Veliko Tarnovo Market
Discover the sights and smells of Veliko Tarnovo’s fruit and vegetable market on the VT Foodies Tour and wander around the stalls of fresh, homegrown produce. Season dependent, you can find an array of fruit, vegetables, dried fruit and homemade pickles from people who have harvested them from their garden. Choose what to buy for a picnic or snack for your travels!
Veliko Tarnovo Market location and opening times
The Veliko Tarnovo market is open every day (including weekends) from around 8AM until around 6PM or later. The exact times vary a bit depending on the season and weather. Generally, if it’s cold and miserable, the market opens later and closes earlier. And on beautiful days it’s often open much longer. Usually from around 9AM most sellers are there and things start to get livelier. And after around 4 or 5PM it starts to quiet down again.
You’ll find the market in the center of town on the corner of Bulevard Bulgaria and Bulevard Nikola Gabrovski. It’s easy to get to on foot, as it’s close to other sights in Veliko Tarnovo. And the town buses also frequent it. If you’re going by car you can park either below the market (in the car-park of the CBA supermarket), or on the roof of the stores adjoining the market. The first option – below the market – is 2 levs and hour, and for that you’re out of the weather, which is great on hot, sunny days or if it’s cold and rainy. And the second option – on the roof – is free for the first hour and 1 lev per hour after that (but you’re in full sun or rain).
How to get the best fruits and veggies?
Generally speaking you’ll find two kinds of sellers on the market: old grannies who grow everything themselves and more commercial traders. The commercial traders buy their fruits and vegetables in bulk and present them in the best kind of way to get you to buy them. This produce is not always different from what you can get in a supermarket – although it is usually fresher. The grannies that grow things themselves are a different story. They sell what they grow in their own gardens and often that’s very good quality: fresh and local, plus organic if you’re lucky. There’s lots of choice, so make sure you have a look around the market first before you buy your fruits and vegetables.