11 Best Places to Go Shopping in Madrid

Plaza Mayor is a large square where you can find cafés, quirky stores and diners underneath the porticoes of Spanish Baroque buildings. It’s a great place to admire the incredible architecture. Grab a local bite from a quaint eatery and pick up souvenirs from historical shops such as Casa Yustas, a hat store that’s been operating since 1896.

Plaza Mayor hosts events throughout the year, including a Christmas Market with over a hundred stalls during the festive season. Several metro stations are within a 10-minute walking distance of this famous square, including Sol, La Latina and Opera.

Madrid’s Mercado de San Miguel is a mecca for foodies, attracting around 10 million visitors a year. It has over a century of history and around 20 stalls serving a range of Spanish cuisine. Tapas and pub fare are the market’s main draws, but you’ll find tasty delights ranging from Iberian ham to Galician shellfish on offer.

The Mercado de San Miguel opens at 10 am daily and remains open until midnight on weekdays and 1 am on weekends. Wednesday tends to be the quietest day. Expect to jostle with crowds over lunch on weekends.

Calle Gran Vía stretches about 1.3 km and is one of the busiest shopping streets in Madrid. This is an upscale shopper’s paradise, where you can find flagship boutiques and high-end designer stores inside grand buildings. There’s also a vast selection of chain stores, including Lacoste, Zara and H&M.

Shopping aside, Calle Gran Vía is famous for its theaters, restaurants and 20^th-century revival architecture. It’s affectionally nicknamed ‘the Spanish Broadway’, so you can expect incredible urban views whether you visit during the day or at night. Getting there early comes highly recommended if you want to avoid the masses of sightseers.

At the Madrid Xanadú, you can combine one of Madrid’s best shopping experiences with activities ranging from bowling to mini-golf. There are also plenty of restaurants and a movie theater on top of over 220 stores, making it a great place to spend the day with the family. If you want more entertainment, you can go skiing on Spain’s biggest indoor ski slope.

Madrid Xanadú opens 7 days a week from 10 am to 10 pm, and it tends to be busiest during the evening. If you’re heading to this large mall for a spot of peaceful weekend shopping, we recommend arriving before lunch.

Calle de Fuencarral is a shopping street that stretches nearly a mile and is famous for its alternate fashion scene. Some of the bigger brands include Kipling, Diesel and GI Joe, but you’ll find plenty of lesser-known items from independent retailers and designers. You can also get yourself a lifelong memento of your Madrid visit by heading to a tattoo or piercing parlor.

While you’re here, check out cultural landmarks such as the Museum of History of Madrid, where you can see over 60,000 objects on display that detail the city’s past. The easiest way to reach Calle de Fuencarral by public transportation is to take the metro to the Bilbao station, which is less than a minute away on foot.

The El Rastro flea market is as much of a Madrid icon as it is a mecca for bargain hunters. The market has a history spanning over 500 years. Here, you’ll see second-hand goods ranging from antiques to vintage clothing being sold at anywhere between 700 and 3,500 stalls. It can attract 100,000 visitors every Sunday, but it’s worth jostling with eager shoppers just to soak up the traditional atmosphere.

If you’d rather beat the crowds, you should head to El Rastro early in the morning – around 8 or 9 am. Don’t be afraid to sip a daytime pint with some tapas to snack on during your visit – it’s something of a local tradition.

Serrano is one of the ritziest shopping neighborhoods in Madrid, more suitable for the high spenders than bargain hunters. Along this 3-km street, you’ll find plenty of flagship designer stores in buildings that resemble palaces, complete with striking interior designs and glitzy chandeliers. Serrano is also home to Madrid’s largest Zara store.

Even if you don’t quite have the budget to go on a shopping spree along Serrano, we highly recommend visiting this opulent street for a spot of window shopping. Head to El Corte Inglés to check out one of Madrid’s most prized department stores.

Las Rozas Village is the place to go if you want to find designer goods without the designer price tag. Over 100 stores are based at this outlet, many offering discounts of up to 60% on authentic clothing items. Just a few notable brands you’ll find at Las Rozas Village include Timberland, Ted Baker and Tommy Hilfiger.

You won’t usually have to contest with long queues if you visit this outlet mall on a weekday, but be prepared for some jostling if heading there on a Saturday evening. It takes about 30 minutes to reach Las Rozas Village from the center of Madrid by automobile or public transportation.

El Corte Inglés is Europe’s largest department store group, on top of being an icon of Madrid. But if you want to visit the flagship store, you need to head to Calle de Raimundo Fernández Villaverde, where you’ll find an El Corte Inglés complex that occupies 3 buildings. Inside, you’ll find brands ranging from Ralph Lauren to Nike.

Spain is home to over 80 El Corte Inglés department stores, with around a dozen or so located in the capital. If you want to experience one of Madrid’s most upscale shopping experiences, we recommend heading to Serrano, where you can browse goods at an El Corte Inglés as well as countless flagship designer stores.

Centro Comercial Islazul seamlessly blends a delightful shopping experience with its natural surroundings. Outside, you can find lush landscapes and water fountains while the mall’s interior features pathways lined with tropical trees. It’s also a sustainable building, thanks to initiatives like the use of clean and efficient technologies and promoting environmental awareness among its staff.

Centro Comercial Islazul houses many notable fashion and beauty brands, such as Yves Rocher, Bershka, Zara, Pandora, and Tous. Onsite entertainment options include Helm Movie theaters and Ilusiona Bowling. You can get to the shopping mall by automobile or public transportation.

COCOL is a boutique store in La Latina where you can purchase genuine handcrafted goods from talented Spanish creatives. Items on sale range from wool blankets and esparto baskets to heirloom ceramics. If you want a real memento of your Madrid visit rather than a knock-off souvenir, COCOL is the place to go.

COCOL is open 7 days a week, but you should remember that it closes between 3 pm and 5.30 pm. Just a 10-minute walk away is Madrid’s main square, Plaza Mayor, where you can pick up more souvenirs from historic stores hidden under porticoes.