Javier Perez Montes · CC BY-SA 4.0
El Rastro
Sunday morning, a thousand stalls running downhill, and a city-wide agreement to be slow afterwards.
The Rastro has run on Sunday mornings for several centuries and sprawls from Plaza de Cascorro down Ribera de Curtidores and into every side street off it. Most of what is for sale is junk. Some of it is not, and the side streets are where the difference lives — the main drag is phone cases and sunglasses.
It is also the start of a fixed Madrid ritual: market until about two, then Cava Baja or La Latina for vermut, then nothing. Treat the shopping as the excuse.
Before you go
- When
- Sunday mornings and public holidays, roughly 09:00–15:00
- Where the good stuff is
- The side streets off Ribera de Curtidores, not the main run
- Watch out
- Extremely crowded. Keep bags in front of you
Published · updated · details checked
Researched from published sources rather than a personal visit. Check before you go.
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