The best farmers markets in Canada

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fruit and vegetables

The best farmers markets in Canada


In Canada, the trend towards locally produced food is establishing itself. Fresh fruits and vegetables from farmers in the region are naturally ripened and tastes different than products that have a long journey and an artificially interrupted maturation time behind them. In addition, you save the enormous transport costs and protect the environment, because the long transport routes are eliminated. More and more Canadians appreciate this, and throughout the country there are farmers' markets offering apples, pears, grapes, tomatoes, carrots, cabbage and potatoes from nearby fields as well as home-made products such as honey, butter, cheese, jam, Cider and the like.

 

Farmers Markets in Canada Fruit from the Public Market in Vancouver
Fruit from the Public Market in Vancouver

 

There are countless farmers' markets in Canada

A walk to the weekly market is natural for many Canadians today. And the local specialties that are offered there can be seen. Many of them have already won international awards and are often used by Canadian chefs as ingredients for their dishes. Therefore, do not miss the visit of a farmers market on a trip to Canada, because nowhere else you can try the regional specialties better.

The best farmers markets in Canada

You do not necessarily have to be in a big city to visit a Canadian farmers market. They are everywhere in the country and they are universally popular. The best and best known are presented here:

  • The Public Market on Granville Island in Vancouver

Between art galleries, restaurants, breweries and craft shops, the Public Market is located on Granville Island in Vancouver. Those who come here experience a feast for the senses: at the fruit stalls fresh strawberries and raspberries from the Fraser Valley as well as juicy grapes and apples from the orchards in the Okanagan Valley beckon. At the fish counters orange-red salmon shines as well as crabs and oysters from the coast of Vancouver Island. The homemade charcuterie from Vancouver Island's butchers comes from Cowichan Valley cattle, and the cheese is made there from their milk. These include locally produced wines from the Okanagantal or Vancouver Island as well as fresh cider from specialty growers such as the Saanich Peninsula north of Victoria. If you want to explore the Public Market in more detail, you can do so on a tour with a chef.

 

Imaginative tea creations from the Byward Market
Imaginative tea creations from the Byward Market

 

  • The Byward Market in Ottawa, Ontario

Below the Parliament Hill in Ottawa is the old town on the other side of the Rideau Canal. In the center is the Byward Market with its cobbled streets and market buildings, surrounded by countless small specialty shops offering an incredible selection and variety of cheeses, spices, tea blends, bread products and other delicacies. For a stroll on the Byward Market you should definitely bring one: hungry! Because the products on offer let the visitor run the water together in the mouth, and what is more beautiful than if you can stretch out your arms and regret it to your heart's content in front of such an epicurean overabundance. C'est bon cooking offers highly informative guided tours of the culinary mecca of the Canadian capital.

 

The facade of the first townhall in the St. Lawrence Market
The facade of the first townhall in the St. Lawrence Market

 

  • The St. Lawrence Market in Toronto, Ontario

This market is an institution in downtown Toronto. It is one of the most famous farmers markets in Canada and is located in the center of Toronto's old town, reminiscent of European market buildings with its fish, meat, fruit and bread stalls in front of the brick facade of Toronto's first town hall, now part of the St. Lawrence Market , Already at 1803, the North Market offered the products of local farmers, a tradition that continues with the farmers' market held every Saturday there. On Sundays there is an antique market. Every day except Mondays, the South Market is open with its 120 stalls offering fruit, meat, fish, baked goods, dairy and cereal products. And here too, the market can be expertly shown by Bruce Bell, who knows the market - and Toronto - like no one else.

 

Fruit from the Ile d'Orleans at the farmers market in Quebec
Fruit from the Ile d'Orleans at the farmers market in Quebec

 

  • The Marché du Vieux-Port de Quebec

The shores of the St. Lawrence River and the Ile d'Orleans, near Quebec City, provide the excellent and diverse products you can buy at the Farmers Market on the Old Port of Quebec. It is best, of course, if you try them directly at the producer and get involved in a chat with him, but who does not have the time for a long Tour of the Ile d'Orleans or for a visit to the farms on the north bank of the St. Lawrence River, you can taste the excellent products of this region in the market halls at the Old Port of Quebec: tasty Cassis, where you can immediately go through a variety of recipes as soon as you take a sip of it tried; delicious apple butter, which makes you taste the freshly baked bread even better, which you bought at the neighboring bread stall; or the glass of wine from the only winery in the Ile d'Orleans that makes every fish dish taste even better. Also this market can be distinguished from one of the city guides of Quebec * let show.

 

"Urban Farming" in the market building in Halifax
"Urban farming" in the market building in Halifax

 

  • Halifax Farmers' Market in Nova Scotia

This market has been around since 1750, making it the oldest farmers' market in North America. In 2010 he moved from the Keith's Brewery building on Lower Water Street in Halifax to a brand new light-filled building on the waterfront at Pier 20 right next to the cruise ship terminal in the Port of Halifax, during the construction of which special emphasis was placed on keeping the environmental impact of the market as low as possible. The market itself became more or less “green”. And that in the truest sense of the word: not only does the building consume 85% less energy and 50% less water than the energy-efficient houses customarily built in the country, part of its walls are even planted vertically, providing a good example of "urban farming". new trend in North America. The market stalls - which are particularly busy on Saturdays - offer the best that Nova Scotia has to offer: fresh mussels delivered directly from the farmer, juicy fruit from the Annapolis Valley, delicious jams, juices and wines direct from the farm producer.

Want to know what to do in Halifax? Travel Lemming gives tips.


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Source: own on-site research courtesy of Tourism BC, Tourism Ontario, Bonjour Quebec and Tourism Nova Scotia

Text: © Monika Fuchs, TravelWorldOnline
Photos: © Copyright Monika Fuchs, TravelWorldOnline

The best farmers markets in Canada

Monika Fuchs

Monika Fuchs and Petar Fuchs are the authors and publishers of the Food and Slow Travel blog  TravelWorldOnline. They have been publishing this blog since 2005. TravelWorldOnline has been online since 2001. Their topics are trips to Savor, wine tourism worldwide and slow travel. During her studies Monika Fuchs spent some time in North America, where she - partly together with Petar Fuchs - traveled to the USA and Canada and spent a research year in British Columbia. This intensified her thirst for knowledge, which she satisfied for 6 years as an adventure guide for Rotel Tours and then for 11 years as a tour guide for Studiosus Reisen around the world. She was constantly expanding her travel regions, but curiosity still gnawed at her: "What's beyond the horizon? What else is there to discover in this city? Which people are interesting here? What do they eat in this region?" As a freelance travel journalist (her articles have appeared in DIE ZEIT, 360° Canada, 360° USA, etc.), she is now looking for answers to these questions as a travel writer and travel blogger in many countries around the world. Petar Fuchs produces the videos on this blog as well as on YouTube. Monika Fuchs from TravelWorldOnline is among Germany's top 50 bloggers in 2021. Find more Information about Monika and Petar Fuchs here.