Get ready for a sensory overload at the Municipal Market (Mercado Municipal de Campinas). Wander between hundreds of stands, sample regional delicacies and purchase ingredients to take home and cook. The Municipal Market is popular among the city’s restaurant owners, who you can often see engaging in animated negotiations with the vendors. Opened in 1908, it is Campinas’ longest-operating retail center.
Before setting foot inside, take time to admire the Moorish Revival-style architecture of the market’s building. It’s the work of the city-born architect Francisco de Paula Ramos de Azevedo, who also designed São Paulo’s Municipal Theater. The original purpose of the building was as a railway warehouse for storing goods to be transported to the Port of Santos. The outdoor section was once a boarding platform.
Make your way around the 143 shops and stands, of which 98 are indoors and 45 outside. Linguiças (sausages) made from beef, chicken and pork hang from the stands of butchers and delicatessens. Smell the intoxicating aromas of fresh herbs and spices, spot abundant varieties of dried beans and admire the vivid colors of exotic fruits and vegetables. The outdoor section is where you’ll find the fishmongers.
The market’s lanchonete (fast food stands) are great places to watch the action unfold. Sit at the bar, order a coffee or a cold beer and fill up on a selection of salgados (baked or fried savory snacks). Pick up a souvenir bottle of cachaça, which is a sugarcane liquor used to make a caipirinha.
Situated in downtown Campinas, the market is a short walk from other major city attractions such as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Campinas. The city’s main bus terminal is a 10-minute drive to the west. Parking is limited in the area, therefore it is advisable to arrive on foot, public bus or taxi.
The Municipal Market is open daily. Bring your camera as there are plenty of opportunities to snap memorable photographs. Pickpockets have been known to operate here so be careful with your belongings.
