If there's one thing I love doing in any city I visit, it's getting to know the Municipal market, there is no better place to absorb all the culture and see the roots of the people and the region up close.
In Sergipe could not be otherwise, the Aracaju Municipal Market it is very rich in details from fruits, typical foods and seasonings to clothing and handicrafts. The Aracaju Municipal Market is located in the center of the city in an extensive area called Market Square because they were not satisfied with just one market and today there are three, the Antônio Franco, Thales Ferraz and Albano Franco, one glued to the other so you don't waste time and get to know them all at once. The markets in Aracaju they are not only frequented by tourists but also by the locals themselves, especially the fruit and food market, always fresh and at a great price.
Aracaju Municipal Market: culture and typical foods that you need to know!
Okay, but why three markets? Because each one is focused on a specialty. O Antônio Franco is focused on handicrafts and clothing (it's also where the Casserole restaurant), O Thales Ferraz has all typical Northeastern products such as tapioca, cured cheese, brown sugar, chestnuts and several others and the Albano Franco is a big fruit fair, vegetables, greens, meat and fish.
You will probably enter through Antonio Franco Market and here you will find everything you can imagine in handicraft items, many lace towels, embroidered (I brought a beautiful one for mamys at a great price), straw objects, bags and leather sandals, these sandals are inspired by the ones used in the cangaço and some are super fashion like these colored (photo below), pictures of the city, fun toys for kids, hats and much more, the variety of items in this market is huge.
This corridor connects with the next market but first you'll go through the flower walkway, with different types of flowers and plants and also for the cordel stall, which is part of Sergipe culture. Your Firmino he was the biggest cordelist in the region and is a well-known character, although he is now deceased, his family still maintains the tent with several successful cordéis. It's really worth a visit there.
Then we find the Thales Ferraz Market and it's that moment when you will try all the delights of Aracaju and want to take everything home hahahaha. Tapioca flour is super fresh and worth buying a bag to take home (even because the price is tempting), and don't forget to try the wet kiss, the kid's foot (which has nothing to do with what I knew made of peanuts) and the fool which are a delight. Here you can also find all the spices and herbs for teas as you can imagine, even herbs to bring the loved one in 7 days exists hahahaha (truth!!!)
My favorite place was the store holy brothers, the most traditional dairy shop on the market. The variety of seasoned cheeses is huge and all very tasty, the cashews are also delicious and I couldn't resist and brought some bags home, from the savory ones to the sweet and caramelized ones, I just had to try the one with pepper, which unfortunately was out of stock but I thought the combination brown with pepper should work very well!! Other than that, there are several types of butter cookies, sweets and cakes in pots, such as cashew cake and also bottled butter and cachaças. Here you can have a party for little money.
To finish the tour of the Municipal Market of Aracaju (actually the markets, lol), we arrived at Albano Franco Market which is a large warehouse that sells fruits, some typical of the region such as mangaba and cashew, as well as fresh vegetables and meats, poultry and fish.
Here you can also find stalls of peppers, pepper sauces and many cachaças with funny names, I thought it was a great idea to take and gift to friends !! This market is not very touristy, I believe it is more frequented by locals, but it's still worth a stop.
If you have a trip to Aracaju, be sure to visit the Municipal Market, it is very interesting even if you have no intention of shopping.
Oh and this is also where the Forró Cashew you knew ? Among the markets is Hilton Lopes Square which is a huge space that hosts the most traditional and popular party in town. This year Forró Caju takes place from the 18th to the 29th of June and has several attractions, including Wesley Safadão !!