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SHOPPING IN SPAIN (MADRID & BARCELONA)

MADRID

Seventeenth-century playwright Tirso de Molina called Madrid "a shop stocked with every kind of merchandise," and it's true -- an estimated 50,000 stores sell everything from high-fashion clothing to flamenco guitars to art and ceramics.

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.

The Centre -- The sheer diversity of shops in Madrid's centre 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 neighbours 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, sellers of 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 flea market in Spain, drawing collectors, dealers, buyers, and hopefuls from throughout Madrid and its suburbs. The makeshift stalls are at their most frenetic on 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 Cortés. The neighbourhood is pricey, so don't expect bargains here.

Northwest Madrid -- A few blocks east of Parque del Oeste is an upscale neighbourhood that's 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 -- It's known throughout Spain as the quintessential upper-bourgeois neighborhood, uniformly prosperous, and its shops are correspondingly exclusive. They 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 centre of Madrid, a few blocks north of Retiro Park. 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.

BARCELONA

The elegant Passeig de Gràcia contains some of the most expensive retail space in Spain. Along its wide octagon-tiled footpaths, the big guns of fashion have set up shop in gorgeous 19th- and 20th-century buildings; Chanel, Max Mara, and Loewe jostle for your attention alongside Benetton, Zara, and Diesel. All along the avenue there are dozens of outdoor cafes to rest up, enjoy a tapa or two, and examine your booty. The Rambla de Catalunya, which runs parallel to the Passeig de Gràcia, has lesser internationally known but equally as glitzy establishments with less of a focus on fashion and more on housewares, books, and beauty. Don't bypass the cross streets that run between the two, they are also scattered with some of the city's top shopping, particularly Valencia, Provença and Consell de Cent, the latter renowned for its expensive antique shops and art galleries. The top end of the Passeig de Gràcia meets El Diagonal, one of the city's main arteries. Here you will find the housewares giant Habitat, the mega mall L'Illa and various other boutiques in between. The Metro does not service this part of town and the shops are spread out but don't despair: The tombus is a comfortable minibus that does the "shopping line" along the Diagonal; hop on at any regular bus stop.

The throngs hit the Portal d'Angel and Portaferrisa at the top end of the Barri Gòtic on Friday evenings and Saturdays, seeking out new arrivals in fashion from the top High Street names such as H&M, Levis, Benetton, and other global fashion labels. With the major department store El Corte Ingles in the immediate vicinity, these two streets (which cross each other) make up the city's most central, convenient, and popular shopping hub.

Further into the old quarter (El Raval, El Born, and the Barri Gòtic) is where you will find more one-of-a-kind retailers. One promising new hub is around the MACBA, the city's museum of contemporary art in the Raval. Smaller galleries come (and go) here at various intervals, and there are fashion and design shops springing up all the time. In the direction of the port, shops on the streets running off Les Ramblas (particularly Carme and Hospital) reflect the melting-pot nature of the neighbourhood; wine shops sit side by side with halal butchers and others seemed to have survived for centuries selling scissors. This is where you see the dusty, old school emporiums of yesteryear, ones that have sadly disappeared from cities like London and New York. While not enough is done here to protect their heritage, many do survive the onslaught of the mall, at least for the moment.

Catalonia has resisted the lure of Sunday trading, mainly at the insistence of the trade unions. The good news is that most shops in the centre (Passeig de Gràcia, Portal d'Angel, and Portaferrisa) stay open through the lunch hour and generally don't close until 9pm, even on Saturdays with department stores extending this to 10pm. As a general rule of thumb, smaller shops are open Monday through Saturday 9:30 or 10am to 1:30 or 2pm then open again in the afternoon 4 or 4:30pm to 8:30pm. You will always find exceptions to this, especially as the tourist trade fans out over the city. You may come across some that frustratingly take Monday morning off, or decide to take a three-hour afternoon break, but even that adds to the unique experience of Barcelona being a modern city that has retained its quaint retro feel.

Shopping malls are a bit of a contentious topic in Catalonia. Many small traders feel they are squeezing them out of the market. The local government has reacted by limiting their construction, especially in central Barcelona. But there are still enough in existence to appease any mall fan.

The Zaravolución -- Many visitors to Spain are already familiar with the Zara clothing label. Now with over 600 (1,900, counting the Zara offshoot brands) outlets in 49 countries, including megastores in the fashion capitals of Milan, Paris, London, and New York, Zara is hard to ignore. But many are not aware, and probably surprised to know, that Zara is Spanish-owned.

