Saturday 28 September 2013

Royan's Sunday Market

The Sunday market in Royan is colourful, vibrant and packed with stalls selling all manner of goods.

We came upon it by chance when on a day out the other weekend and we were very glad we'd found it. 

There are outdoor stalls arranged around the indoor market, which is famous architecturally for its design, serving as a model for the market of Nanterre and as the CNIT of the Defence near Paris. Built in 1955 by the architects Louis Simpson and Andre Morisseau and the engineer Rene Darger, it is a round shell in reinforced concrete eight centimetres thick. At 52.40 metres in diameter and 10.50 metres high, it rests on thirteen peripheral support points without any internal pillar.
The form of the exterior can just be seen in the background of this photo..

Fascinating as this all is, we were more captivated by the colour and buzz of the outside area. 

The fresh flowers displayed to perfection by the owner of this stall...

The fruit and vegetables competing with the supermarkets on price; not all uniform in shape and size but fresh,  full of flavour and making the most colourful and tempting display..

The freshest seafood alongside a stall selling gladiolii...

It really was a feast for the senses and guaranteed to whet the appetite.... or was that just the fresh sea air??

The market in Royan is held every morning except Monday.

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