance Illustrated London New 1881.jpg, London's Leadenhall market (exterior), 1881 File:Market Day in Stockport 1910s.jpg, Market Day in Stockport, 1910s File:Bryant, Henry Charles - The Market Stall - 20th century.jpg, ''The Market Stall'' by Henry Charles Bryant, early 20th century


England's chartered markets and fairs

From the 11th century, the English monarchs awarded a charter to local lords to create markets and fairs for a town or village. A charter granted the lords the right to take tolls from vendors and also afforded some protection to a town from rival markets. Once a chartered market was granted for specific market days, a nearby rival market could not open on the same days. Across the boroughs of England, a network of chartered markets sprang up between the 12th and 16th centuries, giving consumers reasonable choice in the markets they preferred to patronise. Gradually these market towns developed a reputation for quality or for trade in specific types of goods. Today, traders and showmen jealously guard these historic charters.


=County markets

= *
Covered Market, Oxford The Covered Market is a historic market (place), market with permanent stalls and shops in a large covered structure in central Oxford, England. It was designated a Grade II listed building in 2000. Location The market is located to the north ...
, Oxfordshire *
Covered Market, Preston The Covered Market in Earl Street, Preston, Lancashire, Preston, Lancashire, England is a Grade II listed landmark structure built 1870-75. After three aborted attempts to start the project in the early 1800s, and a serious construction accid ...
*
Leeds Kirkgate Market Kirkgate Market (pronounced ) is a Market (place), market complex on Vicar Lane, Leeds, Vicar Lane in the city centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest covered market in Europe and a Grade I listed building. There are current ...
, Yorkshire * Old Market, Bristol *
The Old Market, Hove The Old Market, Hove is a historic (Listed building, grade II listed) building on the border of Brighton and Hove in England. It has served various functions, currently operating as an independent mixed-arts venue under the name "TOMThe Old Market ...
*
Market Harborough Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, close to the border with Northamptonshire. The population was 24,779 at the United Kingdom census, 2021, 2021 census. It is the ad ...
, Leicestershire File:Salisbury Market 20040724.jpg, Salisbury chartered market File:Sedbergh charter market.jpg, Sedbergh chartered market File:Market Square, Huntingdon - geograph.org.uk - 1429707.jpg, Market Square, Huntingdon File:Northampton Market Square Lights 9.jpg, Northampton Market is thought to be England's oldest continuously operating chartered market File:Altrincham, Charter Market - geograph.org.uk - 1313227.jpg, Altrincham, Chartered Market


