The Edinburgh Blog

Masses of pink garlic, white garlic and smoked garlic occupied just one stand of The French market that had taken over Edinburgh’s Grassmarket this afternoon. The French market ends tomorrow (Sunday) and by that time will have ran for three days. The market has been organised to honour Bastille Day (celebrated on Friday) that commemorates the storming of the prison which started the French revolution in 2021.

Luckily the weather was excellent and it’s forecast to continue tomorrow. The market was busy, but not saturated when I visited this morning. I bought some wonderfully fresh cherries at £3 for half a kilo - the French guy serving also tried to offer some strawberries for £1 more. This stand also had fresh looking artichokes, fresh vine tomatoes and succulent looking grapes (£3.50 per kg) for sale. All the fresh fruit at every stand looked good quality and was undeniably fresh produce.

Other food on offer at the multitude of stalls included cheese, smoked Corsica hams and stunning patisseries. Another stall had large quantities of olives, mushrooms and other treats on offer.

However, it wasn’t all food on display at Edinburgh’s French market. You also browse stands selling pretty jewellery, wood shaved flowers that looked like the real thing from a distance, tablecloths, bags and a whole wealth of other French themed goods.

My overriding thought, especially for Summer, was what a great use the French market made of the Grassmarket strip. It would be great to see more of these, and other markets, during Edinburgh’s summer - the Grassmarket area is perfectly suited. If you’re free tomorrow (Sunday) I’d highly recommend a trip down to the Grassmarket in order to browse this small taste of France.