A Foodie’s Guide to The Best Fresh Produce Markets in Melbourne

This city is teeming with markets that have served discerning locals for generations. From north to south, residents’ favourite weekend ritual is to head for the stalls and leaf through the rich bounty on offer, returning home with delicious seasonal goods, and whipping up something special with their fresh produce. A foodie destination, a place to meet friends over fresh pressed juices and the perfect morning outing ­– we’ve eaten our way across the city to find you the very best fresh produce markets in Melbourne.

Take it from us, these spots are best visited on an empty stomach. 

Carlton Farmer's Market

A cheerful celebration of local food, Carlton Farmer’s Market is home to all of your pantry essentials including ethically produced meat, rich pressed olive oil, orchard fresh fruit and veg and moreish organic wines. Here, stallholders from across the state bring city slickers a slice of rural life, creating a personal and very special shopping experience.

First Saturday of every month from 8am to 1pm

Carlton North Primary School, 60 Lee Street, Carlton North

Collingwood Children’s Farm Farmers Market

Melbourne’s first ever farmers’ market is housed in the much-loved Collingwood Children’s Farm ­– a veritable paradise for city kids and their parents alike. What started as a small project to fund the upkeep of the farm, has since blossomed into a thriving award-winning market offering delectable seasonal fruit and vegetables, bread fresh from the oven, eggs, free range meat, dairy and poultry, pasta, sticky sweet jams and preserves, blooming flowers and much more.

Second Saturday of every month from 8am to 1pm

18 St Heliers Street, Abbotsford

Preston Market

At the centre of one of city’s most up-and-coming neighbourhoods, this popular northside market is a firm favourite. It is chock full of seasonal fruits and vegetables, artisan cheeses, organic meats, freshly made breads, supermarkets, and variety stores. Community spirit is high at the Preston Market, so expect to meet and mingle with all the talented producers and locals.

Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday 8am – 3pm, Friday 8am - 6pm

30A The Centreway, Preston

The Gasworks Farmers Market

Set in picturesque Albert Park, the Gasworks Farmers Market is the go to for fresh local produce, with everything from crunchy sourdough loaves to freshly laid free range eggs and homemade jams. Offering only seasonal home-grown harvest, this much-loved Saturday market operates on a simple philosophy. Namely that the goods are ‘grown, made and known by those who sell them and that the quality of produce is of utmost importance’.

Third Saturday of every month from 8am to 1pm

21 Graham Street, Albert Park

Dandenong Market

This laidback, family-friendly market is all about gourmet food and fresh produce. An eclectic line-up of stalls that offer a selection of eats from 156 different nationalities is mixed in among local producers. Located in Melbourne’s southeast, The Dandenong Farmer's Market lures visitors and locals alike, who come to nab their weekly fresh produce but stay for the tantalising aromas from the ready to eat food stalls, or a touch of boutique fashion and homewares shopping.

Tuesday, Friday and Saturday 7am – 4pm, Sunday from 9am – 4pm

Clow Street and Cleeland Street, Dandenong

Queen Victoria Market

Arguably Melbourne’s most iconic market, Queen Victoria Market has been serving the city for 139 years. With a deli section to rival the spoils of the Mediterranean, cavernous food halls and heritage fruit and vegetable sheds where ‘the banter is as fresh as the produce’ – the largest open-air market in the Southern Hemisphere is worth a visit for the buzzing atmosphere alone.

Tuesday - Friday 6am to 3pm, Saturday from 6am - 4pm, Sunday 9am - 4pm

513 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne

South Melbourne Market

Whether it’s grazing on gourmet fare or just the regular old weekly shop – there’s a reason South Melbourne Market has been a local institution since 1867. A mecca for foodies across the city, this community stronghold is home to a wide range of exquisite produce. Whether it’s exotic fruits and veggies (as well as those of the garden variety), steaming paella by the plateful or South Melbourne’s famous dim sims – you dream it, they’ve got it.

Wednesday - Sunday 8am - 4pm

Coventry and Cecil Street, South Melbourne

Hank Marvin Markets

Drawing its name from the British Cockney slang for ‘starving’, St Kilda East’s celebrated Hank Marvin Markets offer up a collection of some of Melbourne’s favourite food trucks alongside a carefully curated range of fresh produce stalls. A newer entrant onto the city’s established market scene, here traders of baked goods, fruit and veg, free range meat and more champion issues such as food provenance, responsible farming methods, seasonality and quality.

Every Saturday 9am - 3pm

Alma Park East, St Kilda East

Prahran Market

In the midst of one of Melbourne’s buzzing arts, culture and dining precincts is a true culinary icon. The ever-popular Prahran Market is home to an extensive line-up of seasonal produce, with fresh from the farm fruit and veg, sustainable seafood, free range meat, an impressive deli section and bountiful fresh produce – all cementing the neighbourhood as a premier foodie destination.

Tuesday - Saturday 7am - 5pm, Sunday 10am - 3pm

163 Commercial Road, South Yarra

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