Ditch the Supermarket: The Weekly Market Ritual That Still Runs Costa Brava Towns
There's a version of Spain that doesn't happen behind automatic doors under fluorescent lights. It happens once a week, on a square or a stretch of street that transforms overnight into rows of stalls — and it's still, stubbornly, one of the best parts of living here.
Take Torroella de Montgrí. Every Monday, the town's market fills with fruit sellers, cheesemongers, a honey stall, and market sellers who always seems to have time for a chat. We filmed a short walk through it — you can watch it here — and it captures something that's hard to put into words until you've done it yourself: there may be some chaos, but there's no rushing. No trolley to wheel up and down supermarket aisles. Just people, produce, and plenty of familiar faces.
The slow alternative to supermarket sweep
A weekly market asks something different of you than a supermarket does. You don't grab everything under one roof — you buy your apples from one stall and your cheese from another, and somewhere in between you ask the woman selling honey how her week's been. It's not more efficient and that's rather the point. Bring your basket and let the visit take as long as it takes.
Yes, it can cost a little more than the supermarket shelf. But it rarely feels unfair — you're paying a farmer directly for something picked days, not weeks, ago, and the flavour usually makes the case for itself. And the markets reward anyone willing to look around: in Torroella, one stall bundles pre-packed fruit and veg into a bag for €1.50 — proof that "local and fresh" doesn't have to mean expensive.
More than food
Food is the heart of it, but not the whole of it. Wander a little further along the stalls and you'll usually find a jewellery seller, a clothing stand, and someone selling hardware or household odds and ends — the kind of everyday mix that makes these markets feel like a town's living room rather than a tourist stop.
It's not just Torroella
This rhythm repeats across the region, each town with its own day. Pals holds its market on Tuesdays, Begur on Wednesdays, La Bisbal d'Empordà on Fridays, and Palafrugell on Sundays — so if you miss one, there's usually another close by within a day or two. Follow the calendar around for long enough and the weekly market stops feeling like an errand and starts feeling like a fixture of how the week moves.
Let's keep tradition alive
Buying this way supports the farmers who actually grow what you're eating, cuts down on packaging and the food miles of a supermarket supply chain, and keeps a genuinely old tradition alive in town squares that would otherwise sit empty most days. It's a small, weekly act — but it adds up to a different relationship with food, and with the town around you.
So next Monday, skip the supermarket. Bring a basket, take your time, and let your taste buds do the convincing.