Correction (1 October 2026): an earlier version of this page listed six “Epping” markets, with stall counts, street-food stalls, budgets, loyalty cards and “insider tips”, and said every option had been tested in person. None of those markets appears on any organiser’s or council listing we could find, and the in-person testing claim was not true. The page has been rewritten from scratch: every market below was checked against its organiser’s or the council’s own page on 1 October 2026, and nothing from the old page was kept.
Epping’s biggest market is one you can’t shop at. The Melbourne Market on Produce Drive is the state’s wholesale fruit, vegetable and flower market, and its own site says it “is a wholesale-only market and is not open to the general public”. It trades in the dark, from 3.30am, for registered businesses: greengrocers, florists, restaurants and the stalls at other markets.
So where does Epping actually go on market day? Not far. The City of Whittlesea’s own local markets page lists two markets, Pipeworks in Thomastown and the Whittlesea Monday Market, and neither is in Epping. Add a monthly lakeside market in Doreen and a brand-new Saturday market at RMIT’s Bundoora campus, and you have a market on every day of the weekend plus a Monday. No stall names, no stall prices, no guessed hours: just the day, the place and the hours each organiser or the council publishes.
The market calendar
| Market | Suburb | Market day | Hours | Open to the public? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne Market | Epping | Weekdays (fruit and veg); Tue, Thu, Sat (flowers) | 3.30am to 7am; Sat flowers 4.30am to 7.30am | No, registered buyers only |
| Pipeworks Market | Thomastown | Every Saturday and Sunday | 8am to 3pm | Yes |
| Whittlesea Monday Market | Whittlesea | Every Monday | 8am to 1pm | Yes |
| Laurimar Lakeside Community Market | Doreen | 2nd Sunday of the month | 9am to 2pm | Yes, free entry |
| Bundoora Community Market | Bundoora | Every Saturday | 8am to 1pm | Yes, free entry |
Melbourne Market — Produce Drive, Epping VIC 3076
This is the one people search for, so here it is straight. The Melbourne Market Authority calls it Victoria’s only wholesale fruit, vegetable and cut flower trading centre, and it moved to Epping from West Melbourne: the Victorian Government announced the 70-hectare Epping site in 2004, and trade finished at West Melbourne on a Friday and started at Epping the next Monday. The National Flower Centre sits on the same site.
Market day: fruit and vegetables Monday to Friday, 3.30am to 7am, excluding public holidays. Flowers Tuesday and Thursday, 3.30am to 7am, and Saturday, 4.30am to 7.30am. It is closed for the Melbourne Cup public holiday on Tuesday 3 November.
Who can buy: wholesale buying is open only to registered businesses. For flowers, the market’s own advice is that members of the public can buy them at their local florist.
The move: don’t drive over at 4am hoping to walk in. Buy its produce at a greengrocer or market stall, or its flowers at a florist.
Pipeworks Market — 5 Dunstans Court, Thomastown VIC 3074
The council calls Pipeworks “a staple in Melbourne’s North for over 35 years” that “has relocated to Thomastown”. It’s the weekend all-rounder: the council’s page lists fresh fruit and veg, bakery items, nuts and groceries, an international food court with takeaway from various cuisines, and stalls for clothing, footwear, homewares and gifts. If you want a feed and a browse on a Sunday, this is the one on the list that trades both weekend days.
Market day: every Saturday and Sunday, 8am to 3pm, per the market’s own site.
Cash or card: not stated.
The move: go for the food court and the fruit and veg, Saturday or Sunday morning.
Whittlesea Monday Market — Whittlesea Showgrounds, 30 Yea Road, Whittlesea VIC 3757
This one has history: the council says it started in Mernda in 1888, with local farmers driving their stock to sale on horseback. Now it runs at the Whittlesea Showgrounds with over 120 stalls, volunteer-run, selling fresh fruit and veg, plants, artisan breads, honey, eggs, clothing and more. Well-behaved pets on leads are welcome, parking at the showgrounds is free, and on school and public holidays the council lists animal farms and pony rides for the kids.
Market day: every Monday, 8am to 1pm, per the City of Whittlesea.
Cash or card: not stated.
The move: plants, eggs and honey on a Monday morning. It is the only public market on this list that trades on a Monday.
