Encants flea market
AnitaIf you like markets, taking some time out in the fresh air, haggling, finding bargains and mixing with the people then enter into a microclimate with its own rules… Els Encants is the place for you!
It is the only true flea market in the city. It has everything! Old clothes and new, all very cheap, lost objects, things for the home, shoes, necessary and unecessary articles, socks for very little money, antique tins, lamps from another era, flamenco dresses, retro jewellery, everything vintage and everything you never thought you would be able to buy.
They say that in the past Els Encants was the place where the things nobody else in the city wanted ended up. Now it is a heavenly refuge for those that love antiquities (like myself) to search for bargains (like myself) and to find the unexpected (like myself) and to spend some time doing something different with your friends… with its little stops for breakfast, later Vermouth in the wine cellars and then wander around a little more.
Things you need to know:
• They open Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 8 till 3 but on Saturdays they stay open a bit longer…
• Of course, its free to go
• You must haggle all of the prices
• Look after your bag! There are a lot of people and its best to be safe
• You have to have a drink and something to eat in the extremely noisy bar La Palmera al sol. I recommend their special baguettes: cheap and gigantic!
• If you start to feel tired and feel like stopping for Vermouth and tapas, go past Calle Dos de Mayo you will see a cellar just like those in the olden days, a delightful place!
• You can get there from the metro stop Glories/Encants, the tram or by the stupendous bike paths.
If you really do have a collector’s soul, in the street at the back, Cartagena, there is an enormous warehouse full of furniture from throughout the ages that you can purchase for 20 times less than you would in a real antique store.
Enjoy!
Anita
