Toronto's downtown St. Lawrence Market earned an international vote of confidence on Wednesday when it was named the best food market in the world by National Geographic.

The 200-year-old landmark ranked above New York's Union Square Greenmarket and St. Lucia's Castries Market in a list of the 10-best food markets from around the globe.

A short blurb on National Geographic's website credited the farmer's market emporium for playing an integral role in the city's old town neighbourhood.

St. Lawrence Market was founded in 1803 and, for a time beginning in the 1830s, operated as Toronto's town hall.

St. Lawrence Market hosts more than 120 vendors and merchants selling everything from Italian pasta and seafood to fresh produce, cheeses, curries and marmalades.

Rebecca Grima, marketing and community consultant of St. Lawrence Market, said she was thrilled the market was included on the list.

"St. Lawrence Market is engrained within our city's culture. It has helped build the neighbourhood," Grima told CTVToronto.ca on Wednesday. "When you look at all the merchants and the vendors in the market – it is so multicultural. You have almost every single nationality in there, and I think it is a great representation of Canada."

The complete list of National Geographic's top ten food markets: