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Shopping
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Shopping districts in Madrid are pretty defined. The biggest range of stores are along Gran Via and around Puerta del Sol, which is where the
department stores
- such as El Corte Ingles - have their main branches. For
fashion
(
moda
), the smartest addresses are c/Serrano, c/Goya and c/Velazquez, north of the Retiro, while more alternative designers are to be found in Malasana and Chueca (c/Almirante, especially). The
antiques
trade is centred down towards the Rastro, on and around c/Ribera de Curtidores, or in the Puerta de Toledo shopping centre (Metro: Puerta de Toledo), while for
general weirdness
, it's hard to beat the shops just off Plaza Mayor, where luminous saints rub shoulders with surgical supports and fascist memorabilia. The cheapest, trashiest
souvenirs
can be collected at the Todo a Cien ("Everything at 100ptas") shops scattered all over the city. If you want international or speciality shops, head for Madrid 2, a huge hypermarket next to Metro: Barrio de Pilar or the upmarket ABC Serrano at c/Serrano 61 and Paseo de la Castellana 34 (Metro: Nunez de Balboa).
Most areas of the city have their own
mercados del barrio
- indoor
markets
, devoted mainly to food. Among the best and most central are those in Plaza San Miguel (just west of Plaza Mayor); La Cebada in Plaza de la Cebada (Metro: La Latina); Anton Martin in c/Santa Isabel (Metro: Anton Martin); behind the Gran Via in Plaza de Mostenses (Metro: Plaza de Espana); on c/Gravina in Chueca (Metro: Chueca); on c/Barcelo in Malasana (Metro: Tribunal); and Maravillas in c/Bravo Murillo 122 (Metro: Cuatro Caminos). The city's biggest market is, of course,
El Rastro
- the flea market - which takes place on Sundays in La Latina, south of Plaza Mayor. Other specialized markets include a second-hand
book market
on the Cuesta de Moyano, at the southwest corner of El Retiro. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Spain,
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