Whenever I travel to a new city, I always plan a visit to the local farmers' markets. This may seem odd, especially if you're staying in a hotel room with no hope of cooking a meal, but there are many reasons why the farmers' market is a great stop for the out-of-town visitor!
A farmers' market is more than raw fruits and vegetables.
As we posted about earlier, there are many wonderful and unique gifts and souvenirs sold at farmers' markets. Soaps, jams and pickles, a bottle of olive oil, or some homespun wool are just a few of the non-perishable things you can pick up. I enjoy purchasing cloth bags from the markets I've been to as a memento of my experience.
Still, you could probably use some raw fruits and vegetables.
Traveling often means we either eat too much rich food or too much junk/road/airplane food. Thankfully, there are plenty of delicious, healthy things you can buy at the farmers' market that will keep in your hotel room. Apples, persimmons, a few berries or peaches and plums (in fact, most fruits will be fine and even better out of a refrigerator for a few days) are terrific, as are raw vegetables like carrots, peas, and cucumbers, all of which make nice snacks. You can even get some olive oil to dip that baguette into!
A farmers' market is as good as a museum.
Markets are a gathering place for people, so they're excellent microcosms of the area. You can learn a lot about a place, its people and their values, its climate, history, and politics by attending a market. Many markets have card tables set up with petitions and fliers for local politicians and causes, and most have information booths where you can learn more about the market. And I think some farmers must be frustrated artists because I've seen a lot of market displays that are as beautiful as any painting in a museum!
Farmers' markets are just plain fun.
If you enjoy food, then you'll probably enjoy a good farmers' market. It's fun to see local produce and compare different names for things, and discover new tastes and sometimes entirely new fruits and vegetables. Markets often have prepared food, too, so they're a good place to have lunch or dinner, perhaps even accompanied by some local music. And the people-watching is superb!
• Farmers' Market Guide: 20 Cities from Coast to Coast
• The Top 10 Outdoor Food Markets from National Geographic
• What Kind of Food Do You Look for On Vacation?
(Image: Cambria Bold)
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I live in Charleston and I'm always excited to show guests the Marion Square market. It's got something great for everyone to enjoy!
This made me think of Hand Drawn Bazaar! They're an illustrated, "traveling treasure hunt" of Farmer's Markets/Flea Markets/Fairs across the country/WORLD - definitely worth checking out!
www.hand-drawn-bazaar.com
Yep! I don't care where I am-- I always want to enjoy an open market! That said, I also love to visit grocery stores when I visit foreign countries-- there is so much to see, and a supermarket can reveal so much about the local culture.
Yay, there are others who do this! I'm totally addicted to markets, and visit them every time I travel.
Wonderful tip! We try to always make a local farmers market an item on our itinerary if one exists!
A friend and I are talking about taking our kids on an extended road trip next summer, and want to do as much of our food shopping at farmer's markets as we can. Much more fun than grocery stores!
Once again, you guys are rubbing it in my face that my little city has, hands down, the worst farmers market ever. It's not even a market, it's a dude with cucumbers, and another dude who whittles.
I love farmers' markets as well! I was in San Diego earlier this year, and was walking over to a restaurant with my travel buddy when we stumbled upon the outdoor mercato in Little Italy. I convinced her to eat there instead of going to the restaurant and I found it thoroughly enjoyable, even moreso than sitting at a nice restaurant to eat. I was able to get my fill and then some! Freshly squeezed blood orange juice, fresh pastries, samosas, tiny juicy strawberries... and that's without even mentioning all the samples.
I spent an amazing lunch time in my first full day at San Francisco at the market at the Ferry Building. Lunch consisted of a bag of the freshest cherries I had ever tasted, a gorgeous white peach, and my first-ever pluot, and subsequent visits yielded juicy tomatoes, a small tub of tapenade, and as much almond brittle as I could carry.
People who have been to the Ferry Building farmer's market, you know the almond brittle I speak of, don't you?
Another, what I thought would be obvious, reason: the chance to try local foods that may not be available where you live.