Zara was started back in the early '70s by an industrious young Galician by the name of Amancio Ortega, now the richest man in Spain. He saw a necessity for stylish housecoats for the women in his rural village and out of that an empire grew. Today, Zara is one of the few fashion empires in the world that vertically controls the entire process, from textile manufacture to design to retail. Using a global network of buyers and trend-spotters, they interpret (many within the industry use the word "plagiarize") hot-off-the-catwalk pieces for men, women, and children at astoundingly affordable prices. They appeal to the full, cross-generational, demographic gamut, from urban tribes to executives. Zara's calendar doesn't just consist of four seasons; they produce and distribute clothing all year round in their behemoth headquarters in Ortegas's native Galicia and Zaragoza. New, never-to-be-repeated models arrive every day, meaning converts return again and again and again . . .

A revolution needs a charismatic leader and Ortega is no exception. Until he took the company public in 2001, the press possessed only one photo of a man estimated to be worth $10.3 billion. He imposes a strict "no-press" policy to his staff and never gives interviews. He never accepts any of the dozens of accolades awarded to him in person. What he has done is, in less than a generation, democratized fashion and made it possible to dress like a film star for a song.

Located at Pelayo 58 (tel. 93-301-09-78; Metro: Catalunya), Passeig de Gràcia 16 (tel. 93-318-76-75; Metro: Passeig de Gràcia), and all over the city.

La Boqueria -- The Boqueria market, Les Ramblas 91-101 (tel. 93-318-25-84; Mon-Sat 8am-8pm; Metro: Liceu), is the largest market in Europe (and probably the greatest in the world) and a must-see in the Catalan capital. The Boqueria is located right in the middle of any visitor's top destination: the famous boulevard Les Ramblas. While many markets have little to offer a visitor in terms of practical shopping, the Boqueria boasts some of the best bars and cafes in the city, and a chance to rub shoulders with the people who are helping put the city at the forefront of Mediterranean cuisine.

The Boqueria's central location is owed to a historical twist of fate. In the mid-1800's, the demolition of the city's medieval walls began. Pageses (Catalan peasants) had been touting their bounty roughly on the spot of the present market (originally one of the city's gates) and around the parameter of the neighbouring Convent de Sant Josep for centuries, and the authorities saw no reason to move them when the work began. When the convent burnt to the ground in 1835, the market expanded, and thirty years later, the engineer Miquel de Bergue finished his plans for a grandiose, wrought-iron market of five wings supported by metal columns, a project that wasn't finished until 1914. The official name of the market is Mercat de Sant Josep (a reference to the Capuchin nuns' old dwelling) although the term boqueria (meaning abattoir, or butcher shop, in Catalan) has stuck since the 13th century, when the site was a slaughterhouse.

The Boqueria's 330 stalls are a living testament to the fertility of the peninsula (Spain produces the widest variety of farm produce in all Europe) and its surrounding seas. What lies inside is a gastronomic cornucopia that changes its palette from season to season. Early autumn sees the hues of burnt yellow, orange, and brown in the cluster of stalls selling the dozens of varieties of bolets, wild mushrooms from the hills and forests of Catalonia. In spring, the candy colours of fresh strawberries and plump peaches and in early summer the greens of a dozen different lettuces, from curly bunches of escarole to pert little heads of endives and cogollos (lettuce hearts) make an appearance. The fish and seafood section takes prime place in a central roundabout known as the Isla del Pescado (Island of Fish), a pretty marble and shiny steel affair that was given priority in the Boqueria's recent overhaul. The variety here is awesome, like an exotic aquarium on ice. From giant carcasses of tuna that send Japanese tourists into a camera flashing frenzy, to the ugly but tasty scorpionfish, prawns the size of bananas, live crawfish making a dash across their frozen beds, octopi, bug-eyed grouper, and countless other species. Other stalls range from game and delicatessens to bewildering businesses that survive by specializing in one product, whether it be lettuces, potatoes, or smoked salmon.

If you are up early enough, the best time to visit the Boqueria is the early morning as it is being hurled into life. Able-bodied men drag cartloads of produce to the stalls, while women arrange it into patterns and combinations that border on food art. Have breakfast at Pinotxo on the immediate right of the main entrance. Here you will rub shoulders with the city's main chefs before they embark on their daily sourcing spree. If you wish to do a bit of shopping yourself, avoid the stalls at the front unless you want to pay "tourist" prices.

