Legacy food markets

While food and drink can be bought affordably in a supermarket, there are many traditional market halls, bazaars and fish markets which make shopping an experience in its own right.

Market halls contain retailers for food and similar products, in particular goods such as meat, seafood, cheese, confectioneries, herbs and spices, wine, alcoholic beverages and farmed goods such as flowers and holiday ornaments, often with restaurants on the same site. Common in Europe and Japan, market halls had their heyday in the late 19th and early 20th century, in the transition from outdoor markets to supermarkets. Many market halls mainly have retailers selling high end quality products; others (generally away from tourist areas) have retailers selling cheap clearance products, such as fruit which is the wrong size for supermarkets or broken cookies straight from the factory. The retailers (stall-holders) in a market hall are usually small businesses independent of the hall management.

A fish market or seafood market can be either wholesale or retail, and can be a good place to buy fresh seafood with fewer middlemen.

Many of these markets, in particular those for fish, focus on wholesales for local retailers and restaurants. They open early in the morning, and might be closed at weekends.

Many legacy department stores have a high-end food section.

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