There is a market within 10 km of us every day, even Sunday. Actually the Sunday market at Villaricos has to be my favourite. There are hardly any shops open on Sundays, just the odd little store (although why anyone wants to go food shopping on a Sunday beats me!) and so the fruit and vegetables sold at the market are quite handy if you have forgotten something. Anyhow, it is just a lovely thing to do on a sunny Sunday morning – the market overlooks the sparkling blue sea beyond the little marina and it is just gorgeous.
It is huge market which stretches along the narrow street and sells mainly fruit, vegetables, cheese, charcuterie, flowers, herbs and spices, lots of clothing, hardware, jewellery, pottery and lots of other knick knacks.
There is also a fantastic Chicken van – dozens of delicious grilled chicken sold hot to take home for lunch if you can’t be bothered to cook.
My friend Denise has her bookstall here, which she runs with her husband, Tony and they sell great second hand English books for a couple of euros and actually around here, English books are hard to find. We tend to borrow them from each other, so this is a great addition for us.
Next door to Denise is the Churros van – on Sunday I had my third only taste of Churros since coming to Spain almost 8 years ago! It is so delicious that I am frightened to have it any more often – for those of you that do not know what it is, it is like freshly made doughnuts, but cooked in long swirls and then cut into “sticks”, covered in sugar which you dip in hot chocolate – now you know why I am frightened to eat it! It is highly addictive and just about the most delicious thing you can eat!
The market runs in and out of various restaurants and tapas bars, where we always stop for a coffee or a beer – this Sunday was scorching and so the market and the cafes were heaving with everyone enjoying being out in the sea air, and the hussle and bustle of it all.
If you are staying here, I thoroughly recommend you go down to Villaricos on a Sunday morning and soak up the atmosphere, before going off for lunch or an afternoon at the beach. You are bound to find something you like to take home.
Yummy Almeria 
Couldn’t agree more. Villaricos is our favourite market and although it takes us half an hour to get there we make the effort quite often. There is a lovely Dutch couple who sell some great silver coloured jewellery with semi precious stones and other bits of glass for incredibly reasonable prices – really nice quality. Be warned – they don’t repeat stuff so when it is gone it is gone and there will be something else, so if you see something you like and think you might come back another day for the matching earrings, you are likely to be disappointed!
Mick bought me a sweet little bracelet from them! Great for little birthday pressies to send back to the UK in the post too.