Going to the local market when we visit a foreign city is something we all love to do. More people visit them in one day than all the city's art museums put together. Markets attract us for their colours, smells, people, sounds and taste.

Going to the local market when we visit a foreign city is something we all love to do. In Barcelona more people visit La Boqueria food market in one day than all the city's art museums put together. Markets attract us for their colours, liveliness, smells, people, sounds and taste. The great diversity of people and products that can be found in a market gives an idea of richness and stimulates our five senses. Contact with food in a market triggers our taste buds. Through the market we can meet the producers and appreciate the freshly harvested products. We understand what is in season and what the region can offer. Budapest, Vienna, Torino, Lyon and Barcelona all have a bustling central food market. In the Belly of the City explores these markets, their products, their people.

Without a doubt, the local open-air food markets are a city's most elaborate and lively system--and above all--one of its greatest tourist attractions. Buzzing with radiant energy, striking colours, noises, voices--and most importantly--fresh and plentiful agricultural and dairy produce, food markets are a prime destination for the adventurous visitor with a refined interest in food. From Barcelona and Vienna to Lyon and Turin, and from Firenze to Amsterdam and Helsinki, all food markets share one thing in common: they are the city's belly and the best place for an exciting gastronomic tour.—Nick Riganas