Olive Heaven | Mercado de San Miguel | Madrid

Madrid. Such a historical city.
Right when we arrived, I could just feel the history flowing from everywhere. Stories of hundreds and hundreds of years before our arrival just exuded from the buildings, the streets and even the stone pavement! While we expected the capital of España to be buzzing from the crack of dawn, it was surprising to find the city quiet during our 9am arrival…probably due to the Spaniards partying the Friday night before. We further saw evidence of this as we found a group of locals puking their guts out on sidewalk near our hotel. Ah—to be young, wild, and free!
Once settled in our hotel, we zipped our way to the first stop of our trip — the one and only Mercado de San Miguel. Luckily we were able to visit the market right when it opened at 10 am so there were not as many visitors as normal (or so I hear).
This place is definitely a must-go for all visitors of Madrid. While it may be more expensive than going to other local markets, it’s a one-stop shop for all things beer, radler, tapas, montaditos, and more!
For those with a sweet-tooth, Madrid’s Mercado de San Miguelwould surely satisfy any sugary craving.
From chocolates to truffles, to tarts—the options are endless for those that desire a good ‘ol sugar rush. But if you’re not into indulging your sugary desires, there are plenty of savoury goodies to satisfy your taste buds. While I knew this market housed a variety of gastronomical adventures, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was also Olive Heaven. Yes. I just called the Mercado de San Miguel an ‘Olive Heaven.’ Why you may ask? Well, as an olive aficionado, I was quite ecstatic to discover a place that sells skewers and skewers of olives!
As an olive lover, I was basically ready to stay there and never leave. Like, literally. My partner-in-crime, Rex, unsuccessfully tried to stop me from buying every olive skewer they offered. I mean, what can I do? I LOVE OLIVES. Combine that with radlers, and amazing montaditos, and I couldn’t have asked for a better start to our European adventure.
Let me know what you thought by leaving a comment below!