EE2 Shopping | Madrid | Spain

Madrid Shopping

Shopping

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

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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.