It is said that this place gets a hard to believe 7-10 million visitors a year, if it is true I think they were all there the same day as me. Welcome to the market of St Michael, Madrid.
A must do stop on the tourist trail around the city, initially turned up at lunchtime (which in Spain seems to stretch from 11am to 4pm), took a few snaps and left it was way too busy.
You see, there is no rhyme nor reason to this place, it is in effect a market, where you can buy food stuffs for home, but also, if you are lucky, or patient (and I am neither), you can find a table , somewhere to sit and eat the produce from the multitude of independent stalls.
Thing is there is no waiter service and you are buggered if you find a seat, sit down then go and grab something to eat, for when you come back...uh oh, someone has jumped in and taken your seat.
And if there are 2-3 or more of you and everyone wants something different, well you are well and truly fucked!
It does also cater for the vegetarians, fussy eaters.
I don't get padron peppers to me they are pretty tasteless.
One will not starve as there is so much to choose from
You can also enjoy sucking on one of these bad boys, if so inclined.
Back in history, in medieval times this area was an open market, which would have been filled with stalls of the local guilds, (fish mongers, bakers, charcutias, etc), hawking their wares to the local people.
In the early 19th C. the church that also occupied the square was demolished, but the open air market continued to flourish.
Health and hygiene improved and open air markets declined and were seen as less acceptable. The closed market, as is, was built between 1913 and 1916.
In 1999, the City of Madrid undertook a renovation with European funds free money, a princely sum of 150 million pesetas at the time returning the market to its original appearance.
However, time and habits change and its commercial activity gradually slowed as it could not compete with modern supermarkets.
To prevent its demise into oblivion, a business, El Gastronomo de San Miguela, was formed by a group of foodies and entrepreneurs with an aim to revive and build up its traditional activity by creating a market focused on high-quality products and local, seasonal foods, now with the possibility of trying what is going to be part of the shopping basket, sampling the produce on site. In the early 2000's it closed for a couple of years whilst renovation took place
In May 2009, it reopened its doors and has been busy ever since.
Now! ...run along and let me enjoy me tea.
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