Mercat Fira de Bellcaire

A futuristic structure made of metal and glass recently appeared near the square of Glories. This is the largest and oldest flea market in Spain, Mercat de Fira de Bellcaire.

Open-air trade has been conducted here since time immemorial, historians say that since the 14th century. In 2008, the City Council announced a European competition for the construction of a new market complex as part of the redevelopment of Glory Square.

The winner was architect Fermín Vázquez, who proposed a multi-level retail space designed in the form of a spiral. Thus, visiting the market creates the feeling of shopping-walking along a long pedestrian street. The building has two levels underground, the first is occupied by storage rooms, the second is occupied by a public parking lot.

The highlight of the building is a canopy with a height of about 25 meters, protecting the shopping area from the sun and rain. It consists of overlapping surfaces of different shapes, arranged seemingly randomly, but their shape and location are designed so that they provide uniform lighting to all corners of the market.

To reflect the light, the lower roof surfaces are covered with mirrored brass plates, giving the structure a fantastic look.

The building was built by the architectural firm B70 and opened in 2013. On an area of 15 thousand square meters, there are about half a thousand retail counters and shops. Here you can find both new and used original clothes, a wide variety of household items-from trinkets to rare radio equipment, old furniture and dishes. In addition to all sorts of antique and not very good goods, on the upper tier you can find trays with all sorts of food.

Barcelona residents have given the market the name Encants Vells, which means Old charms, for its amazing range of products. This name is used much more often than the official one. The market is open on Saturdays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 to 18.00. During the week, the market is visited by more than 100 thousand people.