Must-Visit Food Markets in France

In the Provençal town of Avignon, home to the Unesco World Heritage-listed Palais des Papes, you’ll find the Les Halles covered market, which dates back to the 1800s. It is so good that the region’s top chefs buy their produce here in between whipping up inspiring French dishes during cooking demonstrations. Around 40 stalls peddle fresh fruit, vegetables, cheese, organic meat, fish, pastries and wine. When it’s time for a spot of lunch, buy a slice of warm quiche from one of the bars and restaurants and eat it sitting in the square. Daily, except for Mondays.

Follow your nose to the daily fish market down by the atmospheric old port in Marseille. Founded by the Greeks, Marseille is the oldest and second-largest city in France and one of the most important seaside towns along the Mediterranean. Spend a sunny morning browsing the silver-skinned catch of the day, including grouper, turbot and bream, cooled by the salty sea breeze. It scores top authenticity points for the fishermen arranging their nets to get ready for another trawl. Once visited, you’ll understand why fish-filled bouillabaisse is the city’s most famous dish.

With a year-round balmy climate and scattering of oh-so-chic restaurants, Nice lures in holidaymakers for good reason. It comes as no surprise then that the capital of the French Riviera has many decent food markets as well. Head to the Cours Saleya morning food and flower market. It’s a photographic dream for travellers who capture snaps of the perfect-looking fruit on upturned baskets to share on Instagram. But only visiting in person reveals the alluring aroma of so many fresh flowers in one space. Daily, except for Mondays.

The third-largest city in France, Lyon also goes by the gastronomic capital moniker, home to a whopping 4,000 restaurants, 21 of them Michelin-star. One of the latter was owned by a French chef of super-star status, Paul Bocuse, which explains the deferential name of the legendary covered market, Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse. Ripe cheeses, cured meats, truffles, spices and chocolate are just a few of the edible goodies you’ll find at this glass-fronted mecca for French food, as you go elbow-to-elbow with fellow culinary enthusiasts. Open daily.

Trouville, Normandy, is a hybrid of an old-fashioned seaside town and a working fishing village. Housed in a charming 1930s burgundy building – in contrast to the town’s pastel 19th-century villas – close to the mouth of the Touques River, the twice-weekly fish market is a must for seafood and fish lovers. Take your pick from scallops, mackerel, sole, prawns, lobster, crab and oysters, all kept fresh with regular sprays of water. Afterwards, sit with a glass of crisp white and a plate of your favourite. The town’s restaurants buy their fish here, so you know it’s the real deal.

You know a town loves its food when one of its most feted buildings is the ornately carved exterior of the 15th-century Maison du Pâtissier, built by a man who made his fortune dishing up the local pâté de Périgueux (foie gras, wrapped in cured meat and pastry). In the central Dordogne region, Périgueux is all about the regional fare. Each Saturday, the open-air market fills the Place de la Clautre with pinkish heads of garlic, farm-fresh eggs and white asparagus, not to mention the earthy truffles and controversial foie gras for which the area is known.

The Marché des Lices in Rennes is the second-largest market in France and livens up the city every Saturday morning, something it’s been doing since 1622. Over 300 Breton producers display their honey, bread, cider and crêpe-encased, pork sausage-filled galette-saucisse, ready for locals who come armed with sturdy baskets. The setting is also a bit of a draw, with characterful half-timbered townhouses-turned bars where locals sit at bistro tables catching up over a coffee or a pint.

Most popular at Christmas, when the Place du Marché turns into a festive fantasy full of heart-stoppingly cute wooden chalets, the Obernai weekly market is one of the most popular in Alsace. Swelling the medieval ramparts each Thursday morning, locals and tourists gather to buy the region’s wine – Obernai is on the 170km (105mi) Alsace Wine Route – and sweet kugelhopf, a traditional brioche-like Alsace cake, among revered regional specialities.

Don’t go hungry to Marché Couvert Victor Hugo, the largest covered market in the southern French hub of Toulouse, or you’ll buy up entire stalls. There are buttery pastries, cheeses, charcuterie, fish, bread, butcher’s shops and fruit and vegetables. Stock up on jars of white beans and duck confit so you can try your hand at the classic regional French dish of cassoulet once you get back home. Daily except Mondays.