London

Between the 13th century and the Great Fire of 1666, London's main market was the
Stocks Market Stocks Market was a market in central London operating between 1282 and 1737 and for centuries was London's main retail meat and produce market. The market was located to the east of the Walbrook in the heart of the City of London. It was demo ...
, "on the site of the fixed pillory where traders were punished who fell foul of the Assize Courts". The Stocks Market was removed in 1737 as part of
Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren FRS (; – ) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was ac ...
's plans to rebuild the city. New wholesale markets were erected in strategic locations and these prospered until well into the 19th century with some continuing until modern times. The wholesale markets were highly controlled, closed environments that were minutely regulated and meticulously planned. These included Smithfield Meat Market (built in 1866),
Billingsgate Fish Market Billingsgate Fish Market is the United Kingdom's largest inland fish market. It takes its name from Billingsgate, a ward in the south-east corner of the City of London, where the riverside market was originally established. In its original locati ...
(constructed in 1875) and
Leadenhall Market Leadenhall Market is a covered market in London, England, located on Gracechurch Street but with vehicular access also available via Whittington Avenue to the north and Lime Street to the south and east, and additional pedestrian access via ...
(completed in 1881). The retail trade was largely serviced by itinerant street sellers or
costermonger A costermonger, coster, or costard is a street seller of fruit and vegetables in British towns. The term is derived from the words ''Costard (apple), costard'' (a medieval variety of apple) and ''monger'' (seller), and later came to be used to des ...
s. In central London, costermongers worked along designated routes, selling door-to-door or by trading from some 36 unauthorised, but highly organised markets situated along major thoroughfares or meeting places such as
Whitecross Street Whitecross Street is a short street in London Borough of Islington, Islington, in Inner London. It features an eponymous street market and a large housing estate. Since 2010, there has been an annual Whitecross Street Party one weekend in the ...
,
Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...
and Leather Lane. In an attempt to regulate street trading, a number of authorised retail markets were built during the 19th century with limited success. Examples of retail markets constructed during this period include: St James, St George's (Southwark),
Carnaby Carnaby is a family name which may refer to: People * Garth Carnaby (born 1950) New Zealand fibre physicist and science and public administrator * Ivan Carnaby (1908–1974), Australian ornithologist * Penny Carnaby, New Zealand librarian * Tom ...
,
Hungerford Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, west of Newbury, east of Marlborough, and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The population of the parish at the 2021 census was 5,869. The Kennet and Avon Can ...
, Randall's (
Poplar, London Poplar is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is located five miles (8 km) east of Charing Cross and lies on the western bank of the River Lea. Poplar is identified as a major district centre in the London Plan, with its ...
), Fitzroy, Finsbury, and the People's Market (Whitechapel), Angela Burdett-Coutts' Market and
Columbia Road Market is a street market in Bethnal Green in London, England. Columbia Road is a road of Victorian shops situated off Hackney Road in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The market is open on Sundays only. History Columbia Market was built upon an ...
(now a flower market). Retail markets were less successful than their wholesale counterparts and the number of retail markets declined from 24 in 1800 to 17 in 1840. In reality, London's working classes generally preferred the convenience of street trading which continued to thrive until the 20th century. Charles Knight devoted an entire section to markets in his pictorial essay, ''Pictorial Half-hours of London Topography'', (1851) in which he identifies the main wholesale markets as the Corn Market; the Coal Exchange; Billingsgate – the main fish market; Smithfield – a cattle market since at least 1150. Retail meat markets include Newgate; Whitechapel; Newgate; Newport, Oxford; St George's, and Shepherd's Market in Mayfair. Produce markets included Covent Garden, which Knight considered to be the 'pre-eminent' vegetable market; Farringdon Market between Holborn Hill and Fleet Street; Spitalfields, the largest potato market in London; Portman Market; Hungerford Market; and Leadenhall Market, a mixed produce and meat market. In addition, the Skin Market at Bermondsey dealt in leather and hay markets were held at Whitechapel, Cumberland Market, Regent's Park, and Smithfield. Some examples of street markets operating today include
Berwick Street Market is an outdoor Street markets in London, street market in the Soho, London, England, Soho area of the City of Westminster. It takes place on Berwick Street. Street trading licence, Licences to trade are issued by Westminster City Council. His ...
, Broadway Market,
Camden Market The Camden markets are a number of adjoining large retail markets, often collectively referred to as Camden Market or Camden Lock, located in the historic former Pickfords stables, in Camden Town, London. It is situated north of the Hampstead R ...
,
East Street Market East Street Market also known locally as 'East Street', 'The Lane', or 'East Lane', is a street market in Walworth, London, Walworth in South London, South East London. Location East Street is in the London Borough of Southwark and is betwee ...
,
Petticoat Lane Petticoat Lane Market is a fashion and clothing market in Spitalfields, London. It consists of two adjacent street markets. Wentworth Street Market is open six days a week and Middlesex Street Market is open on Sunday only. The modern market ...
, and Portobello Road Market. The most popular for food is
Borough Market Borough Market is a wholesale and retail market hall in Southwark, London, England. It is one of the largest and oldest food markets in London, with a market on the site dating back to at least the 12th century. The present buildings were built ...
which sell most fresh produce as well as having a bakery. File:Old-Covent-Garden-Market,-1825.jpg, Covent Garden market, illustration by
George Johann Scharf George Johann Scharf (1788–1860) was a water color painter, draughtsman and lithographer, and father of Sir George Scharf and Henry Scharf. He exhibited his paintings at the Royal Academy from 1817 to 1850, and was a member of the New Soc ...
circa 1820 File:Leadenhall Market Illustrated London News 1881.jpg, Leadenhall Market from the ''Illustrated London News'', 1881 File:Leadenhall Market In London - Feb 2006 rotated.jpg, Leadenhall Market (interior), 2006 File:Microcosm of London Plate 009 - Billingsgate Market (unk).jpg, Billingsgate Fish Market, circa 1808 File:Billingsgate Fish Market. Interior ILN 1876.jpg, Billingsgate Fish Market, interior, 1876 File:Thomas Rowlandson - Rag Fair or Rosemary Lane - Google Art Project.jpg, Rag Fair (now Petticoat Lane Market) by
Thomas Rowlandson Thomas Rowlandson (; 13 July 1757 – 21 April 1827) was an English artist and caricaturist of the Georgian Era, noted for his political satire and social observation. A prolific artist and printmaker, Rowlandson produced both individual soc ...
, late 18th century File:Petticoat Lane London 1971.jpg, Petticoat Lane Market, London, 1971
Wholesale markets in London *
New Covent Garden Market New Covent Garden Market in Nine Elms, London, is the largest wholesale fruit, vegetable and flower market in the United Kingdom. It covers a site of and is home to about 200 fruit, vegetable and flower companies. The market serves 40% of the f ...
*
Borough Market Borough Market is a wholesale and retail market hall in Southwark, London, England. It is one of the largest and oldest food markets in London, with a market on the site dating back to at least the 12th century. The present buildings were built ...
*
Old Billingsgate Market Old Billingsgate Market is the name given to what is now a hospitality and events venue in the City of London, based in the Victorian building that was originally Billingsgate Fish Market, the world's largest fish market in the 19th century. ...
*
Leadenhall Market Leadenhall Market is a covered market in London, England, located on Gracechurch Street but with vehicular access also available via Whittington Avenue to the north and Lime Street to the south and east, and additional pedestrian access via ...
*
Smithfield Market Smithfield, properly known as West Smithfield, is a district located in Central London, part of Farringdon Without, the most westerly Wards of the City of London, ward of the City of London, England. Smithfield is home to a number of City in ...
* Spitalfields Market Retail markets in London *
Bermondsey Market Bermondsey Market (also known as New Caledonian Market and Bermondsey Square Antiques Market) is an antiques market at Bermondsey Square on Tower Bridge Road in Bermondsey, south London, England. The location was formerly the site of Bermond ...
*
Brick Lane Market Brick Lane Market is the collective name for a number of London markets centred on Brick Lane, in London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Tower Hamlets in east London. The original market was located at the northern end of Brick Lane and in the heart ...
* Broadway Market *
Camden Market The Camden markets are a number of adjoining large retail markets, often collectively referred to as Camden Market or Camden Lock, located in the historic former Pickfords stables, in Camden Town, London. It is situated north of the Hampstead R ...
*
Chalton Street Market is a Street markets in London, street market in Camden London Borough Council, Camden, North London. History Early history (1795–1867) Established circa 1795 (as The Brill). In 1784 the first housing was built at Somers Town, London an ...
*
Earlham Street Market is a Street markets in London, street market in situated in the Seven Dials, London, Seven Dials area of Covent Garden on a short road between Shaftesbury Avenue and Monmouth Street. Street trading licence, Licences to trade are issued by Camd ...
*
Inverness Street Market is an outdoor Street markets in London, street market in Camden London Borough Council, Camden, North London. Street trading licence, Licences to trade are issued by Camden London Borough Council. History Early history (1851–1867) The s ...
*
Islington Farmers' Market Islington Farmers' Market was the first Farmers' Market to open in London, it opened in 1999. The market was set up by food writer Nina Planck, who established the organisation London Farmers' Markets. The market is still running, having changed ...
*
Goodge Place Market is an outdoor street market in Fitzrovia, in the London Borough of Camden. Licences to trade are issued by Camden London Borough Council. History Early history (1850–1867) Originally the market occupied Charles Street (now the stretch ...
*
Greenwich Market Greenwich ( , , ) is an area in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian ( ...
*
Hungerford Market Hungerford Market was a greengrocer, produce market in London, at Charing Cross on Strand, London, the Strand. It existed in two different buildings on the same site, the first built in 1682, the second in 1832. The market was first built on th ...
*
Leadenhall Market Leadenhall Market is a covered market in London, England, located on Gracechurch Street but with vehicular access also available via Whittington Avenue to the north and Lime Street to the south and east, and additional pedestrian access via ...
*
Leather Lane Market is an outdoor street market in the Holborn area of the London Borough of Camden. Taking place on Leather Lane, it is the oldest street market in Camden. Licences to trade are issued by Camden London Borough Council. History Early histo ...
*
Petticoat Lane Market Petticoat Lane Market is a fashion and clothing market in Spitalfields, London. It consists of two adjacent street markets. Wentworth Street Market is open six days a week and Middlesex Street Market is open on Sunday only. The modern market ...
*
Piccadilly Market Piccadilly Market at St James's Church Piccadilly is now a five-day-a-week lunchtime food market in the St James's district of the City of Westminster. Occupying the courtyard on the North side of St James's Church, Piccadilly. It is close t ...
* Plender Street Market *
Portobello Road is a street in the Notting Hill district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from South to North, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. On Saturdays it is home to Portobello ...
*
Queen's Crescent Market is an outdoor street market held every Thursday and Saturday on Queen's Crescent in Kentish Town, Camden between the junction with Malden Road in the West and the junction with Grafton Road in the East. Licences to trade are issued by Camden ...
*
Swiss Cottage Market is an outdoor Street markets in London, street market in Camden London Borough Council, Camden, North London. Street trading licence, Licences to trade are issued by Camden London Borough Council. History Swiss Cottage marked started in ...