The Markets -- There are a variety of outdoor markets held around the streets of Barcelona. Practice your bartering skills before heading for El Encants flea market, held every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday in Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes (Metro: Glòries). Go anytime during the day to survey the selection of new and used clothing, period furniture, and out-and-out junk (although the traders will try to convince you otherwise). Coins and postage stamps are traded and sold in Plaça Reial on Sunday from 10am to 8pm. It's off the southern flank of Les Ramblas (Metro: Drassanes). A book (mainly Spanish language) and coin market is held at the Ronda Sant Antoni every Sunday from 10am to 2pm (Metro: Universitat) with a brisk trade in pirated software and DVDs taking place around the periphery.

All types of fine quality antiquarian items can be found at the Mercat Gòtic every Thursday. 9am to 8pm, on the Plaça Nova outside the city's main cathedral (Metro: Liceu) although don't expect any bargains. More like a large car-boot sale is the Encants del Gòtic, Plaça George Orwell. Saturdays 11am to 4pm (Metro. Drassanes). The wide promenade the Rambla del Raval (Metro: San Antoni) is taken over by hippie-type traders all day, every Saturday hawking handmade clothing, jewelry, and other objects. Nearby, the vintage and retro clothing traders of the Riera Baixa (Metro: San Antoni) drag their goods on the street (some real bargains are to be found here). Over fifty painters set up shop every weekend in the pretty Plaça del Pi (Metro: Liceu) in a Mostra d' Art that is of a surprisingly high standard. If food is more your thing, over a dozen purveyors of artisan cheese, honey, biscuits, olives, chocolate, and other Catalan delicacies can also be found in the Plaça del Pi, on the first and third weekend of every month from 10am to 10pm.

Specialty Stores in the Barri Gòtic -- The streets around the Barri Gòtic are packed with traditional establishments specializing in everything from dried cod to dancing shoes, some of them remnants from when mercantile activity and trading was Barcelona's lifeblood. If you see a shop window that entices don't be shy; most of the shop keepers welcome curious tourists, and a brief exchange with one of them just may be one of those fleeting traveler's experiences you cherish long after its over.

Dating from 1761, the Cereria Subira, Baixada de Llibreteria 7 (tel. 93-315-26-06) has the distinction of being the oldest, continuous shop in Barcelona. It specializes in candles, from long and elegant white ones used at Mass to more fanciful creations. It's worth popping in to see the two torch-bearing blackamoor figures alone. Magicians and illusionists love the Rei de la Magia, Princesa 11 (tel. 93-319-39-20), a joke and magic shop dating from 1881. Behind the ornate Art Nouveau facade of Alonso, Santa Ana 27 (tel. 93-317-60-85), lie dozens of gloves, from dainty calf skin to more rugged driving gloves plus pretty fans and lace mantillas (Spanish shawls).

More traditional Spanish garb is to be found at Flora Albaicín, which specializes in flamenco dancing shoes and spotty, swirly skirts and dresses. The Herbolisteria del Rei, del Vidre 1 (tel. 93-318-05-12), is another shop seeped in history; it has been supplying herbs, natural remedies and cosmetics and teas since 1823. Casa Colmina, Portaferrisa 8 (tel. 93-412-25-11), makes its own turrones, slabs of nougat and marzipan that are a traditional Christmas treat. Nimble fingers will love the Antiga Casa Sala, Call 8 (tel. 93-381-45-87), which has an enormous range of beads and trinkets just begging to be turned into an original accessory. In the old Born food hub, Angel Jobal, Princesa 38 (tel. 93-319-78-02), is the city's most famed spice merchant, from Spanish saffron to Indian pepper and oregano from Chili. Ganiveteria Roca, Plaça del Pi 3 (tel. 93-302-12-41), has an enormous range of knives, blades, scissors, and all sorts of special-task cutting instruments. Xancó Camiseria, Les Ramblas 78-80 (tel. 93-318-09-89), is one of the few period shops remaining on Les Ramblas: they have been making classic men's shirts in cottons, wools, and linens since 1820. If you get caught in the rain, head to Paraguas Rambla de Las Flores, Les Ramblas 104 (tel. 93-412-72-58), which stocks all manner of umbrellas and walking sticks. And finally, you never know when you may need a chicken feather; the Casa Morelli, Banys Nous 13 (tel. 93-302-59-34), has sacks of them, for simple stuffing or decorating a party outfit.