10 Best Markets in Marseille

The Fish Market (Le Marché de la Criée) is a famous landmark and one of the best markets in Marseille, existing since the early 20^th century. Located in the picturesque Old Port, it’s a great place to buy fresh fish or seafood, such as Mediterranean sea bass, red mullet, sardines, and sea urchins. All are available at relatively attractive prices compared to supermarkets and come with a fishermen’s smile and cooking advice.

The market traditionally takes place every morning. Even if you don’t plan to buy fish, you’ll find this place interesting as somewhere to feel the authentic culture, listen to the sing-song Marseille accent and chat with locals. Why not ask them for a recipe of a genuine bouillabaisse (Provençal fish stew), which is another of Marseille’s symbols?

Le Marché du Prado (Prado market) is a busy and noisy city market that locals often choose to fill their baskets at. You’ll find everything here from food to clothes, shoes, fashion accessories, toys, books, and household items. Stretching along the avenue of Prado between Place Castellane and Périer, this is one of the biggest markets in France and easily one of the best markets in Marseille.

You’ll find it more comfortable to visit the market early in the morning because it gets crowded quickly. After discovering this urban open-air market, you can continue your city visit by walking towards the beautiful Borély Park and Marseille’s beaches. They’re a 30-minute walk from the market.

The Cours Julien, one of the emblematic places of Marseille, hosts a pleasant and organic city market every Wednesday. This is an excellent spot to meet local producers engaged in sustainable agriculture. You’ll be pleased to taste delicious fruits, vegetables, bread, honey, but also artisanal products such as fresh pasta, sauces, or jams. The prices are pretty good, though not the cheapest in town.

Another interesting feature of Cours Julien is the fact that it’s the largest district devoted to street art in France. You’ll find plenty of remarkable colourful hand-painted façades in this bohemian district.

The Market at Noailles (Le Marché de Noailles) is a great place to uncover Marseille’s real wealth: an incredible mix of European, Asian, and African cultures. Also locally known as Marché des Capucins, this noisy market sells every possible ingredient you could need as well as household items. This market is located in a working-class part of the city centre. It’s renowned for its particularly attractive prices, among other things.

The Market at Noailles is a great place for satisfying your taste buds with delicious Provençal and African specialities. You’ll also be able to discover some oriental and African fresh herbs and spices, which are uncommon in Northern cuisines.

The Flea Market (Le Marché aux Puces) is a huge market stretching over almost 4 hectares to the north of Marseille. You’ll find a covered shopping centre here, with a multitude of small shops selling just about any category of items from antique furniture to books, textile, art, home decorations, kitchen goods, hardware, automobiles, and so on. There’s also an outdoor market with relatively cheap fruits and vegetables.

This flea market is one of the biggest and best known in southern France. You can get here with buses 35, 36 or 70 from the city centre or by taking a metro to Bougainville station.

The Craft Market (Le Marché des Croisiéristes) is a seasonal seafront market in the Old Port of Marseille. It’s also known as The Crafts of the Old Port (Les Artisanales du Vieux Port) or the Cruise Passengers’ Market. As these names suggest, this is a charming market for tourists to discover Provençal craftsmen’s products and souvenirs. Despite being a little touristy, it’s still considered one of the best markets in Marseille.

You’ll be able to buy Savon de Marseille (Marseille’s soap) here, a traditional vegetable oils-based hard soap that has been produced in this area for about 6 centuries. This is also a lovely place to find nice local jewellery, decoration, some gourmet specialities, aromatic herbs, and plants.

The Second-Hand Book Market (Le Marché des Bouquinistes de la Canebière) in Marseille is an interesting place for avid collectors looking for French and international vintage and used books. Existing for more than 4 decades, this small and cosy market is located at the top of La Canebière, which is a historic high street in the old district of Marseille.

At this market, you’ll find many kinds of old collectors’ and recent books, famous French bandes dessinées (comics), magazines and also CDs, videos, vinyl, and audio cassettes.

The Flower Market (Le Marché des fleurs) in the Old Port is the highlight of the selection of Marseille flower markets that transform certain streets into flourishing gardens. This is the only market where colourful flowers reflect in the blue waters and where the fragrances of roses mix with the salty odour of the sea.

Don’t forget that Provence is well known for its gorgeous flowers, which thrive throughout the year. Visiting the Flower Market in Marseille is a great way to enjoy blooms and green plants from local producers and other regions of the world. Depending on the season, you’ll find mimosa, lavender, iris, tamarisk, carnations, jasmines, lilies, and of course many types of amazing roses.

La Friche de la Belle de Mai hosts a lovely farmers’ market in Marseille. Every Monday regional producers bring fresh fruits and vegetables, tasty bread, a range of French cheese, eggs, honey, and wine. A lot of products are organic and come from mountain locations.

The market is located in an avant-garde place called La Fiche de la Belle de Mai. It used to be a tobacco factory near the Saint-Charles station but has been converted into a cultural and arts complex with plenty of exhibitions to discover. During summer musical and arts events, you can also climb up to the rooftop to enjoy an extraordinary panorama of Marseille.

The Garlic Fair (La foire à l'ail) is Marseille’s oldest market – the tradition of selling garlic goes back to the 15^th century. Provencal cooking relies so much on garlic that there’s an annual fair devoted to its fine flavour. You’ll find white, pink and red garlic of all sizes and strengths at the market, hanging on long strings under the hot sun of Marseille.

The month-long fair takes place in early summer in Cours Belsunce, just 10 minutes’ walk from the Old Port. Another popular ware of this fair is the taraïettes (small pieces of glazed clay pottery). They represent miniature household utensils with which children play, as well as small jugs that, when filled with water, sound like the singing of the nightingale.