Southern Europe


= Greece

= Street markets in
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
are called (') in plural, or () in singular, meaning "''people's market''". They are very common all over Greece, including the capital,
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
. Regular (weekly) morning markets sell mostly fresh produce from farming cooperatives – fruit, vegetables, fish, and flowers/plants. Some household items and prepared foods are often available. Annual street markets () occur around churches on the day of their patron saint. These take place in the evenings and have a more festive character, often involving attractions and food stalls. The goods sold range from clothing and accessories to household items, furniture, toys, and trinkets. Athens also has several bazaars/enclosed markets. * New Market (Nea Agora), Rhodes Island, Greece * Central Municipal Market, Athinas Street, Athens - a 19th-century market


= Italy

= *
Campo de' Fiori Campo de' Fiori (, ) is a rectangular square south of Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy, at the border between the ''Rioni of Rome, rioni'' Parione and Regola (rione of Rome), Regola. It is diagonally southeast of the Palazzo della Cancelleria and one ...
, Rome * – seasonal wine fair, Greve, Chianti * – seasonal handicrafts market, Fortezza da Basso * – seasonal antiques' market, Palazzo Shrozzi * , Florence * Testaccio Market, Rome


Ancient and historic Italian market places

*
Trajan's Market Trajan's Market (; ) is a large complex of ruins in the city of Rome, Italy, located on the Via dei Fori Imperiali, at the opposite end to the Colosseum. The surviving buildings and structures, built as an integral part of Trajan's Forum and ...
, Rome – ruins of ancient market place * Loggia de Mercato Nuovo, Florence, built between 1547 and 1551 by Giovanni Battista del Tasso and is currently under restoration * Loggia de Mercado Vecchio, now demolished File:Loggia del pesce before 1880.jpg, Loggia del pesce, Mercato Vecchi, before its demolition in the 1880s File:Telemaco Signorini, La Via del fuoco, 1881 circa 38,8x65cm.jpg, La Via del Fuoco and Mercato Vecchio, painting by Telemaco Signorini, c. 1881 File:Loggia del mercato nuovo 01.JPG, Loggia del Mercato Nuovo in 2008 (exterior) File:Trajansmarkt.jpg, Trajan's Market, Rome (ruins) File:Pompeii Market (4724888221).jpg, Entrance to Market place, Pompeii


= Spain

= In Spain, two types of retail market can be identified; permanent markets and periodic markets. ''Permanent markets'' are typically housed in a building dedicated to the use of stallholders and vendors. ''Periodic markets'' appear in the streets and plazas on specific days, such as weekends or festival days and most often sell products made by local artisans including leather goods, fashion accessories, especially scarves and costume jewellery. Vendors at periodic markets typically erect tents or canvas awnings to provide some type of temporary cover for themselves and shoppers. Produce markets, farmers' markets and flea markets are all commonplace. In addition, street vendors are a relatively common sight across most parts of Spain. Street vendors roam around in search of a suitable venue such as a plaza, entrance to a railway station or beach front where they lay their goods out on mats. Products sold by street vendors are of highly variable quality.


Barcelona

The first reliable recorded references to markets in Barcelona date to the 10th century. Barcelona, at that time, was a walled city and the first open-air market was held outside the walls, (in the area now known as ). A merchant district soon grew up around the market. During the 19th century, numerous covered markets were erected, specifically Santa Caterina Market (1844); Sant Josep (c. 1840), Llibertat (1875), Sant Antoni (1882), Barceloneta (1884), Concepció and Hostafrancs (1888), Clot and Poblenou (1889), and Abaceria in Gracia (1892).
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
residents are well served by the city's 39 produce markets. Every barri (suburb) has at least one fresh produce market. It is often said that no matter where you find yourself in Barcelona, you are never more than 10 minutes walk from a market. Barcelona's markets attract some 62 million visits yearly, turnover €950 million and employ 7,500 people. Some of the larger produce markets still in operation include: Mercat de
La Boqueria The Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria (; ), usually simply referred to as La Boqueria, is a large Marketplaces#Types, public market in the Ciutat Vella district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, and one of the city's foremost tourist landmarks, w ...
in El Raval; Mercat de Sant Antoni in Sant Antoni; Mercat de Sant Andreu in Sant Andreu; Mercat de Santa Caterina in L'Eixample, Mercat del Ninot in L'Eixample; Mercat de la Concepció also in L'Eixample; Mercat de la Llibertat in Gràcia; Mercat de Sants in Sants-Montjuïc; Mercat de Galvany in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi; Mercat de Vall d'Hebron. In addition, Barcelona offers many non-food markets including the street market; La Rambla de les Flors; Dominical de Sant Antoni; Encants de Sant Antoni; and Mercat Encants Barcelona - Fira de Bellcaire. File:Barcelona 2015 10 10 0465 (22518828424).jpg, Main entrance to the Mercat de San Josep, known simply as La Boqueria File:La Boqueria.JPG, Fruit display at Mercat de
La Boqueria The Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria (; ), usually simply referred to as La Boqueria, is a large Marketplaces#Types, public market in the Ciutat Vella district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, and one of the city's foremost tourist landmarks, w ...
in La Rambla, Barcelona File:Mercado de Santa Caterina.jpg, Mercat de Santa Caterina, Barcelona File:Mercat S Antoni 25-8-13.JPG, Mercat de San Antoni, Barcelona File:Sant Jordi 2007 Mataró.JPG, Street market at Sant Jordi, Mataró


