In 12th century many streets of Madrid used to have small markets where the neighbours could find meat, fruits and vegetables. Most of the times this markets were just a line of boxes on the pavement and the groceries sold there would not have any sanitary warranty.

Worried about the risks for the citizens, Madrid ’s Government started to build several markets that would help organize the sellers and would also improve the quality of the products.

The first three big markets built in Madrid were Mercado de la Plaza de la Cebada , Mercado de los Mostenses and Mercado de la Paz , which is the only one that hasn’t been demolished yet.

The Mercado de la Cebada (De la Cebada Market ) was very similar to Les Halles Market in Paris. It was inaugurated by the king Alfonso XII, it had 2 floors and it was mostly made of iron and glass. The original Mercado de la Cebada was demolished in 1956 and rebuilt as the Cebada Market that we can still visit today. The Mercado de los Mostenses (Mostenses Market) was built on the site of an old convent and it was almost identical to the Cebada Market but smaller.

The big Fish Market of Madrid used to be located where we can now see the Centro Comercial Puerta de Toledo (Puerta de Toledo shopping mall).

The San Miguel de los Octoes church was destroyed by fire in the 19th century. Its site was soon turned into a square where people could buy meat, fruits and vegetables. Between 1913 and 1916 the architect Alfonso Dube y Diez built in this square the famous San Miguel Market, which nowadays it’s the only one that still has the style and charm of the original markets built many years ago.