Hi Frugalistas! Continuing my theme of exploring the “Frenchness” of Canada, I’m turning my attention to markets. I love markets when I travel in Europe. Judging from your feedback, I know you do too, so when I discovered there was more than one fabulous food market in Montreal I knew I had to visit them both. So join me on a tour of two of the best known food markets in Montreal – the Marche Jean Talon and the Marche Atwater.
Visiting the food markets in Montreal
Both the Marche Jean Talon and Marche Atwater are easily reached by the Montreal Metro (about 10 minutes from central Montreal, then a 5 minute walk.)
When you should visit really depends on your own personal preference. I visited the Marche Jean Talon on a mid week afternoon, and went to the Marche Atwater for breakfast the next day. At both times the markets were quite quiet, making it easy to wander around. While they may have lacked a little in atmosphere, frankly I prefer that to battling the crowds on a Saturday morning.
Visiting in late April I was very lucky as both markets had plenty of spring flowers available. Particularly at the Marche Atwater these made an amazing display that was worth visiting in its own right. The downside of visiting so early in spring was that many of the outside stalls were not open. I could see both markets readying their outside areas, so no doubt as I write, they are starting to fill up with even more stalls to tempt and delight.
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- It wouldn’t be a market without fresh lemons
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- Flowers ready to take home for spring
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- Snow crab – a seasonal specialty
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- Hydrangeas already in bloom
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- Meat display
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- Local cheeses
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- Yep, macarons rule in Montreal too
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- Not all the patisserie is French
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- Sticky, gooey yummyness
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- Market breakfast, complete with delicious homemade jam
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- How traditional does this bread look?
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- Fresh spring asparagus
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- A tart
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- The bread smelled so good
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- Bright tomatoes
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- It wouldn’t be a “French” market without mushrooms
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- What you don’t see in France – support for the local hockey team!
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- Rainbow potatoes
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- Rainbow hues looking so pretty
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- Spring bulbs
I hope you have enjoyed this brief visit to two of the best food markets in Montreal. If you want to see more, why not follow me on Instagram where I’ll be posting more highlights of these two fun markets?
Author’s note: While in Montreal I was a guest of L’Hotel and Quebec Tourisme.
Yum! Those produce look amazing!
I am with you regarding the Saturday market rush of people but the upside is that it can make for great people watching. It really is a good feeling buying from the farmer and try to do this as often as possible.
Yes, that’s the thing about markets. You don’t even need to buy anything to have a great experience ☺
We are from BC, Canada, and have only spent a short amount of time in Montreal. Such a beautiful city. Farmer’s markets are some of our favorite things to do on vacation – a great way to mingle with locals and get a real feel of a place. Great images!
Yes, I feel exactly the same way. No matter where you go in the world the market is where you get the best sense of a town.
We were in Montreal in 2012 but our car broke down.So we didn’t get to see much except for the Notre Dame and the Square and Old Montreal. Too bad!
Oh no, what a huge shame! Montreal is a fab city. Still, Notre Dame and Old Montreal are well worth it. I’ll be writing about Notre Dame in an upcoming post – it’s a real gem that genuinely surprised me
I love visiting markets when I travel, thanks for the inspiration!
These are both excellent Brianna, and Montreal is thoroughly recommended generally
Hi Jo,
Brilliant images!
Was that strawberry shortcake?? I NEED it! LOL….no breakfast yet here in Bali, I am ravenous. I’d eat the whole thing in 1 sitting hahahaha….
Thanks for sharing.
Ryan
Hi Ryan, if you’re referring to the sticky looking one with the two strawberries on top, I think it was a fruit flan. It looked amazing didn’t it? Unfortunately I didn’t get to try a piece. We were there at breakfast time and I stuck to the cheese and toast – it came with homemade strawberry jam that was out of this world
We recently visited a farmer’s market when we were touring through Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica. We are huge fruit fans (the kids especially!), and it was great being able to sample all of the different types of fruit that we couldn’t get back home. Always great places to mingle with the locals 🙂
Yes, I agree, they are great places to take kids, although my daughter sometimes finds the sights and smells a bit confronting. No risk of that in Montreal though!