Mercado de Nazaret: pomegranate

Natzaret is a working maritime neighbourhood south of the port, between the old Turia riverbed and the sea. It isn't on any tourist route, and its municipal market is a small one — a handful of stalls that open in the morning for the people who live there. That sets the tone: this is a neighbourhood morning, not a food festival.

What a Mercafesta is

València's municipal markets run these mornings around a seasonal product: a workshop, activities for children, and the stalls selling the fruit in question. This one is free and takes up the morning; check the exact hours on the official listing, because Spanish markets shut in the early afternoon and there's no second chance that day. Bring some cash — small stalls still prefer it.

"Granada" means pomegranate, and it reaches Valencian stalls at the end of summer. The trick worth learning: don't halve it. Cut the crown off, score the skin along the pale ridges inside, then open it like a flower — the seeds come out whole and nothing squirts. That's exactly the kind of thing these workshops teach.

Getting to Natzaret without a car

Metro line 10 ends at Natzaret and starts from Alacant station in the centre — a few minutes, and by far the simplest route. City buses also serve the neighbourhood, and by bike you can follow the riverbed down to the coast. Parking is easy by València standards, but the tram-train saves the detour.

Around it

Pinedo beach is just south and near-empty on a September weekday. With kids, this fits the list of free things to do with children. If markets are your thing, the Central Market is the opposite extreme in scale — compared in València's markets, alongside what to eat in València.