Tabarca
Located off Costa Blanca, Spain's smallest inhabited island has an 18th-century walled town, clear waters with 45m visibility, and a marine reserve home to sea bass and dolphins.
Built in 1921, this modernist market has 300 family-run stalls across two floors, with fresh Mediterranean produce, local red prawns, and tapas bars under a grand stained-glass dome.
The Mercado Central de Alicante welcomes you with its striking 1921 modernist architecture, where sunlight streams through colorful stained glass windows beneath a grand hemispheric dome. Walk among nearly 300 family-run stalls across two floors to find fresh caught red prawns from Santa Pola, locally cured jamón, and regional cheeses.
Two levels make up the market, connected by escalators. On the ground floor, you'll find meat vendors, delicatessens, and cheese stalls. Head to the lower level for fresh fish, fruits, vegetables, and bakery products. Look for "the Rotunda," a circular section with a dome in the southwestern corner of the building.
Mediterranean products fill the stalls throughout the market. In the fish section, vendors display their morning catches on ice - from local red prawns to fresh sardines. Browse through seasonal fruits and vegetables, Spanish wines, Alicante olives, regional nuts, and local honey. Many current vendors represent the third or fourth generation of their family working these same stalls.
Visit Monday through Friday between 7:00 AM and 2:30 PM, or until 3:00 PM on Saturdays. Note that fish vendors don't operate on Mondays. For a calmer shopping experience, come during weekday mornings. The market is most active on Saturday afternoons during "tardeo," when locals gather at the market's bars.
Find the market on Avenida Alfonso el Sabio with three entry points: the main southern entrance, Plaza 25 de Mayo entrance, and southwestern corner entrance.
Architects Francisco Fajardo Guardiola and Juan Vidal Ramos created this modernist building in 1921, using brick and large stained glass windows that illuminate the interior. The adjacent Plaza 25 de Mayo remembers 300 residents who died in a 1938 Civil War bombing. Look for the original market clock in the basement near the escalators - it stopped during that bombing and remains frozen in time.
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Located off Costa Blanca, Spain's smallest inhabited island has an 18th-century walled town, clear waters with 45m visibility, and a marine reserve home to sea bass and dolphins.
Rising 166 meters above Alicante on Mount Benacantil, this 11th-century fortress spans 400,000 square meters across three levels, with views stretching to Tabarca island.
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