Shopping
The Salamanca district in the east of Madrid, and the area around Calle de Preciados - between Sol and Gran Vía - are the exclusive shopping areas. Designer names Chanel, Gianni Versace, Hermès, and the fluid fabrics and elegant cuts of Spanish designer Adolfo Domínguez are concentrated in the Ortega y Gasset. The flattering but expensive designs of Sybilla are displayed in the charming little courtyard, Callejón de Jorge Juan 12. In western Madrid, designer brands cluster in the Calles Almirante and Conde de Xiquena in Chueca. Calle Serrano is the smartest street, but still contains the eminently affordable Purificación García at number 28.
Madrileños are canny shoppers and know how to give a cheap dress an expensive allure - one trick is to add an exquisite shawl. Casa Jiménez, Calle de Preciados 42, is famed throughout Spain for its lace and embroidered shawls - mantones and mantillas. Bargains are to be found not only in the sales, which take place in January and July, but also in the reasonably priced Zara, Calle Carretas 6, and in Lefties, Calle Carretas 10 that sells Zara rejects at half price. Something of everything is for sale in the vast department store El Corte Inglés, whose largest branch is at Calle de Preciados 1-4.
The main area for antiques is Calle Ribera de Curtidores, with the Nuevas Galerías, at number 12, grouping a dozen shops in one arcade, and Galerías Piquer, at number 29, containing a whole cluster of antique shops. Bargains are more likely to be found at the Rastro, Madrid's flea market, also along the Ribera de Curtidores. The best buys are on Sunday before 0700 but shoppers should always beware of pickpockets in this area. Away from the crowds, it is worth seeking out the Huertas area where fine guitars are still made in workshops and sold alongside religious statuary, or paying a visit to a Seseña - maker of traditional Spanish capes for dashing young men. Traditional, heavy cloth capes are made at Calle de la Cruz 23, and cost about Pta70,000.
Madrid's shops, mostly friendly and air conditioned, are open 0930/1000-1330/1400 and 1630/1700-2030/2100 with major stores sometimes open on Sunday. Sales tax at 13.8% can be claimed back at the airport.
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