Bilbao

*
Mercado de la Ribera The Mercado de la Ribera (Ribera Market) is a market square in Bilbao, the capital of the Basque Province of Viscay in the north of Spain. It is on the right bank of the Estuary of Bilbao, Nervion River, next to Casco Viejo. Its built area of m ...


Madrid

The main markets in central Madrid are San Anton Market; San Miguel Market, a gourmet tapas market; Cámera Agraria (Madrid Farmers' Market); and
El Rastro El Rastro de Madrid or simply el Rastro is the most popular open air flea market in Madrid (Spain). It is held every Sunday and public holiday during the year and is located along ''Plaza de Cascorro'' and ''Ribera de Curtidores'', between ''Calle ...
, the largest open air flea market. File:Mercado de San Miguel - RI-51-0010569 -.JPG, Mercado de San Miguel (interior) File:Night market in December, Madrid.JPG, Night market in December, Madrid File:Madrid - Mercado de San Anton.jpg, Mercado de San Anton, Madrid File:Mercado de Maravillas, calle Bravo Murillo, Madrid.JPG, Mercado de Maravillas,
calle Bravo Murillo The calle de Bravo Murillo is a major street in Madrid, Spain. The streets starts in the glorieta de Quevedo, in the Chamberí, Chamberí District. Going North across the Tetuán (Madrid), Tetuán District, it features a slightly bended path join ...
, Madrid File:Rastro de Madrid (España) 6.jpg,
El Rastro El Rastro de Madrid or simply el Rastro is the most popular open air flea market in Madrid (Spain). It is held every Sunday and public holiday during the year and is located along ''Plaza de Cascorro'' and ''Ribera de Curtidores'', between ''Calle ...
Madrid, the largest flea market


Valencia

The Mercat or Mercado Central is the main public market in
Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
. Built at the turn of the twentieth century, the building combines Gothic and Art Nouveau architectural features. Popular with both locals and visitors, a distinctive feature is the quality of fresh fish and seafood, which once purchased can be taken to the street stalls around the perimeter of the market who will cook it to order. The
Mercado de Colón Mercado de Colón or (''Columbus Market'') is a public market located in the city center of Valencia, Spain. It is one of the main works of the Valencian Art Nouveau. Building The building was designed by the Valencian architect Francisco Mor ...
in
Eixample, Valencia The () or () is a district of Valencia, Spain between the Old City (''Ciutat Vella''), Quatre Carreres, Camins al Grau, Extramurs and El Pla del Real. This area takes in the city's most popular shopping street on carrer Colón, Marqués del Túr ...
is also a very popular fresh produce market. Image:Mercado Central de Valencia1.JPG, Mercado Central (exterior) File:Mercado Central, Valencia, España, 2014-06-30, DD 118.JPG, Mercado Central, Valencia (interior) File:Mercado de Colon 113.JPG, Mercado de Colón (exterior) File:WLM14ES - MERCADODE COLÓN DE VALENCIA 05072008 181508 00002 - .jpg, Mercado de Colón (interior)


Seville

Popular markets in Seville include the Triana market and the Central market housed within the
Metropol Parasol Setas de Sevilla ("Mushrooms of Seville") or Las Setas ("The Mushrooms"), initially titled Metropol Parasol, is a large, predominantly wood structure located at La Encarnación square in the old quarter of Seville, Spain. It accommodates a tra ...
complex. In addition, Seville offers many smaller neighbourhood markets such as Mercado de la Calle Feria and Mercado de la Encarnación. File:Mercado triana 2016002.jpg, Mercado Triana (Triana Market) File:Mosaicodelmercadodetriana.JPG, Mosaic sign for the Triana Market File:Mercado triana 2015001.jpg, Fish vendor at the Mercado Triana File:Mercado encarnación 2015001.jpg, Mercado Encarnación


Southeastern Europe (Balkans)


= Croatia

= In
Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...
, a farmer's market is formally known as , and colloquially as , , or depending on the region and dialect. * Dolac,
Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...


= Serbia

= In
Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...
, a farmer's market is formally known as , and colloquially as , , or depending on region and dialect. The markets in large cities are open daily, including Sunday, from around 5 or 6 am to mid-afternoon. In smaller towns, markets often open once a week, on a specific day known as . * Kalenić,
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
* Great Market, Belgrade – Built in around 1854 * Vračar Square (Square of Flowers), Belgrade


