The Turin Porta Palazzo market is well worth a visit, as some tourist guides describe it, probably mistakenly, as the largest open-air market in Europe. The prices of food would allow all French great savings, especially since the products have all the attractions of a good quality.
The Turin Porta Palazzo Market
The market, open every morning of the week except Sunday, is divided into several parts.
Fruits, vegetables and condiments (olives, dried fruits etc.) come from the alluvial and fertile plain of Piedmont (etymologically at the foot of the mountains) surrounding Turin. The stalls are spread over several hundred meters, the mainly Italian and Maghreb traders spin in the middle of the smells of market produce, all more enticing than the others.
On the other side of Regina Margherita Boulevard, inside a covered hall dating back to the beginning of the 20th century (art deco style) are butchers, creamers and delicatessens. At the back of this hall, a small market of local producers hosts stalls of organic products.
The difference in price of food products (fruits, vegetables and meat) between the French markets and that of Turin astonishes! On some products the difference may be up to half the price for qualitatively equal products. It does not seem to us that taxes or the Italian standard of living justifies these differences (economic theory of the Big Mac index) ... If an amiable reader has economically rational explanations, thank you to use the form of comments below to let us know.
An area dedicated to clothing, accessories, plastic toys and travel items is on the same side as fruits and vegetables. The products are of very poor quality. It is also often counterfeit major brands. The atmosphere is nonetheless very friendly. Traders are mainly from Black Africa and Asia.
A beautiful shopping arcade dedicated to fish and shellfish will delight lovers of seafood often very well cooked in Italian restaurants where food is almost always made on site.
Feel free to visit nearby Galleria Umberto I (Porta Palazzo).
