Central Market

It smells of fruit, cured meats, fresh fish and spices. The Central Market is one of the great food markets of Europe and, above all, a cathedral of Valencian Modernisme built for food, with more than two hundred stalls.

1Iron, glass and ceramics

Work began in 1914 to a design by the architects Alexandre Soler i March and Francesc Guàrdia i Vial, who had trained in modernista Barcelona. After several changes, it was finished by Enrique Viedma and Ángel Romaní, and the market opened in November 1928. Its great central dome, its stained glass and the ceramics decorated with oranges and leaves make it one of the most photographed buildings in the city.

2The parrot and the fish

Look for the weathervanes. On one of the domes a swordfish turns; on another, a parrot, “la cotorra del Mercat”, which, according to local humour, spends its time gossiping about everything that happens in the city. Opposite, on the tower of the church of Santos Juanes, another weathervane, the “pardal de Sant Joan”, Saint John's sparrow, acts as its counterpoint.

3A market centuries old

The Market Square was already the great commercial centre of medieval Valencia: goods were sold in the open air here, and it hosted festivals, tournaments and public executions too. The building was put up to bring order to that street market. It has been a Bien de Interés Cultural since 2007.

If you want to get to know Valencian cooking, start with its stalls: rice, pulses, vegetables from the huerta and fish from the Mediterranean.

4What to look for

• The weathervanes: the parrot and the swordfish.
• The main doorway, with its mosaics of oranges and its tiles.
• The Silk Exchange, just opposite: five centuries of trade on one square.