Mercado de Abastos de Puertollano
The covered Mercado de Abastos is the beating culinary heart of Puertollano, where local farmers, cheese makers and butchers have traded since the market hall was rebuilt in the mid-twentieth century. Arrive on a Saturday morning and the stalls overflow with saffron threads, air-dried manchego, pimentón de La Vera and wild mushrooms foraged from the Sierra Madrona.
What to Buy
Seek out the stalls selling queso manchego at different stages of curing — fresco, semicurado and curado — and ask for a taste before committing. Alongside the cheese, local vendors sell morteruelo, a rich Manchegan pâté of game meats and spices that makes an outstanding edible souvenir wrapped in paper and tucked into your bag.
The spice counters stock genuine Castilla-La Mancha saffron (azafrán), which is far more affordable here than in tourist shops and noticeably more aromatic. A small envelope makes a weightless, flavour-packed gift.
Market Atmosphere and Surroundings
Even if you buy nothing, the market is worth visiting for its atmosphere: vendors call out prices in rapid Castilian, elderly shoppers wheel tartan trolleys between stalls, and the smell of fresh bread from a nearby panadería drifts through the hall. It is an entirely un-touristy slice of daily Manchegan life.
After shopping, the bars immediately surrounding the market serve cheap, generous tapas — a glass of local Valdepeñas wine and a pincho of tortilla costs almost nothing and tastes exactly right at mid-morning.
More of Puertollano
Discover where to stay, what to do and the best deals for your trip.
Explore Puertollano →
