mercado | G Dan Mitchell Photography

Mercado de Navidad, Plaza Mayor, Madrid. — “Mercado de Navidad, Plaza Mayor” — Crowds at the Christmas market at Plaza Mayor, Madrid.

One of the great things about travel is that you get to enjoy being naive. No, really. When you go to new places, it is completely normal to not understand everything you see, every tradition, every experience, every norm. It happens in different ways, both major and minor. It happened on this late 2024 trip to parts of Germany, France, and Spain. We knew that we would visit German Christmas markets, but they we learned that Germany has no monopoly on these seasonal events, and they are popular everywhere.

The market in Madrid’s Plaza Mayor was one of the larger ones we encountered in that city. We intended to mostly avoid this tourist magnet, but we ended up there for several reasons after all. First, it seemed to us that we were seeing a lot of Spanish people there — not just international tourists. Second, it was quite impressive to see the place decked out in holiday lights.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” from Heyday Books, is available directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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“Mercado de Triana” — A sale at a stall in the Mercada de Triana, Sevilla.

Keeping with our pattern of visiting Sevilla locations that we could walk to, on this morning we headed across the canal (“Canal de Alfonso XIII”) on a convenient bridge, leaving behind the old town near the cathedral and entering a not-quite-so-old town across the water. There was much to see here, too, including guests arriving for a fancy wedding at a church, lots of locals out for a morning walk, shops and stores geared bit less to the tourist trade, and the Mercado De Triana.

There are, of course, LOTS of markets in European cities. Their size and focus varies. Some are gigantic and attract large crowds of visitors, perhaps less for the available produce and more for the prepared food options and souvenirs. This little market is closer to the traditional market end of the spectrum. For the most part the stalls are unassuming and seem to feature actual produce, meats, seafood, and so on. (There is one spot that offers cooking lessons that seems more tourist-oriented.) We stopped in for coffee and breakfast, then strolled the market, watching the morning activities.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.