Laurimar Lakeside Community Market — Corner Hazel Glen Drive & Painted Hills Road, Doreen VIC 3754
Doreen’s monthly makers’ market. The council’s listing describes over 80 stalls of handmade crafts, artisan goods, gourmet treats, fresh produce, gifts and homewares, plus food trucks, with free entry. In the winter months it moves to Laurimar Primary School.
Market day: the second Sunday of every month, 9am to 2pm. Check October before you go: the council’s calendar skips straight to Sunday 8 November and Sunday 13 December and notes a Halloween event “to be confirmed”, while MarketsGuide lists Sunday 11 October. MarketsGuide also says the organisers cancel when the grounds are too wet for cars and trucks.
Cash or card: not stated.
The move: save it for a second Sunday and go for the handmade stalls and a food-truck lunch.
Bundoora Community Market — RMIT University Bundoora Campus, Corner of Clements Drive & Plenty Road, Bundoora VIC 3083
The new one. When we checked on 1 October 2026, MarketsGuide listed its launch as Saturday 3 October 2026, and the organiser’s own site sets it up as a weekly Saturday market in the P1 car park at RMIT’s Bundoora campus: fresh produce, specialty food, artisan goods, hot food and coffee. Entry and parking are free and it says dogs are welcome. It also has a tram stop: route 86, stop 70, Clements Drive / Plenty Road.
Market day: every Saturday, 8am to 1pm, rain, hail or shine, per the organiser.
Cash or card: not stated.
The move: the Saturday fruit-and-veg shop, with a coffee.
Quick answers
Is the Melbourne Market in Epping open to the public?
No. The Melbourne Market says it “is a wholesale-only market and is not open to the general public”. Wholesale buying is open only to registered businesses. The National Flower Centre on the same site is also wholesale only; the market’s advice is to buy its flowers from your local florist.
What are the Melbourne Market’s opening hours?
The fruit and vegetable market trades Monday to Friday, 3.30am to 7am, excluding public holidays. The National Flower Centre trades Tuesday and Thursday, 3.30am to 7am, and Saturday, 4.30am to 7.30am. It is closed for the Melbourne Cup public holiday on Tuesday 3 November 2026. These hours are for registered buyers only.
Is there a Sunday market near Epping?
Yes. Pipeworks Market at 5 Dunstans Court, Thomastown trades every Saturday and Sunday, 8am to 3pm. The Laurimar Lakeside Community Market in Doreen runs on the second Sunday of the month, 9am to 2pm; check its October date, which the council’s calendar does not list.
Is there a farmers’ market near Epping?
The City of Whittlesea’s local markets page lists no farmers’ market. For fresh produce, the Bundoora Community Market at RMIT’s Bundoora campus runs every Saturday, 8am to 1pm (MarketsGuide listed its launch as 3 October 2026); the Whittlesea Monday Market sells fruit, vegetables, eggs and honey every Monday, 8am to 1pm; and Pipeworks has fruit and veg on Saturdays and Sundays.
Is the Epping Night Market in Melbourne?
No. The Epping Night Market is at Boronia Park in Epping, New South Wales, in Sydney. It is not in Epping, Victoria.
How we checked
On 1 October 2026 we read each market’s own website or the City of Whittlesea’s own market and event pages, and copied the market days, hours and addresses exactly as published. We confirmed each address at a second, independent source (MarketsGuide or OpenStreetMap). The Melbourne Market’s access rules and hours come from the Melbourne Market Authority’s own pages; we used only text visible on those pages. Where the council and a listing site disagree, as on Laurimar’s October date, we say so rather than pick one. Nothing from the old version of this page is kept: none of its six markets appears on the council’s list or any organiser’s site we could find. We did not visit the markets, and markets change dates for weather and holidays, so check the organiser’s page before you go. The photos are illustrative, from Unsplash: they show the kind of market, not these markets.
Seen something out of date? Email [email protected] with the page link and what has changed, and we will check it again.
Sources
- Melbourne Market: buying and selling, trading hours, about, National Flower Centre, history, market events and address; location also at OpenStreetMap
- City of Whittlesea: local markets
- Pipeworks Market: pipeworksmarket.com.au and the council’s page; address also at MarketsGuide
- Whittlesea Monday Market: the council’s page; address also at MarketsGuide
- Laurimar Lakeside Community Market: the council’s event page and MarketsGuide
- Bundoora Community Market: visit us and about; launch date from MarketsGuide
- Epping Night Market (Epping NSW): AMA Markets and MarketsGuide
