Ribera Market

Push open the heavy door, and the air changes at once. It smells of the sea, of fish laid on ice, of cured meat and fresh green herbs. Voices call out the day's prices. Knives tap against the wooden blocks. This is the Ribera Market, the great food hall on the river in Bilbao. Few markets sit so close to the water.

The market stands right on the bank of the Nervión. People have traded food on this spot for centuries. In earlier times, boats tied up here to unload their goods. The fish and produce moved straight from the water to the stalls. This riverside place gave the market its name. La Ribera simply means the riverbank. The name has stayed the same through all the years.

The building you see today was finished in 1929. The architect was Pedro Ispizua, a son of the city. He worked in a clean, modern style of his time. Long horizontal lines run along the outer walls. The whole shape seems to recall a great ship resting beside the water. It fits a city that long lived by the sea. Sunlight catches the pale stone along the front.

Step inside and lift your eyes to the windows. Tall panes of colored glass fill the hall with soft light. The glass shows simple shapes in warm, glowing tones. On a bright day, patches of color fall across the stalls and the floor. The light shifts slowly as the sun moves across the sky. This glass is one of the building's true treasures. Artists made the glass by hand, pane by pane.

The market spreads across several floors. Each level is given over to its own kind of food. One whole floor belongs to fish and seafood. The catch comes in fresh from the nearby coast each morning. Rows of fish lie waiting on beds of crushed ice. Their eyes are still clear, a sign of how fresh they are. Sellers call out the names of the day's best catch.

Another floor holds the meat and the cured goods. Whole cured hams hang in long, neat rows. Sausages, cheeses, and olives crowd the counters. The sellers will slice a thin piece for you to taste. They know their products well. They are always glad to explain where each one comes from. Many of these makers have worked here for years.

On other counters you find fruit and vegetables. The colors change with the turning seasons. Red peppers, green beans, and dark cherries fill the boxes. Much of this food is grown in the green hills around the city. It travels only a short way to reach these stalls. That is why so much of it tastes of the place. Ask the seller what is best right now.

For a long time, this was counted among the largest covered markets anywhere. Its great size matched the hunger of a growing city. Even today, the scale of the hall surprises many visitors. You can walk along the counters for a good while. Still, you may not see every single stall. Take your time and let yourself get a little lost. Every corner holds a different smell and color.

The market is far more than a place to shop. It is also a place to meet and to talk. Neighbors stop between the counters to share their news. Sellers greet their regular customers by name. Recipes and advice pass along the rows. In this way, the hall holds the daily life of the old town.

In recent years, part of the hall was given to small bars. Here you can taste the market's goods on the spot. Order a glass of local wine and a few pintxos. Ask for a plate of fish straight from the counters. The food travels only a few steps, from the stall to your hand. It could hardly be any fresher. This is food at its simplest and best.

Carry your food to a window seat, if you can find one. The river slides past slowly just outside. The old town rises on the far bank of the water. Bridges cross the river in long, low arcs. The market sits at the meeting point of the river and the streets. It has always lived between the two.

Before you leave, pause for a moment near the door. Behind you, the hall hums with trade, as it has for generations. The colored light still falls in patches across the stalls. People come, they choose, and they carry their food home. A market like this one feeds a city in more ways than one.