Bolhão Market

Watch the bags and shopping trolleys coming and going: you are at Porto's best-loved market. People come here for fish, fruit, flowers and cured meats, and to hear the city's broadest accent.

1A name that comes from water

In 1839 the council bought this land from the cathedral chapter to create a market square. The name, Bolhão, refers to a large bubble of water formed by a stream that once ran here.

2The 1914 building

The market you see was built in 1914 to a design by the architect Correia da Silva, the same man behind the city hall on Avenida dos Aliados. It combines ironwork with reinforced concrete, timber and granite, arranged on two levels around a large open courtyard.

Over the years the building decayed to an alarming state. Restoration began in 2018 and took more than four years: the market reopened on 15 September 2022, with its long-standing traders back in place.

During the works, the stallholders moved to a temporary market in a nearby shopping centre so as not to lose their customers.

3What to look for

• The corner domes and the sign on the main façade.
• The inner courtyard, with iron staircases linking the two levels.
• Confeitaria do Bolhão, across the street on Rua Formosa: founded in 1896.