After a brief stint shopping in central Madrid, she’s waiting for rideshare
Madrid Shopping & Dining
Madrid, the capital and largest city in Spain, is famous for taps bars, cafes, tabernas, fine restaurants, dance halls, and nightclubs. As you’ll quickly notice, the city is also a European capital for fashion and elegant shopping.
In addition to being the starting point for many of the city’s pedestrian streets, the area surrounding the Gran Via is the major shopping destination of Madrid. It hosts the flagship store of Spain’s biggest department store, El Corte Ingles. That landmark store is on Calle Preciados sells everything from shoes, electronics, and house products to bicycles, groceries, and insurance. Standalone bookshops, small shoe stores, music, and video stores, as well as gift and souvenir shops, are plentiful.
Upscale shoppers will find no shortage of designer shops in pedestrian-friendly central Madrid. You will find plenty of memorable boutiques and perfumeries choose from.
While wise shoppers can find great bargains in leather and ceramic goods in this shopping district, the broadest selection and best prices can be found at El Rastro, Europe’s largest flea market. Open only on Sundays from 7:00 am until 2:30 pm, flea market connoisseurs will find pure delight in the bargaining bonanza that spans ten street blocks in every direction around the Plaza de Tirso de Molina.
When they tire of walking, many tourists avoid Madrid’s endless traffic congestion and metered cabs to go underground to Madrid’s Metro trains. The second largest metro system in Western Europe, Madrid’s system is color coded and numbered, relatively cheap, clean, fast, and safe with easy-to-understand signage. Stations are clearly marked above ground with signs displaying a red diamond with “Metro” emblazoned on a blue background. The system works similarly to metro systems in Paris and Washington, DC.
Most Madrileños use Metro as they head out for an exciting evening of vibrant entertainment and succulent meals. Madrid’s nightlife begins late when the mind-boggling concentration of tapas bars, tabernas, restaurants, dance halls, and nightclubs come alive. Sidewalk tables along the narrow winding streets near Puerto del Sol and Plaza Mayor are full, even on chilly fall evenings. Most of the bars have standing-room-only spaces and people queue up at the nightclubs and theaters.
During the week, many Madrileño don’t head home until the Metro stops at 1:30 am. On weekends, many Spaniards stay up all night and create a 5 am traffic jam as they head home.
The ingredients for great Tapas in Madrid
Visitors will enjoy Madrid regardless of the time of the year. However, spring and fall are the more pleasant times to visit. Madrid is basically a dry city. Rain is rare and high heat in early summer does not seem as oppressive as some might expect due to the region’s low humidity. And with so many Madrileños on holiday during August, visitors will experience fewer lines and less traffic. The downside is that many of the bars and restaurants are closed.
Winter months can be quite cold with a dusting of snow for a brief couple of weeks. However, with such mild winters, many visitors choose Madrid shopping & dining for Christmas vacations.
