If you are planning a trip to Figueira da Foz, it is a non-negotiable condition to visit the centenary Municipal Market of Figueira da Foz Engº Silva – Property of Municipal Interest. Like so many other markets throughout the country, the Municipal Market enjoys a privileged location, close to the most touristic area of the city, leaning against the Municipal Garden to the east and the Mondego River to the south. In more distant times, until 1892, the year of the inauguration of the Municipal Market, the market was held in the Praça Velha (or Praça do Comércio or, today, Praça General Gomes Freire de Andrade), hence the expression, very Figueiran, “I’m going to the square!“, still used today by those announcing a visit to the Municipal Market.
History aside, the Municipal Market of Figueira da Foz Engº Silva is in itself a chest of endless stories, the result of the healthy community coexistence that spaces like this offer to each of its visitors. More than just a place to stock the fridge and pantry, the Municipal Market of Figueira da Foz is a meeting point for the local community, where commonplace conversation quickly extends from the health of an elderly aunt to the potential of local cuisine combined with the traditions of the region.
If the weekdays are quieter and allow you to appreciate the beauty of the interior of the space with another look, the weekend mornings lend the colorful stalls a healthy atmosphere of frenzy and race to the freshest.
It is impossible to resist the scene of colors and movement. The stalls are full of fresh fruit and vegetables, flowers of more and less exotic species, fresh fish caught off the coast. You won’t be able to escape the contrast of the vibrant colors of the stalls with the old “iron architecture” that characterizes the market and the era in which it was built. The most attentive eye will certainly not fail to appreciate the most careful details that both inside and outside the building unmistakably mark its unique layout.
If inside, in the characteristic stalls, the unmistakable frenzy and buzz mark the most intense days of pilgrimage to the market, around, the small stores complement the more central offer, making the aisles scarce and cramped before the coming and going of the most curious passer-by. We found clothing, wines, cheeses, sausages, bread of a thousand varieties, gifts, salt, olive oils and lots and lots of conversation.
The Municipal Market of Figueira da Foz is not just a product. Above all it is about people. We have local merchants, dedicated and proud of their destiny, working for generations, eager to share their stories with people with a bag in hand, providing a true immersion in the local culture and daily life of the city, and making a visit to the Municipal Market a must-do experience for anyone in the city. Figueira da Foz.