North America


Canada

*
Atwater Market Atwater Market is a market hall located in the Saint-Henri area of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It opened in 1933. The interior market is home to many butchers and the Première Moisson bakery and restaurant. The outside market has many f ...
Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
*
ByWard Market The ByWard Market (), is a retail and entertainment district in the downtown core of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located east of the government and business district. The Market district includes the market buildings and open-air market alo ...
Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
* The Forks Market
Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...
*
Granville Island Granville Island is a peninsula and shopping district in the Fairview neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, across False Creek from Downtown Vancouver, under the south end of the Granville Street Bridge. Formerly an industrial ...
Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
*
Jean Talon Market Jean-Talon Market is a farmer's market in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Located in the Little Italy district, the market is bordered by Jean-Talon Street to the north, Mozart Ave. to the south, Casgrain Ave. to the west and Henri-Julien Ave. to the e ...
Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
*
Kensington Market Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's best-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Sites of Canada, ...
Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
*
Lonsdale Quay Lonsdale Quay is a SeaBus ferry terminal and major transit exchange in the North Vancouver (city), City of North Vancouver, and serves Metro Vancouver's North Shore (Metro Vancouver), North Shore municipalities. Located at the waterfront of the ...
North Vancouver, British Columbia *
St. Lawrence Market St. Lawrence Market is a major market (place), public market in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located along Front Street (Toronto), Front Street East and Jarvis Street in the St. Lawrence, Toronto, St. Lawrence neighbourhood of downtown Toront ...
– Toronto, Ontario * Westminster Quay
New Westminster, British Columbia New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...
* Main Street Markham Farmers' Market (Seasonal) –
Markham, Ontario Markham () is a city in Regional Municipality of York, York Region, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Downtown Toronto. In the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 Census, Markham had a population of 338,503, which ranked it the largest in ...
* Stiver Mills Farmers' Market (Seasonal) -
Markham, Ontario Markham () is a city in Regional Municipality of York, York Region, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Downtown Toronto. In the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 Census, Markham had a population of 338,503, which ranked it the largest in ...
*
Kitchener Farmer's Market The Kitchener Farmer's Market is one of the oldest continuous local farmer's markets in Canada. The market is located in Kitchener, Ontario, and reflects the continued relationship of Kitchener with the Mennonite community (especially with vendor ...
Kitchener, Ontario Kitchener is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario, about west of Toronto. It is one of three cities that make up the Regional Municipality of Waterloo and is the regional Administrative centre, seat. Kitchener was known as Berlin until a ...
*
St. Jacobs Farmers' Market St. Jacobs Farmers' Market is a farmers' market and flea market in Woolwich, Ontario, Woolwich, Ontario, Canada. It is located to the south of Waterloo Regional Road 15, King Street North, to the east of Weber Street, Weber Street North, and to t ...
St. Jacobs, Ontario St. Jacobs is an unincorporated suburban community in the township of Woolwich in Waterloo Regional Municipality, Ontario, Canada, known for its very competitive burger patty-flipping contest. It is located north of the city of Waterloo. It is ...
* York Farmers Market
Markham, Ontario Markham () is a city in Regional Municipality of York, York Region, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Downtown Toronto. In the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 Census, Markham had a population of 338,503, which ranked it the largest in ...
* Downsview Park Farmers Market – Toronto *
Saint John City Market The Saint John City Market in Saint John, New Brunswick, is the oldest continuously operated Farmers' market, farmer's market in Canada, with a charter dating from 1785. The market is located at 47 Charlotte Street. History Prior to the establish ...
Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John () is a port#seaport, seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest Municipal corporation, incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign ...
Historic markets that have been converted to other uses include: *
St. Patrick's Market St. Patrick's Market is one of three public markets created in Toronto in the 19th century along with St. Lawrence Market and St. Andrew's Market. The current structure on the lot was built in 1912 and was designated a heritage site by the City ...
, Toronto – retail building * St. Andrew's Market, Toronto – demolished 1937 and site of water works and park File:Feature. Bonsecours Market BAnQ P48S1P05249.jpg, Public market at
place Jacques-Cartier Place Jacques-Cartier (, ''Jacques Cartier Square'') is a square located in Old Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is an entrance to the Old Port of Montreal. Overview In 1723, the Château Vaudreuil was built for Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Va ...
in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
,
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
in 1940 File:Cambridge Farmers Market 1.jpg, Cambridge Farmers Market File:Market 002.JPG, City Market, St Johns File:St. Jacobs Farmers Market food building, 2010 July 10.jpg, St. Jacobs Farmers Market File:F2248539.jpg, Arctic Market, Inuvik, Canada


Mexico

Since 2014, gourmet
food halls A food hall is a large standalone location or department store section where food and drinks are sold. Overview Unlike food courts made up of fast food chains, food halls typically mix local artisan restaurants, butcher shops and other food- ...
have also sprung up in
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
, starting with
Mercado Roma Mercado Roma ("Roma market") is a Marketplaces#Types, public market in the format of a gourmet food hall located on Querétaro street in the Colonia Roma Norte neighborhood of Mexico City. The market stalls offer organic and other food products fo ...
. Some traditional markets include: *
Mercado Jamaica, Mexico City Mercado Jamaica is one of Mexico City’s Traditional fixed markets in Mexico, traditional public markets where various vendors sell their wares in an established location. This market began in the 1950s as part of efforts to urbanize the market ...
, a traditional market in
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
*
Mercado de Sonora Mercado de Sonora (Sonora Market) is a Traditional fixed markets in Mexico, city-established traditional market, located just southeast of the historic center of Mexico City in the Colonia Merced Balbuena neighborhood. It was established in the 1 ...
, a traditional market in
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
*
San Juan de Dios Market Mercado Libertad, better known as Mercado San Juan de Dios (San Juan de Dios Market) is located in the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. It is the largest indoor market in Latin America with an area of . Description and history Most vendors ...
in
Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...
File:Murales Rivera - Markt in Tlatelolco 2.jpg, Market in Tlatelolco, mural by Diego Rivera File:Churros Stand Coyoacán.jpg, Churro Stands, like this one in Coyoacán, Mexico City, are a common sight in Latin-America and Spain File:MercadodeSanJuandeDios.jpg, Grocery stalls in
San Juan de Dios Market Mercado Libertad, better known as Mercado San Juan de Dios (San Juan de Dios Market) is located in the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. It is the largest indoor market in Latin America with an area of . Description and history Most vendors ...
in
Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...
, Mexico File:MercadoArtesaniasSanCris.JPG, Artesans' Market, San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico File:EntranceHidalgoMkt.JPG, Entrance to Hidalgo Market, Guanajuato


Caribbean


Puerto Rico

*
Mercado de las Carnes Mercado de las Carnes (), also known as La Plaza de los Perros (), but formally, ''Plaza Juan Ponce de León'' (Juan Ponce de León Plaza), was the first building in Puerto Rico to mix social and architectural elements via the pedestrian mall c ...
, a former meat market in
Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce ( , , ) is a city and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692Some publ ...


