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As Spain’s capital, Madrid contains every kind of shop imaginable, from excellent fresh food markets like the lovely Mercado de San Miguel, to tiny, old-fashioned shops which haven’t changed in decades, to grand glitzy shopping malls where you can get everything you want under one roof. It’s also kitsch-lovers’ heaven with a dazzling array of fabulous tack. As a general guide, you can find almost anything you want in the streets around Calle Preciados in the centre: department stores, chain stores, individual shops selling everything from hams to traditional Madrileño cloaks. The northwestern neighbourhoods of Argüelles and Moncloa, particularly Calle Princesa, are also good for department stores and fashion chains. The kiosks on Puerta del Sol have international newspapers. Smart Salamanca has plenty of designer fashion boutiques and interior decoration shops at prices to make you gasp. Chueca is full of hip, unusual fashion and music shops as well as the shoe-shoppers’ heaven along Calle Augusto Figueroa.
Most shops open around 1000 until 1300 and then reopen about 1600 until 2000 or 2100. Large chain stores, department stores and shopping malls usually stay open all day and some don’t close until 2200. Some smaller shops will only open Saturday morning, while almost all shops, including supermarkets, are closed on Sundays – worth remembering if you are only here for the weekend.
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