Madrid Shopping

The city is packed with small designer boutiques, renowned retailers and large shopping malls. Shopping is never far from reach in Madrid.

The city centre is also full of souvenir shops that sell from figurines to paella dishes and delicious Pata Negra ham. 

Best areas for shopping

There is nothing you can’t buy in Madrid! The city has countless shopping areas, and all have a unique touch about them, making it possible to find anything you’re looking for. These are some of the best shopping areas in Madrid:

• Gran Vía: Gran Vía is not only Madrid’s main thoroughfare, it is also packed with popular clothing stores, like Zara, Mango, Loewe, Primark, H&M and more fashionable high street shops. This is a pleasant area to shop because you’ll be surrounded by remarkable historic buildings. 
• Calle Fuencarral: Calle Fuencarral is considered by many as Madrid’s hub of modern fashion. It includes well-decorated and modern stores with shops such as Jack Jones, Sfera, Adolfo Dominguez, Adidas and New Balance. Parallel to Fuencarral is Calle Hortaleza. This street is less commercial but also offers very interesting stores.
• Calle Preciados: This pedestrian street starts at Puerta del Sol and is always packed with passers-by. Along with Calle del Carmen and Calle Arenal it makes one of the city’s most important commercial areas. It includes stores like El Corte Inglés, Fnac, Pimkie, Springfield and Zara.
• Calle Serrano: Located in the elegant neighbourhood of Salamanca, the Calle Serrano is flanked by splendid classical buildings. It is a high-end shopping street in Madrid with the most luxurious fashion brands such as Chanel, Gucci, Miu Miu, Carolina Herrera and Manolo Blahnik. This street is also called the “Golden Mile” of Madrid, a paradise for those that like high-end jewellery stores.
• El Rastro: The Rastro flea-market is over 400 years old. Every Sunday, numerous stands selling accessories, clothes, souvenirs, bags and many other curious objects come to life in La Latina district. It has become one of Madrid’s most popular tourist attractions.

Markets

Despite the passage of time, Madrid is full of traditional and buzzing food markets where the vendors treat their customers kindly. These are some of the most famous markets in Madrid:  

• Mercado de San Miguel (San Miguel Market): Situated in the historic centre, the San Miguel Market is a spectacular, historic covered market. Its numerous traditional stands offer fresh and high-quality products. This market is one of the city’s most popular places to visit, even offering delicious tapas.
• Mercado de la Paz: Located in the neighbourhood of Salamanca, the Mercado de La Paz is a traditional covered market established in 1882. Nowadays, it brings together the most traditional vendors for one of the most select districts in Madrid.
• Mercado de Maravillas: It is one of the largest municipal markets in all of Europe, with over 20,000 square meters. It has over 200 stands packed with fresh products.
• Mercado de San Antón: Established in 1945, the market quickly became a place to meet for tapas, despite it not being a particularly remarkable building. A few years ago, the whole market was renovated and is now a super hip market in Chueca, great for gourmet tapas and cocktails on its nicely decorated roof-top terrace.
• Salesas Village: On the first Saturday of each month, this neighbourhood is packed with stalls selling fashion, art, accessories, gastronomy, and decoration. More than 50 stalls from local artists fill the space between Santa Teresa and Campoamor.

Department stores

For those that prefer shopping in a shopping centre, these are the best shopping malls in Madrid: 

• ABC Serrano: It is located in the heart of the Salamanca and housed in the emblematic nineteenth century ABC building, this elegant mall used to be one of the trendiest in Madrid. Nowadays, it isn’t as popular, but it still has some interesting stores and outlets.
• Madrid Xanadú: Madrid’s most modern and innovative shopping centre has hundreds of stores and restaurants. one of the reasons for its popularity is its indoor ski slope.  
• Principe Pío shopping centre: This shopping centre is housed in an elegant neo-classical building where iron and glass elements combine perfectly with Art Decó and classical architecture. The structure was initially built to house the final station of the Madrid-Irún railway line.
• Las Rozas Village: The Rozas Village is an outdoor shopping centre. It is constructed like a small village with individual buildings housing the various stores. The Rozas Villages is an outlet store of high-end boutiques like Armani, Karen Millen, Liu Jo, La Perla and Escada.
• Dreams Palacio de Hielo: This shopping centre offers more than just shopping and good places to eat, as it houses a large ice rink where you can have fun ice-skating.

Save VAT!

Tourists from outside the EU can save the sales tax on certain products bought in Madrid. This is known as TAX FREE and can be applied to purchases over € 90 (US$ 96.20).

To do this, you should ask for a Tax Free receipt when paying, and then at the airport you can request the refund.