United States

In the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, the term public market is often used for a place where vendors or merchants meet at the same location on a regular basis. A public market has a sponsoring entity that has legal and financial responsibility to oversee operations and, sometimes, provides facilities to house the market activity. Public markets may incorporate the traditional market activity – the sale of fresh food from open stalls – and may also offer a wide range of different products. Public markets may incorporate elements of specialized markets such as farmers markets, craft markets, and antique markets. Traditionally public markets in the US were owned and operated by city governments, but this is no longer the case. According to the
Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...
, what distinguishes public markets from other types of related retail activity are three characteristics. Public markets: #have public goals, a defined civic purpose. Typically, these goals include: attracting shoppers to a
central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...
, providing affordable retailing opportunities to small businesses, preserving farming in the region, and activating or repurposing public space #are located in and/or create a public space in the community, where a wide range of people mix, and are, or aim to be, a heart of the community #are made up of locally owned, independent businesses operated by their owners, not franchises. This gives public markets a local flavor and unique experience. File:Pike-place-market.jpg,
Pike Place Market Pike Place Market is a Marketplaces#Types, public market in Seattle, Washington, United States. It opened on August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States. Overlooking the Elliott B ...
in
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...
, looking west on Pike Street from First Avenue File:Outer Market.jpg, Corridor of fruit and vegetable sellers at the
West Side Market } The West Side Market is the oldest operating indoor/outdoor market space in Cleveland, Ohio. It is located at the corner of West 25th Street and Lorain Avenue in the Ohio City neighborhood. On December 18, 1973, it was added to the National ...
in
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...
File:City Market, Grand Rapids.jpg, Postcard showing city market in
Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...
, about 1910 File:Grand Central Terminal Market (3263906110).jpg,
Grand Central Market Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation) ...
, New York File:Gerardi's Farmer Market (10009872396).jpg, Gerardi's Farmer Market, New York


=List of public markets

= *
Alemany Farmers' Market Bernal Heights ( ) is a residential neighborhood in southeastern San Francisco, California. The prominent Bernal Heights hill overlooks the San Francisco skyline and features a microwave transmission tower. The nearby Sutro Tower can be seen fro ...
– San Francisco, California *
Boston Public Market The Boston Public Market is an indoor Market (place), public market that opened in July 2015 in downtown Boston, adjacent to the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. The market houses more than 28 year-round vendor stalls, and is open seven days a ...
– Boston, Massachusetts *
Broad Street Market The Broad Street Market, opened in 1863, is located in the Midtown (Harrisburg), Midtown List of Harrisburg neighborhoods, neighborhood of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. Originally established on Broad Street (now Verbeke Street) ...
– Harrisburg, Pennsylvania *
Brooklyn Flea Brooklyn Flea is a company based in Brooklyn, New York. Founded in 2008 by Jonathan Butler, creator of Brownstoner Magazine, and Eric Demby, the former communications director for Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Flea runs s ...
– Brooklyn, New York *
Chattanooga Market The Chattanooga Market is the region's largest producer-only arts and crafts and farmers' market. It is held every Sunday from April to December at the open-air First Horizon Pavilion in Chattanooga, Tennessee, typically from 11am until 4pm (hour ...
(2001–present) – Chattanooga, Tennessee *
Chicago farmers' markets Chicago farmers' markets include approximately 30 open-air markets across neighborhoods with farmers from Illinois and surrounding states including Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes ...
Chicago, Illinois *
City Market (Charleston, South Carolina) The City Market is a historic market complex in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. Established in the 1790s, the market stretches for four city blocks from the architecturally-significant Market Hall, which faces Meeting Street, through a contin ...
*
City Market (Petersburg, Virginia) City Market, also known as Farmers Market, is an historic public market located at 9 East Old Street in Petersburg, Virginia. It was built in 1878–1879 through a land given in trust by merchant Robert Balling. The City Market is an octagonal ...
– Petersburg, Virginia. Built in 1878–79 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places *
City Market (Savannah, Georgia) City Market is a historic market complex in the Savannah Historic District (Savannah, Georgia), Historic District of Savannah, Georgia. Originally centered on the site of today's Ellis Square (Savannah, Georgia), Ellis Square from 1733,
* Crescent City Farmers Market – New Orleans, Louisiana *
Cross Street Market The Cross Street Market is a historic marketplace built in the 19th century in Federal Hill, Baltimore, United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in ...
– Baltimore, Maryland *
Dallas Farmers Market Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
– Dallas, Texas *
Dane County Farmers' Market The Dane County Farmers' Market is America's largest producers-only farmers' market. It is held from April to November on Saturday mornings on the Capitol Square in Madison, Wisconsin and on Wednesday mornings on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Fro ...
– Madison, Wisconsin *
Dayton Arcade The Dayton Arcade is a collection of nine buildings in Dayton, Ohio. The Arcade is a historic, architecturally elegant complex in the heart of Dayton's central business district. Built between 1902 and 1904, it was conceived by Eugene J. Barney o ...
– Dayton, Ohio * Eastern Market – Detroit, Michigan * Eastern Market – Washington, D.C. * Ferry Plaza Farmers Market & Ferry Building Marketplace – San Francisco, California *
Findlay Market Findlay Market in historic Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati, Ohio, is the state's oldest continuously operated public market. The Findlay Market Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on June 5, 1972. The market is the ...
(1855–present) – Cincinnati, Ohio *
French Market The French Market () is a market and series of commercial buildings spanning six blocks in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as a Native American trading post predating European colonization, the market is the oldest of its k ...
– New Orleans, Louisiana *
Fulton Fish Market The Fulton Fish Market is a fish market in Hunts Point, a section of the New York City borough of the Bronx. It was originally a wing of the Fulton Market, established in 1822 to sell a variety of foodstuffs and produce. In November 2005, the ...
New York, New York *
Grand Central Market Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation) ...
– Los Angeles, California *
Grand Central Market Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation) ...
– New York, New York * Haymarket – Boston, Massachusetts *
Hollins Market Hollins Market is the name of the oldest existing Marketplaces#Types, public market building in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. It is a contributing property to the Union Square, Baltimore, Union Square-Hollins Market Historic District. The ma ...
– Baltimore, Maryland *
Indianapolis City Market The Indianapolis City Market is a historic Market (place), public market located in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was founded in 1821 and officially opened in its current facility in 1886. The market building is a one-story, rectangular brick buildi ...
(1821–present) – Indianapolis, Indiana *
Italian Market, Philadelphia The Italian Market is the popular name for the South 9th Street Curb Market, an area of South Philadelphia featuring awning covered sidewalks, curb carts, grocery shops, cafes, restaurants, bakeries, cheese shops, butcher shops, etc., many with ...
– Philadelphia, Pennsylvania *
James Beard Public Market The James Beard Public Market is a proposed Marketplaces#Types, public market in Portland, Oregon, United States. Named after James Beard, a Portland-born chef and cookbook writer, the market is slated to open in the Selling Building and the Unga ...
(future) – Portland, Oregon *
La Marqueta La Marqueta is a marketplace under the Metro-North Railroad's Park Avenue Viaduct between 111th Street and 116th Street on Park Avenue in East Harlem in Manhattan, New York City. Its official address is 1590 Park Avenue. In its heyday in the ...
– New York, New York *
Lancaster Central Market Central Market, also known as Lancaster Central Market, is a historic public market located in Penn Square, in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Until 2005, when it was transferred to a trust, the market was the oldest municipally-operated marke ...
– Lancaster, Pennsylvania *
Lexington Market Lexington Market (originally, Western Precincts Market) is a historic market in Downtown Baltimore, Maryland. Established in 1782, the market is now housed in a 60,000-square-foot market shed building completed in 2022 that is home to 50 merch ...
(1782–present) – Baltimore, Maryland * Los Angeles Farmers Market – Los Angeles, California * Maxwell Street Market – Chicago, Illinois * Midtown Global Market – Minneapolis, Minnesota * Milwaukee Public Market (2005–present) – Milwaukee, Wisconsin *
North Market North Market is a food hall and public market in Columbus, Ohio. The Downtown Columbus, Ohio, Downtown Columbus market was established in 1876, and was the second of four founded in Columbus. The market is managed by the non-profit North Market ...
– Columbus, Ohio *
Olvera Street Olvera Street, commonly known by its Spanish language, Spanish name Calle Olvera, is a historic pedestrian street in El Pueblo de Los Ángeles Historical Monument, El Pueblo de Los Ángeles, the historic center of Los Angeles. The street is loc ...
– Los Angeles, California *
Pike Place Market Pike Place Market is a Marketplaces#Types, public market in Seattle, Washington, United States. It opened on August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States. Overlooking the Elliott B ...
(1907–present) – Seattle, Washington *
Ponce City Market Ponce City Market is a mixed-use development located in a former Sears catalogue facility in Atlanta, with national and local retail anchors, restaurants, a food hall, boutiques and offices, and residential units. It is located adjacent to the ...
– Atlanta, Georgia *
Portland Public Market The Portland Public Market was a public market in Portland, Oregon, United States, built in 1933 at a widely advertised cost of $1 million ($ million in ). Controversial and ambitious, it was intended to replace the Carroll Public Market, ce ...
(1933–1942) – Portland, Oregon *
Portland Saturday Market The Portland Saturday Market and Portland Skidmore Market are a pair of seasonal outdoor handicraft, arts, crafts, and Food carts in Portland, Oregon, food markets in Portland, Oregon held every Saturday from March through December. The Saturd ...
(1974–present) – Portland, Oregon * Reading Terminal Market (1893–present) – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania *
River Market The River Market (formerly known as Westport Landing, the City Market, and River Quay) is a riverfront neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri that comprises the first and oldest incorporated district in Kansas City. It stre ...
(formerly known as Westport Landing, the City Market, and River Quay) - Kansas City, Missouri *
PNC Second Street Market The 2nd Street Market is a public market in Dayton, Ohio. The market is located at the corner of Webster Street and East 2nd Street. It is Dayton's largest and oldest operating public market. In 2012, '' Country Living Magazine'' mentioned the marke ...
– Dayton, Ohio * Soulard Market – St. Louis, Missouri *
Sweet Auburn Curb Market The Municipal Market is a historic market located in Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia's Sweet Auburn Historic District at 209 Edgewood Avenue, S.W. The market operates as a nonprofit enterprise, with the building leased from the City of Atlanta ...
(1918–present) – Atlanta, Georgia *
Union Market Union Market is a food hall located in Washington, D.C. It anchors the Union Market District, a neighborhood encompassing high-rise apartments, office buildings, retail, and entertainment options. It was formally known as Union Terminal Market w ...
– Washington, D.C. *
Union Square Greenmarket Union Square is a historic intersection and surrounding neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City, United States, located where Broadway and the former Bowery Road – now Fourth Avenue – came together in the early 19th century. ...
– New York, New York *
West Side Market } The West Side Market is the oldest operating indoor/outdoor market space in Cleveland, Ohio. It is located at the corner of West 25th Street and Lorain Avenue in the Ohio City neighborhood. On December 18, 1973, it was added to the National ...
– Cleveland, Ohio


