Mercat dels Encants
Barcelona's huge old flea market: cheap new goods at the entrance, vintage inside, haggling over a necklace and three children's books for €5.
I’d been wanting to visit this market for several years. I love vintage markets. I can’t say I know anything about vintage, and I usually rush through markets like this — my attention span just isn’t long enough. But I really enjoy the process itself: sometimes you find things with real character.
Take tableware, for example: it’s often much better quality than what you’ll find in, say, Zara Home.
The market is open four days a week, which is pretty good, since many flea markets only happen once a week. It’s a very big and very old market by Plaça de les Glòries, in Fort Pienc (Eixample), right on the edge of Poblenou.
I didn’t stay long, so I’ll tell you what I managed to see.
Cheap stuff at the entrance, vintage inside
At the entrance you see not so much vintage as cheap mass-market stuff — inexpensive new goods: fabrics, household items, clothes, shoes, underwear, hardware, sewing supplies.
The vintage things are further inside the market.
I flew through the whole market. I had one specific goal — to look for some interesting clip-on earrings. There weren’t many, and in general it’s a bit of everything. You probably really do need to know your stuff and search carefully.
Prices and haggling
I asked the price of a necklace. They said €20, so I said thanks and walked away. Straight away they started dropping the price: “Give me 15, give me 10.” But I kept going anyway.
I probably could have haggled more, but the necklace would have needed a lot of cleaning, and honestly I couldn’t be bothered.
💡 The first price you hear is just the opening bid: haggling is normal here, and sellers drop the price quickly on their own.
One stall had original jewellery — silver, I think — but fairly expensive: a brooch was €75, for example.
While I was there, a man bought a really beautiful vase for €20. Its base was slightly chipped, but the vase itself was lovely. I wonder what they asked for it at first.
Overall I think vintage vases are a pretty good buy: they’re original, they can fit nicely into your home, and you need vases anyway if you love flowers.
Children’s books — the best find
Just as I was about to leave, at the very last stall, I found a table of children’s books and bought three new ones for €5.
Three good books — not small, not thin. I’d wanted The Little Prince for a long time — it’s the only one I bought in Catalan — plus Little Red Riding Hood and a puzzle book.
For that price I think it’s a fantastic buy. And for me personally, the books alone make this place worth coming back to.
🌐 Translated from Russian; the translation hasn't been proofread yet.