The iron and glass frame
The last market of its type in Madrid, a listed monument worth looking at.
Juan Antonio Flores Segal from Madrid (Spain) — CC BY 2.0 · Diego Delso — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Diego Delso — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Diego Delso — CC BY-SA 4.0
An iron and glass market hall directly beside the Plaza Mayor, built at the start of the twentieth century and the last surviving market of its type in Madrid. The building is the reason to come: an exposed iron frame and fully glazed walls, of the kind that spread across Europe in that period and was then mostly demolished. Its survival here made it a listed monument. What it has become should be clear: it is no longer a market where local people buy vegetables and meat, but a hall of prepared-food stalls aimed at visitors, where prices are plainly higher than anywhere else in the neighbourhood and the evening crowds are heavy. That does not cancel its value but it does define it: go in to see the building, walk between the stalls, take a photograph under the ironwork. If you want real food at a fair price the surrounding streets are far better, and Antón Martín and the other neighbourhood markets are closer to what this place once was. Entry is free and it is steps from the Plaza Mayor, so passing through costs nothing.
The last market of its type in Madrid, a listed monument worth looking at.
On nearly every Madrid visitor's route, and entry costs nothing.
Visitor food stalls rather than a working market — the real food is in the streets around.
Plaza de San Miguel, beside the Plaza Mayor
Plaza MayorThe Plaza Mayor has been Madrid's reception room for four centuries: a majestic 2 minutes walk4.7
Palacio de GaviriaPalacio de Gaviria is a mid-19th-century mansion built for a wealthy banker on C4 minutes walk4.4
Imprenta Municipal, Artes del LibroA small city-run museum devoted to the history of printing and bookmaking, in th4 minutes walk4.5
Museo de San IsidroA small city museum in the old quarter, on the plot where tradition says San Isi5 minutes walk4.7
Almudena CathedralThe Almudena is Madrid's young cathedral — its story stranger than its age: Cath6 minutes walk4.7Mostly no. Prices are aimed at visitors and are plainly higher than the street restaurants minutes away, and the portions are small. Go in for the building and the atmosphere, and eat elsewhere in La Latina or around the Plaza Mayor if food is your concern.
Antón Martín, San Fernando and the other neighbourhood markets still work as actual markets where residents shop, with normal prices and a local feel. They sit a little off the tourist route but are much closer to what you want if you are after a market rather than a monument.