=Lists of markets

= *
List of Farmers Markets in Indiana This is a list of local Farmers Markets in Indiana Greater Indianapolis Area ---- Greater Lafayette Area ---- Evansville / Tri-State Area ---- Fort Wayne {{DEFAULTSORT:Farmers Markets in Indiana Indiana Indiana ( ) is a ...


Oceania


Australia


=Melbourne

= The
Queen Victoria Market The Queen Victoria Market (also known colloquially as the Vic Market or Queen Vic) is a major landmark and public marketplace in the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Covering over , it is the largest open air ...
is the city of Melbourne's central market. Opened in 1878, it is the largest open air market in the southern hemisphere and its largely intact original buildings offer visitors the opportunity to shop among 19th century retail rows and experience a vibrant, working market place. The Queen Victoria Market site has been listed as an historic place by Heritage Victoria and a number of its buildings are listed as notable buildings on the Historic Building Register of Victoria. The site is currently undergoing a site renewal project. It is a Melbourne landmark, popular with both locals and visitors. Major suburban markets include the
Prahran Market Prahran Market is a food market in South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Located on Commercial Road near Chapel Street, Melbourne, Chapel Street, it was established in neighbouring Prahran in the 1860s, before moving to its present locati ...
,
South Melbourne market The South Melbourne Market is a covered food and general goods Market (place), market located in South Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria. The market is owned and operated by the City of Port Phillip. History It began operating in 186 ...
and the Footscray Market. Periodic farmers' markets are also very popular in Melbourne. File:Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne, 2017-10-29 01.jpg,
Queen Victoria Market The Queen Victoria Market (also known colloquially as the Vic Market or Queen Vic) is a major landmark and public marketplace in the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Covering over , it is the largest open air ...
, entrance to the Meat and Fish Hall File:Prahran market.jpg,
Prahran Market Prahran Market is a food market in South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Located on Commercial Road near Chapel Street, Melbourne, Chapel Street, it was established in neighbouring Prahran in the 1860s, before moving to its present locati ...
, South Yarra File:North Melbourne Market.jpg,
Metropolitan Meat Market Metropolitan Meat Market, primarily known as Meat Market, in Melbourne, Australia, is a former market building that also incorporates the Metropolitan Hotel. It was designed by George Raymond Johnson, George Johnson and completed in 1874. It ha ...
, North Melbourne File:South Melbourne market outside 1a.jpg, South Melbourne market (exterior)


