Friday, 27 March 2015 07:32

San Mateo's Massive Weekend Market

Fruit and veg at Gran Canaria's San Mateo market Fruit and veg at Gran Canaria's San Mateo market

It's in a warehouse and you can't call it pretty but San Mateo market sells the widest range of local produce available anywhere in Gran Canaria.

The market is just like the town; largely functional and agricultural but with the odd surprise. Stalls sell local and imported produce at excellent prices, but the best value is always whatever is in season on the island.

Lex says: You can't haggle here or in any local Gran Canaria markets but if you smile and say hello you might get a bit extra.

Look out for fresh cheese (queso tierno), which is superb drizzled with the local honey (sold in plain jars), local dried herbs, local olives, and for exotic fruit. We've found tree tomatoes, sapotes and passion fruit amongst the seasonal fruit. The wine stall by the door is good and there's plenty of bread and cheese on sale at the back.

Don't miss the clothes, hardware and souvenirs in the building opposite the produce market. It's for the local crowd and feels more like South America than Europe.

Parking in San Mateo after about 11am is a nightmare and the road up clogs up after midday. Get there early and park right by the market, shop in peace and be in a cafe, or watching the locals dance in the square next door before the hordes arrive.

Head for the church and the cobbled streets around it for the best lunch options in town.

Published in Markets

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Tip of the day

  • The Parafarmacia In Gran Canaria Is Not A Chemist!
    The Parafarmacia In Gran Canaria Is Not A Chemist!

    If there is one thing we hate it is visitors being tricked in Gran Canaria. In the past we've warned about overcharging at Gran Canaria chemists, and rip off electronics shops in resorts. 

    In this Tip Of The Day we return to the island's chemists or rather, to the island's fake chemists.

    A chemist in Gran Canaria is called a Farmacia and always has a green cross sign. Farmacias are the only place tobuy medicine in Spain, even basics like paracetamol.

    However, there is another kind of shop in Gran Canaria that looks and sounds like a chemist but doesn't sell medicine. This is the Parafarmacia and it also uses a green cross sign.

    A parafarmacia is a herbal medicine shop that is not allowed to sell any normal medicine such as paracetamol, ibuprofen or antibiotics. 

    Instead, parafarmacias sell herbal alternatives to medicine but don't have to prove that they work and they can charge whatever they want.

    We recently heard from a visitor to Gran Canaria who went into a parafarmacia and was charged 40 euros for a herbal alternative to Ibuprofen. It was only when they read the label that they realised what had happened. 

    To locate a genuine farmacia, see this website and search within your municipio (Puerto Rico is in Mogán, Playa del Inglés is in San Bartolomé de Tirajana). At weekends and on fiesta days many farmacias close but there is always one open, known as the farmacia de guardia, in each municipio.

    Search for the nearest one to you with this tool

    Lex Says: To keep costs down, see this article for the way to ask for generic medicine rather than expensive branded alternatives. 

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