Some of you asked me to write an article about Padua markets. Well, in Padua you can find markets basically every day of the week, except for Sundays (with exceptions, as you will read below). I’m going to list the most known, interesting or peculiar markets in Padua.
The first area where you can find lots of stand is the one around Palazzo della Ragione, in the medieval core of the city.
Padua Markets
Piazza delle Erbe
This is the piazza south of Palazzo della Ragione, the one with the fountain on the side. The about 70 stands here sell fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals, flowers, seeds.
From Monday to Friday 7 am – 1.30 pm.
Saturday 7.30 am – 8 pm.
Piazza della Frutta
This is my favourite piazza, north of Palazzo della Ragione. I’m not sure I can explain why I prefer it to the others. Maybe because it is the first one I enter coming from my house… or because there’s Graziati pastry shop on the side. In spite of the name (Fruits square) there are only a couple of fruits and veggies stalls (including two stands selling dried fruits and one selling aromatic plants). For the rest you can mostly find clothes and accessories.
Food: Monday – Wednesday 8 am – 2 pm
No food: Tuesday – Wednesday 8 am – 2 pm
Both: Thursday – Saturday 8 am – 8 pm. 53 stands
Sotto il Salone (Under the Big Hall)
Beneath the Palazzo, between Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza della Frutta, there’s Padua’s covered market… in 2019 Padua celebrated the covered market 800 years anniversary. It’s a sort of ancient city mall, where you can buy groceries, meat, fish, cheese, wines, sweets, from the Veneto but also from other Italian regions. Moreover, there are a few cafés where to stop for a coffee, a glass of wine or a bite to eat.
You can shop here from Tuesday to Saturday. Each shop has its opening hours. Many close for a lunch break. If you visit the market between 9 am and 12 am or past 4.30 pm, you should find the majority of the shops open. On Saturday they are open all day long.
Piazza dei Signori
You can easily recognize this piazza because it is the one not next to the Palazzo della Ragione, but with the Clock Tower. In this piazza, you will find stands selling clothes, linen, accessories for the house and flowers.
Tuesday – Friday 8 am – 2 pm, Saturday 8 am – 8 pm
Momart in Piazza Capitaniato
From piazza dei Signori, look at the Clock tower and pass underneath it. You’ll reach Piazza Capitaniato. There, only on the first Sunday of the month, from March to June and from September to December, you can admire and buy paintings, sculptures or photographies.
First Sundays of March – June, September – December
The second area is Prato della Valle, 15 minutes south (by foot) of the piazze.
Prato della Valle
Three different markets here:
- From Monday to Friday just fruits and veggies from 7.30 am to 8 pm (not a lot of stands if compared to the piazze).
- Every Saturday (8 am – 7 pm in winter, 8 pm in summer) you will find about 190 stands selling shoes, clothes, linen, plants and flowers, buttons, bags, accessories, fruits and veggies, etc… Basically everything.
- The third Sunday of every month: Antiques Market 8 am – 8 pm (160 stands).
Piazza del Santo and Via Belludi
Along the street leading from Prato della Valle to Saint Anthony Basilica (and around the basilica), you will spot some stands selling religious gadgets and souvenirs of the city. The name of this market is Mercato delle Coronare.
Not in the city center, but 15 minutes by car north of Padua, there’s another market worth a visit.
Mercato dell’Antiquariato di Piazzola sul Brenta
If you’re interested in antiques, you should visit Piazzola sul Brenta. On the last Sunday of every month (8 am – 6 pm), except Easter Sunday (in this case it takes place the following day, on Monday, there’s the second biggest antique market in Italy. I don’t particularly like antiques, but I have to admit that this market is rather enjoyable, mostly because of the superb setting: the baroque Villa Contarini and its Loggia. Only flaw: the paring system. You have to park along the streets of the town (no parking lots), but yet you have to pay a fee to the traffic wardens.
Have you ever been to one of these markets in Padua?