=Sydney

= Sydney boasts a number of popular markets. The Rocks market, situated in the Rocks district, near the Sydney Opera House, focuses on crafts, jewellery, and leather goods and operates at weekends.
Paddy's Market ] Paddy's Market was a historic market on Shipbank Lane in Glasgow, Scotland. It had been in existence at a variety of locations throughout the city for almost 200 years.Scotland on Sunday - Spectrum magazine supplement - pages 11 to 15 - (onli ...
, near Chinatown, is the produce market and operates Wednesday through to Sunday. Haymarket, New South Wales, Haymarket is one of the main produce markets and is located in Flemington. The
Sydney Fish Market The Sydney Fish Market is a fish market in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The market sits on the Blackwattle Bay foreshore in Pyrmont, New South Wales, Pyrmont, 2 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district. It is the world's thi ...
, in Pyrmont opens from 7:00 am on Wednesday through to Saturday. Paddington Markets on Oxford Street sells a range of goods from fresh produce through to clothing. File:Vegetable market0004.jpg, Haymarket fresh produce market, Hay Street, Sydney, NSW File:Chinatown Night Market, Sydney.jpg, Chinatown Night Market, Sydney, NSW File:Rocks Market.jpg, Rocks Market in 2007 File:Sydney Fish Market view from Glebe.JPG, Sydney Fish Market view from Glebe, NSW


=Perth

= File:Fremantle Markets northwest corner iphone shot 2013.jpg, Fremantle Markets, northwest corner, Perth, Western Australia File:OIC perth night market 2012-01-06 overview.jpg, Perth night market, 2012 File:Perth Night Noodle Markets.jpg, Perth Night Noodle Markets


=Adelaide

= *
Adelaide Central Market The Adelaide Central Market is a major fresh produce market in Adelaide, South Australia. As one of the oldest markets in Australia, Adelaide Central Market has a large range of fresh food, including fruit and vegetables, meat and poultry, se ...
File:Adelaide Central Market.jpg, Adelaide Central Market, 2006 File:Central Court, Adelaide Central Market.JPG, Central Court, Adelaide Central Market File:Adelaide Central Market Buildings Foundation Stone.jpg, Adelaide Central Market Buildings Foundation Stone


=Hobart

= *
Salamanca Market Salamanca Market is a renowned street market held every Saturday at Salamanca Place in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Since its inception in 1972, the market has grown to become the most visited tourist attraction in Tasmania, attracting over one ...
File:Salamanca Market, Hobart, Tasmania.jpg, Salamanca Place Market, Hobart, Tasmania File:Salamanca Market Hobart Tasmania.jpg, Salamanca Market Hobart Tasmania File:Salamanca market in Hobart.JPG, Salamanca market in Hobart File:Salamanca Market May.JPG, Salamanca Market May


Papua New Guinea

Drawing heavily on the anthropological literature, Benedicktsson argues that a distinct type of ''Melanesian market'' that is substantially different to other Asian markets, can be identified. The key characteristics of the PNG market are that it is dominated by producer-sellers, most of whom are women. Prices are set at the start of the day's trade, and rarely change. Haggling and aggressive selling are rarely practised. At the end of the day's trade, produce is not cleared, but rather is taken away for the seller's private consumption or is distributed among kin and close family.Karl Benediktsson, ''Harvesting Development: The Construction of Fresh Food Markets in Papua New Guinea'', Denmark: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, 2002, p. 24 File:Gerehu Markets Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (10697550585).jpg, Gerehu Markets, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea File:Picturesque New Guinea Plate XXXIII - Kerepunu Women at the Market Place of Kalo.jpg, Kerepunu women at the market place of Kalo, 1885 File:Buin NSP Saturday market 1978.jpg, Buin NSP Saturday market, 1978 File:GorokaMarket.jpg, Goroka market


South America


Brazil

* –
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
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São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
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Liberdade street market The Liberdade Street Fair (Portuguese: ''Feira de Arte e Artesanato da Liberdade'' or ''Feirinha da Liberdade'') is an art and handicraft fair in the Liberdade (district of São Paulo), Liberdade district of São Paulo. This popular open air mar ...
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
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São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
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Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...
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Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...
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Uberlândia Uberlândia () is a city and municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. It is the second largest city in the state of Minas Gerais after the state capital Belo Horizonte. Its population in 2020 was 699,097, making it the si ...
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Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...
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Salvador, Bahia Salvador () is a Municipalities of Brazil, Brazilian municipality and capital city of the Federative units of Brazil, state of Bahia. Situated in the Zona da Mata in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of Brazil, Salvador is recognize ...
File:Sao Paulo - Mercado Municipal.JPG, Mercado Municipal in
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
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Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
File:Açai no Mercado do Ver-o-peso.jpg, Açai vendor at the Ver-o-Peso Market, Belém, Brazil File:Belem-Ver-o-pesokl.jpg, Fish seller at Belém, Pará, Brazil File:Vendedor de pequi.jpg, "Vendedor de pequi", fruit seller, a common sight in Brazil


Chile

*, the central market of
Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital city, capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's Chilean Central Valley, central valley and is the center ...


Uruguay

*, a central fruit and vegetable wholesale market in
Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...


See also


References


External links


Project for Public Spaces page on public markets
{{DEFAULTSORT:Market (place) Bazaars
Market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market *Marketing, the act of sat ...
fa:بازار