We at TravelGumbo love visiting local markets whenever our travel plans allow. My wife and I recently visited the beach town of Nazare, about an hour north of Lisbon, where we spent two nights. Directly across from our hotel room was the Mercado Municipal; it was from our balcony that I snapped the following photo.
The market opened at 08:00 and we visited shortly thereafter. Nazare is not a huge city, nor does it have a big market, but it is a nice diverse market with great products. There were dozens of vendors selling all types of goodies. The place was bustling with activity as local folks were doing their shopping.
More than anything fresh produce catches my eye. Much of what was sold was already grown locally, although some products (e.g., bananas) were imported. Here are some photos of the fruits and vegetables from that day…
Several bakers were selling their fresh breads and rolls — especially good in Portugal I found — and, of course, assorted pastries.
One man sold honey and jams. The color of the honey was beautiful…
Dark and light dried figs were delicious, and we bought some for the road…
One lady sold locally grown spices…
…including an impressive collection of dried bay leaves.
There were several butcher shops at the periphery of the market where you could buy beef, lamb, pork and sausages….
Our noses guided us to the vendors of fresh fish. In this case, the fish section of the market is one floor above the main market, keeping the market mostly free of that “fishy smell”. The fish were all freshly caught, and it would have been delightful to buy some, but that was obviously not possible for travelers without a kitchen,
The octopus looks rather sad, but is delicious when prepared properly…
There were also bags of clams, barnacles and mussels, in addition to the assortment of fish.
Several vendors also sold clothes, but this was of little interest to us.
All in all, a fun market to explore. Nazare is lucky to have it.
