Birmingham markets: a guide

Birmingham's markets are on Edgbaston Street, B5, at the foot of the Bullring, and they have been trading on or near that spot for nearly nine centuries. Three sit side by side: the Indoor Market for fish and meat, the Open Market for fruit and veg, and the Rag Market for fabric, clothes and everything else. Go on a Saturday morning for the full show, or a Tuesday if you want room to move. Then, once a month, the suburbs take over: Kings Heath on the first Saturday, Moseley on the last.

Where it all started

The city was a market before it was much of anything else. Peter de Bermingham obtained a market charter from Henry II in 1154, and a wide marketplace grew up in front of St Martin's church. Charles Edge's Market Hall opened in 1835 with 600 stalls; it was gutted by an incendiary bomb in 1940 and the remains came down in 1963. The 1960s Bull Ring Centre that replaced it was not loved, and the current Bullring opened in 2003, with the traders working out of the Rag Market on Edgbaston Street while the old one was demolished.

Just down the hill, Smithfield Market opened on 29 May 1817 on the site of the old manor house and its moat, built for £3,223 and, usefully, getting the farm animals off the streets. A second hand market called the Rag Fair ran there until 1957. When the council moved the wholesale trade in the 1960s, the markets took the Bull Ring's name and Smithfield's faded. The old site is now the Moat Lane car park.

Bull Ring Indoor Market

This is the one for fish. The Indoor Market at 50 Edgbaston Street is known for one of the biggest fresh fish and seafood selections in the country, with butchers, poultry, exotic fruit and veg, clothing and household goods around it. It is the only one of the three open on a Monday: Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5.30pm, closed Sundays and bank holidays. Bring cash as a back up, a bag that can take a bit of ice melt, and ask the fishmonger what came in that morning. They will tell you.

Bull Ring Open Market

Outside, next door, around 130 stalls of fruit, veg and fresh produce. Tuesday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, and Saturday 9am to 5.30pm. Prices are shouted, and late on a Saturday is when the traders want to clear the stall. This is how half of south Birmingham does its weekly shop, and it is still the best value fruit in the city.

The Rag Market

The Rag Market is the big shed between the other two: around 350 stalls of fabric, fashion, haberdashery, gifts and household goods, with street food at the edges. It opens Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 9am to 5pm, and Saturday 9am to 5.30pm, so not Wednesdays. Come for fabric by the metre, retro clothing, gifts and the household bits you cannot find anywhere else.

It is also where Birmingham shops second hand. Visit Birmingham's profile of stallholder George is a good example: he runs Wintage, a vintage clothing stall of 80s denim jackets, 70s shirts and Y2K streetwear, and took over from his dad, who traded here for nearly four decades. Plenty of the stallholders are second or third generation. Ask before you haggle, and haggle politely.

Kings Heath Farmers' Market

First Saturday of the month, 9am to 2pm, on Kings Heath Village Square at the top of the High Street, B14. The Kings Heath Business Association started it in May 2006, and by its tenth birthday it had over 25 stallholders a month, with money raised going to the All Saints Centre. Expect bread, cakes, eggs, cheese, fruit and veg from local producers, then a coffee on the High Street.

Moseley Farmers' Market

The last Saturday of every month, in the heart of Moseley Village, B13. Moseley Farmers' Market has been part of village life for over 25 years, with up to 60 independent stalls. It is community run as a Community Interest Company, accredited as a real farmers' market by the Farm Retail Association, puts its money back into local causes, and has been named Best UK Farmers' Market four times. Stalls line Alcester Road and the green; the pies and cheese go first, so do not leave it until lunchtime. The Moseley Arts Market usually runs alongside with crafts.

Red Brick Market, Digbeth

Not a market in the old sense, but it shops like one. Red Brick Market at 119 Floodgate Street, in Deritend, B5, is an indoor hall of independent stalls: vintage clothing, antiques, homeware, sustainable fashion and one off pieces. Stallholders do not have to staff their stalls; you take what you want to a central desk and pay on the way out. It started in Liverpool and came to Birmingham later. Open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm, and Sunday 10am to 5pm, which makes it the rainy Sunday answer.

The Christmas market

In November and December, the Frankfurt Christmas Market fills Victoria Square and New Street with bratwurst, pretzels, roasted almonds and glühwein. We will cover it properly in our Christmas guide, nearer the time.

How to do it

• Getting there: the Bull Ring markets are a short walk downhill from New Street and Moor Street stations, through the Bullring.
• When: Saturday is busiest and best for atmosphere; weekday mornings are calmer. Check the days: the Rag Market shuts on Wednesdays, and only the Indoor Market opens on Mondays.
• Bring: cash, your own bags and a cool bag for the fish.
• Combine: the Indoor Market and Open Market for the food shop, then the Rag Market for a browse, then up into Digbeth for Red Brick Market and lunch.

Hours do change, especially around bank holidays, so check with the city council's markets team before a special trip. And go hungry: you will be walking past samosa stalls all morning.