Victoria Market

Victoria Market Victoria Market is teeming with fruits and vegetables and is a great place for a stroll any day of the week. © René Mattes

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The head chefs from the many hotels on the islands regularly visit Victoria Market in search of vegetables - such as calabashes, various fruit, spices, chilli peppers, and fish to use in their cooking. Open daily, it's great to wander around the market and admire the abundance of papayas, tamarinds, pineapples, jackfruits, bananas, mangoes, pomegranates, sentuls, melons, guavas, lychees, and even wax apples on offer. Once you've left the market, you'll know everything there is to know about the origin and preparation of these tasty sun-drenched fruits. Built in 1840 at the heart of old Victoria, the true centre of the city, this authentic and colourful market nicknamed the 'Bazaar' was entirely renovated in June 1999. Laid out in the shade of a giant mango tree, the stalls exuding the smells of a thousand different spices are overflowing with all sorts of fish, including bourgois, job, hogfish, moonfish, and other varieties that demonstrate the sheer generosity of the ocean in these parts. You'll also notice the ever-present white herons (nicknamed 'Madame Paton') lying in wait for any scraps of fish left behind by the fishmongers. The market is certainly very picturesque and is particularly lively on Saturday mornings. Don't miss it if you make it to Victoria; it's the perfect opportunity to familiarise yourself with the ingredients in the dishes you will be eating during your stay, and also to soak up the extraordinary ambience.