The 10 markets we would build a morning around, from the Ottoman lanes of the Grand Bazaar to the fish counters of Kyoto, and the city guide that gets you there.
We ranked these ten as places to spend a morning: by age, by size, and by how much of each still serves the people who live there. That last test is why the oldest working souks sit at the top and the most photographed food hall sits at the foot.
The Ottoman original: its stone bedesten went up under Mehmed II between 1455 and 1461, and some 60 covered streets grew around it. Closed on Sundays, so come on a weekday morning and leave through the hans behind it, where the workshops are.
A 9th-century medina on the UNESCO list since 1981, where goods still move by mule because no car fits the lanes. Each souk keeps to its trade, from the dyers to the Chouara tannery; hire a licensed guide for the first morning.
Laid out in 1650 by Jahanara, Shah Jahan's daughter, and still one of India's largest wholesale markets. Most of it shuts on Sundays; take the Metro to Chandni Chowk and walk west to Khari Baoli, the spice market.
Named for the emir Jaharkas al-Khalili, who built a caravanserai here in 1382, and rebuilt by Sultan al-Ghuri in 1511. The lanes by the square sell souvenirs; the gold market of el-Sagha and the spice shops behind them still serve Cairo.
One of the first places UNESCO proclaimed a Masterpiece of oral heritage, in 2001, for its storytellers, musicians and healers. Walk the souks to its north by morning and come back at dusk, when the food stalls go up.
Mexico City's largest traditional market, its Nave Mayor hall opened in 1957 and still stocked for the city's kitchens, not its visitors. Go early with a plan for the chile and mole stalls, and keep valuables out of sight.
On its present site beside London Bridge since 1756, after Parliament closed the older street market in 1754. It feeds visitors as much as cooks now, so come on a weekday morning, before the lunch queues.
About 130 shops along one narrow arcade, many run by the same families for generations; its official record starts in 1615, when the shogunate licensed three fish wholesalers here. Eat at the stall where you buy, as the street asks.
Bangkok's weekend market, on this site since its move from Sanam Luang in 1982, with thousands of stalls in numbered sections. Go at opening on Saturday or Sunday and note your section number; by noon the aisles are hot and full.
Recorded since 1217, when meat tables stood at the city gate, and under its iron roof since 1914. The front stalls on La Rambla sell to visitors; walk to the back for the fish counters and a stool at a bar. Closed on Sundays.
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