The Exotic Markets of Byron Bay Australia

The exotic markets of Byron Bay are a fanfare of culture, music and color ingenious art and craftworks, freshly-harvested and home-made produce; handy massages to soothes away your aches and pains. All this and much more greets you in the Markets of Byron Bay.

Also called the Style-Capital of the Northern Coast, Byron Bay is the easternmost beach-town of New South Wales, Australia and is located around 180 km south of Brisbane and around 780 km north of Sydney, just off the Pacific-Highway. This region is one of the major tourist attractions of Australia famous for its whale-watching, beach-surfing, scuba-diving, rural-beauty as well as a laid-back lifestyle.  The entire Byron Bay region comes alive on weekends with its exotic markets.

Grassy fields and annoying car parks are transformed into places of creativity and culture. The Byron Shire is one such huge social diversity and the Byron experience is incomplete without a visit to these striking markets. Apart from beautiful locally grown produce and exciting wares, these markets are also a way of experiencing and supporting the community.  While strolling through the stalls on weekend morning, you’ll encounter new age funkiness and great atmosphere and your ears are likely to hear the ‘music of the region’.

Byron Bay, Channon and Bangalow organize the biggest and the finest markets on the 1st, 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month respectively. For accommodation close to these regional markets, you can find a range of places to stay in the towns and villages around Byron Bay.

Monthly Arts & Crafts Markets

Byron Bay Markets:
Held in the Butler Street Reserve, the first Sunday of every month are the Byron Bay markets. With over 300 plus stalls, this is the region’s biggest market covering several acres. With a unique range of artisans, musicians, farmers, bakers, therapists, masseuses, craftsman and entertainers, these markets offers great break from Byron’s beaches and reveal another side of the town’s personality. Byron Bay’s market is one of the biggest in the area, selling a huge variety of unique exotic-imports, hand-crafted items, take-away and fresh-produce food. Premium quality jewelry, furniture, pottery, skin care products, candles and clothes – do take your time to discover.

Channon Markets:

Held on the second Sunday of each month and located just over an hour inland of Byron Bay, this is Australia’s oldest running art and craft market which showcases the rural beauty of the Lismore. Over 250 plus stalls throng the Channon markets every month. Carrying a strong concept of ‘make it, bake it, grow it’, these lay special emphasis on local products. Fortune tellers, spiritual healers, musicians are the hallmarks of this most colorful and vibrant markets of the country. The markets also offer a vast variety of arts and crafts, fresh produce and products, jewelry, things meant for kids, 2nd hand knick-knacks, delicious coffee as well as food stalls and therapeutic services, providing all the visitors a chance to be one on one with the scenery.

Bangalow Markets:

Renowned for their village-esque style beauty and held in the Bangalow showgrounds, the fourth Sunday of each month is the Bangalow markets. Bangalow are the best place to browse for wares from local jewelers, artists, food vendors and designers. And all these stalls rest under the shades of the large, old trees which towers over to create a picturesque shady utopia beneath. Live entertainment, rides, stilt walkers, jugglers and exotic food favors – all these are set under the beautiful camphor-laurel-trees shade at Bangalow-showground. The whole atmosphere gets addictive with African drums to Mozart’s classic while visitors take a leisurely walk to enjoy various arts & crafts scenery munching on a spring roll or licking their favorite ice-cream.

Mullumbimby Markets:

Nestled at the foot of Mount Chincogan and just twenty minutes north of Byron, the Mullumbimby markets are held on the third Saturday of every month at the end of Stuart Street in the heart of the town. “Mullum” Museum Markets renowned for their productive artisans, fine-artists and crafts-folk, have managed to maintain their mellow vibe, showcasing a unique fusion of rural and alternate lifestyles.

Weekly Farmers Markets:

In addition, there are many weekly farmers markets. This is an old idea of a market to support local growers and feed the visitors as well as townsfolk with fresh, organic, locally-grown food. A perfect way to start the day with, it’s an uplifting experience chatting with the vendors, hand picking fabulous flowers, fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices and enjoying a strolling breakfast of freshly baked pastries and tantalizing organic coffee. Visitors can relish sugar-cane juiced onsite, prawns farmed in the River Ballina, beef from the hills behind Byron as well as raw honey, olives and fresh cheese. You can enjoy the music of locals and feel blessed by help and support to the local growers and community in making these markets sustainable for the long term. So whenever you visit this portion of the planet, do save some time of your schedule for an early morning stroll around these farmers markets, sipping on a special blend of home grown tea or a day at one of the art and craft markets listening to music, meeting people and experiencing the Byron way of life.

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About The Author: Mary Brown was born in 1986 in Sydney. She has 6+ years of experience in handling luxury resort properties. She is also an editor to many travel magazines and currently she is working with Hotel.com.au. She has been dedicated to excellence and earned a reputation among his peers as a premier trouble-shooter in the hotel industry.
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