Shopping

Seventeenth-century playwright Tirso de Molina called Madrid "a shop stocked with every kind of merchandise." That still holds true today, as an estimated 50,000 stores sell everything from high-fashion clothing to cheese and wine. The city hasn't totally sold out to colorless international franchises and still offers plenty of personal specialist shops -- mainly round the Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol -- selling a single product like espadrilles or flamenco guitars. That said, chains like the Corte Inglés and FNAC have plenty in their favor, and if you're in a hurry, you could find just what you're looking for in one of their well-stocked central branches.

Shopping Neighborhoods

The Center -- The sheer diversity of shops in Madrid's center is staggering. Their densest concentration lies immediately north of the Puerta del Sol, radiating out from Calle del Carmen, Calle Montera, and Calle Preciados.

Calle Mayor & Calle del Arenal -- Unlike their more stylish neighbors to the north of Puerta del Sol, shops in this district to the west tend toward the small, slightly dusty enclaves of coin and stamp dealers, family-owned souvenir shops, clock makers, military paraphernalia, and an abundance of stores selling musical scores.

Gran Vía -- Conceived, designed, and built in the 1910s and 1920s as a showcase for the city's best shops, hotels, and restaurants, the Gran Vía has since been eclipsed by other shopping districts. Its Art Nouveau/Art Deco glamour still survives in the hearts of most Madrileños, however. The bookstores here are among the best in the city, as are outlets for fashion, shoes, jewelry, furs, and handcrafted accessories from all regions of Spain.

El Rastro -- It's the biggest and most frenetic flea market in Spain, and its makeshift stalls draw collectors, dealers, buyers, and hopefuls from throughout Madrid and its suburbs every Sunday morning.

Plaza Mayor -- Under the arcades of the square itself are exhibitions of lithographs and oil paintings, and every weekend there's a loosely organized market for stamp and coin collectors. Within 3 or 4 blocks in every direction, you'll find more than the average number of souvenir shops.

On Calle Marqués Viudo de Pontejos, which runs east from Plaza Mayor, is one of the city's headquarters for the sale of cloth, thread, and buttons. Also running east, on Calle de Zaragoza, are silversmiths and jewelers. On Calle Postas, you'll find housewares, underwear, soap powders, and other household items.

Near the Carrera de San Jerónimo -- Several blocks east of Puerta del Sol is Madrid's densest concentration of gift shops, crafts shops, and antiques dealers -- a decorator's delight. Its most interesting streets include Calle del Prado, Calle de las Huertas, and Plaza de las Cortes. The neighborhood is pricey, so don't expect bargains here.

Northwest Madrid -- A few blocks east of Parque del Oeste is an upscale neighborhood well stocked with luxury goods and household staples. Calle de la Princesa, its main thoroughfare, has shops selling shoes, handbags, fashion, gifts, and children's clothing. Thanks to the presence of the university nearby, there's also a dense concentration of bookstores, especially on Calle Isaac Peral and Calle Fernando el Católico, several blocks north and northwest, respectively, from the subway stop of Argüelles.

Salamanca District -- This district is known throughout Spain as the quintessential upper-bourgeois neighborhood, uniformly prosperous, and correspondingly exclusive shops. These include outlets run by interior decorators, furniture shops, fur and jewelry shops, several department stores, and design headquarters whose output ranges from the solidly conservative to the high tech. The main streets of this district are Calle de Serrano and Calle de Velázquez. The district lies northeast of the center of Madrid, a few blocks north of Parque del Retiro. Its most central metro stops are Serrano and Velázquez.

Hours

Major stores are open (in most cases) Monday to Saturday from 9:30am to 8pm. Many small stores take a siesta between 1:30 and 4:30pm. Of course, there is never any set formula, and hours can vary greatly from store to store, depending on the idiosyncrasies and schedules of the owner.

Shipping

Many art and antiques dealers will crate and ship bulky objects for an additional fee. Whereas it usually pays to have heavy objects shipped by sea, in some cases it's almost the same price to ship crated goods by airplane. Of course, it depends on the distance your crate will have to travel over land to the nearest international port, which, in many cases for the purposes of relatively small-scale shipments by individual clients, is Barcelona. Consequently, it might pay to call two branches of UPS SCS (UPS Supply Chain Solutions; www.ups-scs.com) from within Spain to explain your particular situation, and receive comparable rates. For information about sea transit for your valuables, call UPS SCS at their only Spanish branch, in Barcelona (tel. 93-478-81-86). For information about UPS Air Freight, call the main Spanish office in Madrid (tel. 91-329-11-93) for advice on any of the dozen air-freight pickup stations they maintain throughout Spain. These include, among many others, Barcelona, Alicante, Málaga, Bilbao, and Valencia. For more advice on this, and the formalities that you'll go through in clearing customs after the arrival of your shipment in your home country, contact the nearest local office via the online directory at http://ups-scs.service.com/ups-scs/directory/index.htm.

For most small- and medium-size shipments, air freight isn't much more expensive than ocean shipping. Iberia's Air Cargo Division (tel. 800/221-6002 in the U.S.; www.iberia-cargo.com) offers air-freight service from Spain to New York, Chicago, Miami, or Los Angeles, as well as the United Kingdom and western Canada. What will you pay for this transport of your treasured art objects or freight? Here's a rule of thumb: For a shipment under 100 kilograms (220 lb.), from either Barcelona or Madrid to New York, the cost is approximately 4.40€ ($7) per pound. The per-pound price goes down as the weight of the shipment increases, declining to, for example, 1.50€ ($2.40) per pound for shipments of more than 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb.). Regardless of what you ship, a minimum charge is enforced.

For an additional fee, Iberia or one of its representatives will also pick up your package. For truly precious cargo, ask the seller to build a crate for it. For information within Spain about air-cargo shipments, call Iberia's cargo division at Madrid's Barajas Airport (tel. 90-111-14-00) or at Barcelona's airport (tel. 93-401-31-90).

Remember that your air-cargo shipment will need to clear Customs after it's brought into your home country. This involves some additional paperwork, costly delays, and in some cases a trip to the airport where the shipment first entered the country. It's usually easier (and in some cases, much easier) to hire a commercial customs broker to do the work for you. UPS SCS can clear most shipments of goods for around $150, which you'll pay in addition to any applicable duty you owe your home government. For information, go online to www.ups-scs.com/international/customs_broker.html.

Tax & How to Recover it

If you are not a European Union resident and you make purchases in Spain worth more than 90€ ($144), you can get a tax refund. (The internal tax, known as VAT in most of Europe, is called IVA in Spain.) Depending on the goods, the rate usually ranges from 7% to 16% of the total worth of your merchandise. Luxury items are taxed at 33%.

To get this refund, you must complete three copies of a form that the store will give you, detailing the nature of your purchase and its value. Citizens of non-E.U. countries show the purchase and the form to the Global Refund Office, Terminal 1, Departure Gate A, Madrid-Barajas Airport (www.globalrefund.com).

The shop is supposed to refund the amount due you. Inquire at the time of purchase how they will do so and discuss in what currency your refund will arrive.

When the Weather & the Sales Are Hot!

The best sales are usually in summer. Called rebajas, they start in July and go through August. As a general rule, merchandise is marked down even more in August to make way for the new fall wares in most stores.

Bargaining

The days of bargaining are, for the most part, long gone. Most stores have what is called precio de venta al público (PVP), a firm retail price not subject to negotiation. With street vendors and flea markets, it's a different story because haggling a la española is expected. However, you'll have to be very skilled to get the price reduced a lot, as most of these street-smart vendors know exactly what their merchandise is worth and are old hands at getting that price.