Markets in Gandía

The markets of Gandía

Gandía is the capital of La Safor, in the south of the province of Valencia, and it has three separate centres: the town itself, inland beside the river Serpis; the Grau, the harbour district; and the beach, with its seafront promenade. Each one has its own market, and they are not the same market three times over.

The big one is the beach market, on Sundays, with 144 stalls against the 121 of the Saturday one. It changes with the season: from September to June it is a morning market, from 8:30 to 14:00, and in July and August it turns around and opens from 17:30 to 23:00. Both sell much the same: clothing, shoes, bags, fruit and vegetables, cured meats, pickles, kitchenware, plants and costume jewellery. At the Saturday market textiles dominate, with both new and second-hand clothing, and the fruit is concentrated at the end of the promenade facing the mountain.

The Saturday market takes up the Passeig de les Germanies between Calle Sant Pere and the Plaça de les Fonts, with the stalls along one side only. The underground Serpis car park is right beneath it, and the local railway station is about fourteen minutes on foot. The Thursday one is on a different scale: 33 stalls of textiles, footwear, household goods, cleaning products, flowers and hardware, in Plaza de la Marina and Calle Mare de Déu Blanqueta, in the Grau.

Then there is the Mercat Estival, which is another thing again: 36 stalls of crafts and gifts on the Passeig Marítim Neptú, opposite the yacht club, every evening from 18:00 to 23:30 between 15 June and 30 September, and at Easter as well. It is worth not confusing it with the Sunday market, which in summer opens at the same time but on a different promenade.

Three things worth knowing before you go. The morning markets open at 8:30 and from 13:00 the stalls start packing up: late on there are more reductions and less to choose from. The Saturday market is not held if it falls on a public holiday and there is no alternative day, while the beach one closes only on 25 December and 1 January. And at the Saturday market most traders take cash, though some accept Bizum.

There is no flea market or antiques market in Gandía. The closest thing is the second-hand clothing stalls on Saturdays. For antiques proper you have to go out to Jesús Pobre, in Dénia, about 30 km away: on the first Sunday of every month, from 9:00 to 14:00, the riurau gives up its farmers' and craft market and the antique dealers take it over.