Mercado Municipal de Matosinhos — Attraction in Matosinhos

The market is an emblem of Matosinhos. It's in a relatively modern two storey building. There are sellers plying their trade most of the days of the week. Here you can get fresh fish, vegetables and more.

As the fish is fresh it should have a good taste. You can get it cooked onsite at the restaurants on the ground floor.

There are also animals (like European rabbit and chickens) in cages, which don't look like they're meant to be pets... Other people sell cultivated edible plants.

You can get the metro to here. Not sure it's worth going out of your way to visit. However, if you're done visiting the city and all the typical things in Porto and plan to make a day of it in Matosinhos, then it may be worth walking over here to have a look and maybe get some food. You can walk round to the beach (it's not very far) and just outside the market you'll see the moving bridge. Otherwise if you don't have the time you're not missing out on much. There are bigger and better markets out there. And if you're after food to eat, but don't want to make a trip all the way out here, just check out the many options I've reviewed.

Follow here and on IG for more travel and food and drink tips, ideas and reviews...

This is a public market next to the Port of Leixões on the North edge of Matoshinos. Both the metro and the 500 bus go here from Porto Centro.

If you are buying seafood to take home then arrive early, like 6-7 AM. The most stalls will be open then and you have the pick of the freshest fish. Fish cleaning is included in the price and they will even fillet the fish or prepare it for grilling or baked in salt, etc. You can also buy fresh shrimp, oysters, claims and even barnacles.

If you come closer to lunchtime then a few stalls remain open to service the restaurants that operate inside and around the market. You pick the seafood then the restaurant will prepare your dishes as you wish.

There are stalls upstairs selling vegetables and fruits. Is is a basic selection. There are also a few shops around the upstairs sides that sell dry ingredients and wine. Also there are public restrooms upstairs.

The market is not particularly unique so it is a nice to do and while it caters to local shoppers and lunch restaurant goers, it is not as touristy as Bolhão, so more authentic, if you...

I went on a Thursday a little after noon. Besides the vendors, I really didn’t see much traffic. The fish market is downstairs, and fruits and vegetables are upstairs. I wasn’t planning to buy any seafood, so I didn’t walk through the fish market, even though I would have liked to see it up close. Since there was hardly any traffic, I decided not to browse without buying.

I went straight upstairs, and it felt kind of vacant. I don’t know if that’s the norm or if some vendors had already left, but there weren’t many people around. It was small and lacked energy. I bought some peaches and apricots from an elderly lady to take to the beach, and those fruits were so good! I wished I had bought more.

I can’t speak for the overall quality except for the two fruits I bought, but the overall vibe of the place was kind of down and not very energetic when I went. However, looking at other reviews, I might have just gone there during the typical downtime that any business...