I love shopping around the world: Madrid

Even this month, here the space dedicated to shopping around the world. After Paris, now is the turn of Madrid, city symbol of the eclecticism, rich of hystory and art, of amusement and palces dedicated to shopping. The lovers of shopping will find in Madrid, surprisingly varied and stimulating. From shopping centers to little stores, from little markets to fashion streets, the city proposes purchases suitable to different tastes and budgets.

If a shopping session dedicated to biggest brands is what you want, perfect destinations are the districts Salamanca and Gorya, the spanish answer to french Champs Elysées: rich districts that host all flagships of the biggest brands present in the capital, famous jewelers, sophisticated boutiques and multi spaces dedicated to fashion shopping. The main streets are: Calle Claudio Coello, Calle Jorge Juan, Calle Lagasca.

In Calle Juan you can find the stores of: Pepe Gonzalez, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dolce and  Gabbana, Armani, Gucci, Kenzo and Cartier. Continuing for Calle de Jose Ortega y Gasset, you will find Swarowski, Montblanc, Prada, Luruena, Max Mara, Ermenegildo Zenga, Massimo Dutti e Loewe.

Chanel

The main brands of young fashion as Diesel, G-Star and Charartt, are located in Calle Fuencarral and surroundings. In this same area you will find the giants of sport clothing as Adidas, Puma and Foot Locker. 

If, instead, you are interested to a more moderate and low cost shopping, the best place to do shopping is Calle Preciados. Here the atmosphere is more sober and prices are more accessible confronting to the area Gorya/Salamanca. Certainly Calle Preciados is one of the most frequented streets of shopping of the capital, where you can find stores for low cost clothing like Deiguao, la Fnac, Camper, Oysho and Swatch, followed by Foot Locker, Atrezzo, Cortefiel, Bershka, Zara, H&M and Sfera. Sourrounding Calle Preciados, there's Calle Carmen where you will find stores like Pimkie, Coronel, Tapioca and Miss Sixty.

Other place to do shopping low cost is the Gran Via, that host the affiliated to Inditex group (Zara, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho...), and Sol district, that offers a large number of stores for every taste and every budget, the only ones to be open on sunday.

Pimkie

What makes Madrid even more surprising is, in my opinion, also its emerging districts, ideal for an eccentrical  and alternative shopping, which through you can take the creative spirit of the city, that are full of workshops and laboratories. The districts I'm talking about are: Chueca (that contains some of the most original stores of shoes of the entire city), Melasana and Triangulo Ballesta, ex red light district. In the Fuencarral area, that was a run-down area until a few years ago, there are alternative shops of almost unknown but very talented designers.
Here you can find clothes for every budget and original requirement. Among many shops, these are, in my opinion, the best: La maison de la lanterne rouge (4, Calle de la Ballesta), a store with vintage clothes and new spanish brands, extravagant accessories and retrò hats; Emiika Style (53, Corredera Baja de San Pablo), inside the Malasana district, in this shop they make T-shirts with a unique graphic; Mercado de Fuencarral (4, Calle de Fuencarral), this place contains shops and showrooms motivated by creativity of young designers. Here you can find everything, with a very unconventional style: clothes, accessories, jewels, tatoos, art objects, vintage clothing and hairdressers; Proxima Parada (25, Calle Piamonte), is a little shop with a unique content: the designers are Miriam Ocariz and Lydia Delgado, the coolest girls in the capital. Nothing strange if you'll see the princess Letitia Ortiz! Little gem: is twinned with Didier Ludot, a famous french boutique (I've talked about it here); David Delfin (1, Calle San Gregorio), is an other example of spanish creativity: clean and geometric lines and bright and lively colors. 

La maison de la lanterne rouge

Another way to do shopping in Madrid are certainly the commercial centers: El Corte Inglés, the great chain of department stores, that occupies many spaces in Madrid, sales everything: clothes, shoes, accessories, fragrances, cosmetics, electronics, music, books... whatever you're looking for is there for you, but with very expensive prices!  Valguardia, where you'll find many spanish and european labels; La Rozas Village, an outlet center for the main griffes and indipendent brands situated close to Sexta Avenida commercial center; El Jardin de Serrano, located in the heart of shopping of the city.

At last, how to not mention the markets of the Madrid. The biggest one is El Rastro, where you can find alternative, militar, ethnical  and used clothes. Every sundays among Calle Toledo, Ronda de Toledo and Calle Embajadores areas; Madrid Hippy, a viable alternative to boutiques and department stores around it, that offers clothes from Asia and India.

El corte ingles

A last advice to who, outside the EU, wants to go to Madrid. You remember that it's possible to get back the 17% of purchase price.

What to say? Madrid must be lived in its entirety and I hope, with this little guide, I was helpful. Hola mes amigos! See you next time with I love shopping in London!