Food has always been a key component of my travel experiences, whether I’m enjoying a treat at a café or a full dinner in an atmospheric restaurant. But to get a unique experience, I always try to frequent farmers markets to see what the local denizens are toting home for their meals. Nearby farmers bring in their goods from only short distances away and offer up seasonal items, assuring you that that piece of fruit did not travel thousands of miles on a ship to get here weeks after it left port, but rather from just down the road. These are my favorites.

#1 Cathedral Market (Münstermarkt) (Freiburg, Germany)

I came upon Cathedral Market by accident. I was in Germany’s 33rd-largest city for its Christmas markets and to see one of Germany’s most beautiful churches, the gorgeous Freiburg Cathedral, an awe-inspiring Gothic cathedral completed in 1510 after about 300 years of construction that miraculously survived the bombings during World War II. Sitting in the center of the cobblestone Münsterplatz, the cathedral and its 380’-tall tower, with 16 bells, colorful single-hand clocks, and open lattice spire, soars over everything around it, including an utterly delightful farmers market that surrounds it. I had just finished a filling lunch of comfort food at Ganter Brauereiausschank across from the cathedral, but the offerings of this sprawling market immediately made me hungry again. The market dates back to the 16th century and runs six days a week. You can purchase ingredients for an entire meal or two from about 130 vendors. Grab a coffee and start ticking off items from your grocery list: spreads and chutneys, fresh trout, produce, cheese, farmhouse bread, sausage and Black Forest specialties, and creamy desserts made with cashews and dates. Then pick up a handmade wood slicing board for your prep work, and don’t forget the Baden wine and the fresh-cut flowers for the table.

#2 Campo de’ Fiori Market (Rome, Italy)

In the heart of Rome, not far from Piazza Navona with its gorgeous fountains, I strolled through a little tunnel passageway that would be the scene of murder and robbery in other places, but here it was decorated with murals on the walls and ceilings, and had a little candle-lit shrine. It led to a small plaza that opened into the larger Campo de’Fiori, the name harkening back to the field of flowers that used to be here before the current plaza was laid out in the 1400s. Formerly the site of public executions, including that of philosopher Giordano Bruno, who was burned at the stake for heresy in 1600 and whose statue (his figure, dressed in cloak and hood, dates back to 1889) now looks over the square from a pedestal, it has been the home of a daily (except Sunday) market since 1869 that you shouldn’t miss. With a cup of mango, pineapples, strawberries, and bananas in hand, I wandered around the stands, practically drooling over one enticement after another. Juicy peaches, olives in bowls of liquid, Tuscan cantaloupes, Roman artichokes, marinda tomatoes, pasta in all shapes and sizes and colors, hard and soft cheeses, towers of asparagus, bottles of Limoncino. If any vendor offers a free sample (many do), don’t decline, no matter what they’re offering. You’ll love it. After I partook in as many of these bitefuls as possible, I purchased two bags of tricolor farfalle and four jars of fantastic spreads—sage, tuna, mushroom with walnuts, and sweet red pepper—so that I could conjure up this market once I was back home in New York.

#3 Ithaca Farmers Market (Ithaca, New York)

In the beautiful Finger Lakes Region of central New York, Ithaca is a wonderful college town, home to both Cornell University and Ithaca College. The inherent liveliness of a college town extends to the city’s Porchfest (Ithaca created the musical event in 2007) and to the banks of Cayuga Inlet at the Ithaca Farmers Market. While you’re here, look for rowing teams from the colleges powering by in their shells in the inlet at the southern tip of Cayuga Lake. Then start browsing and snacking your way through the open-air wooden pavilion of the market, which began in 1973. Since then, the market has grown to include more than 150 vendors selling local produce and baked goods to more than 5,000 visitors per day. Everything here is grown or made within 30 miles of the city. I picked up some snacks for the day—Concord grape juice, pesto bread, and chocolate zucchini bread. You’ll want to fill up a basket with Swiss chard, curly string beans, fragrant garlic, shishito peppers, yellow oyster mushrooms, blueberry wine, and a host of other enticing edibles. But food isn’t the only thing you’ll be able to purchase here. Local artisans create unique gifts for you to take home, too, from low-relief painted woodcarvings to leather belts to handmade blown glass.

#4 Soulard Farmers Market (St. Louis, Missouri)

The oldest public market in St. Louis, going all the way back to 1779, Soulard Farmers Market provided some much-needed shade for me as I battled unusually high heat and humidity. Under the shelter of the roof of a great hall, I made my way down a seemingly endless parade of almost 150 vendors. Named for Antoine Soulard, an aristocrat and French military officer, the market’s plot of land was involved in a legal dispute during the time of the Louisiana Purchase. That’s a lot of history. Today, vendors, many of whom are operating under leases passed down through multiple generations, sell their delights five days a week. The spectrum of colors among the fruit vendors, from yellow lemons to green limes to orange oranges, rivals that of those among the vegetable sellers, with their purple eggplants, red tomatoes, and the browns and beiges of a variety of mushrooms. You can pick up some local delicacies, like smoked pig ears, or live adorable rabbits (which, hopefully, will become someone’s pet, rather than a delicious stew).

#5 Union Square Greenmarket (New York, New York)

The sheer diversity of goods for sale, as well as of the ethnic stew of New York, at the always-crowded Union Square Greenmarket is a far cry from its origins in 1976, when just a handful of farmers set up stands here. Now, in peak season, up to 140 farmers, fishers, bakers, and artisans from New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts travel into the heart of Manhattan to this historic square, just across the street from my favorite Barnes & Noble bookstore. About 60,000 people are drawn here on a regular basis to check out delectable foods from the region. From honey and jams to fresh bread to colorful fruits to vegetables I’ve never heard of to water buffalo and ostrich meat, this market is replete with products that will tempt your taste buds four days a week. But, wait, there’s more! Throw in pies, handmade soap, cut flowers, lavender plants and lotions, beeswax candles in the shapes of owls and beehives, artisanal goat cheese, brownies, berry ciders, swordfish steaks, duck prosciutto, and so much more, and you’ll soon have everything for a gourmet meal and all the accents that go along with it.

Five Runners-Up

• Old Town Farmers’ Market (Alexandria, Virginia)
• Clark Fork River Market (Missoula, Montana)
• Kauppatori Farmers Market (Helsinki, Finland)
• Burlington Farmers’ Market (Burlington, Vermont)
• Farmers at Firehouse Market (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

I’d Love to Hear From You!

Have you been here? Have I inspired you to go? Let me know!