Your Guide to El Rastro: Madrid’s Sunday Market

If you’re looking for a Spanish tradition to enhance your Sunday ritual, you’ve come to the right place. This great event takes place in La Latina, Madrid’s oldest neighborhood. The classic style and artistic expression of this southern district of Madrid perfectly fits the event it hosts each week.

El Rastro is a street market that is held regularly in the heart of Madrid. Shoppers from nearby and afar come to admire the varied goods and lively atmosphere. The market is centralized on Calle Ribera de Curtidores and extends out to the surrounding streets.

The colorful event takes place from 9am to 3pm every Sunday. Yes, the Spanish merchants come out every week to offer you various products at good prices. And there’s a chance you’ll find what you’re looking for, as the Madrileños sell everything from clothing to antiques to the Sunday shoppers.

Photo sourced from Hotel Indiana

Origins

Almost everyone in Madrid knows about this great event, but not everyone knows its history. The name, El Rastro, which means, the trail, is not a reference to a long line of shopping, but actually to a trail of blood.

In the past, this part of La Latina was occupied by Madrid’s tanneries and slaughterhouses. Therefore, the trail of blood refers to what was left when cattle were taken from the slaughterhouse to the tanneries.

Photo sourced from Pinterest

Products

One of the things that makes El Rastro so special is that you can find almost anything you’re looking for. The long list of items for sale includes clothing, antiques, sunglasses, phone screen protectors, tie-dye products, artwork, jewelry, bags, shoes, home decor, winter coats, and more.

As you can see, El Rastro isn’t just a second-hand sale, nor is it just a fashion event. In fact, it’s everything in one. This is what makes the Madrid Sunday market so special; there’s something for everyone.

Photo sourced from Viajero Errante

Specialized Streets

Shoppers will find a range of products lined up from stand to stand, but there is some order to the crowded chaos. Actually, some of the neighborhood streets are designated to specific items.

If you’re going to El Rastro with an individual purchase in mind, consider this list. For art, try centralizing your shopping at San Cayetano Street. This area is known as the painters’ street, where both art pieces and supplies to create your own work can be found.

Carnero Street and Carlos Arniches Street are the areas where you’ll find good reads, since these streets sell old books. Other printed products like magazines and cards for card games are found on several streets. If you want to search for these alternative entertainment prints, see the squares, General Vara del Rey and Campillo del Mundo Nuevo, along with Rhodes Street.

There is even a ‘birds street’, dedicated to the sale of animals. While the selection of specialized stores that actually sell animals is smaller today, you will at least find several pet supply shops on Fray Ceferino González Street.

Photo sourced from esmadrid.com

Spanish Tradition

Moreover, El Rastro is not a one-and-done shopping stop. Just because you blessed your last Sunday with some market grazing doesn’t mean that you can’t go back again this weekend.

Because of the wide variety of products and merchants, there’s always something new to see. Plus there’s plenty of ground to cover, so you might not see it all in one day.

For these reasons, El Rastro is more of a weekly custom to get you up and out of the house on Sunday to spend the day with loved ones. Madrileños often finish a day of Rastro shopping with a few drinks and tapas at the local bar, allowing Sunday to become a  joyful day with your favorite people.

Photo sourced from esmadrid.com

La Latina Markets

A less well-known aspect of Madrid’s Sunday market is that the event doesn’t just take place on the curbside. Ice cream parlors and antique collections also open their stores to the spirit of the event. The sister market of El Rastro is named Santa Ana, and this group incorporates many of the shops and cafés that line the Rastro streets.

While the Santa Ana street market takes place only on the first Saturday of every month, it carries the same spirit of El Rastro, and is held among the same streets. Both El Rastro and Santa Ana are closely related to the local establishments that shape their events, and the combination makes for heightened culture and fun.

These great markets only add to the amazing culture of La Latina. For more information on sister market Santa Ana of first Saturdays, read this article. Here, you’ll find the details of the Santa Ana market, as well as information on amazing extras like DJs, workshops, exhibitions, gastronomy, and more. As you can see, La Latina markets are about a lot more than just shopping.

Photo sourced from Leticia Perez

Pickpocketing

While the weekly event sounds like nothing but fun, it’s still important to be aware of your surroundings while there. One of the signature aspects of this market is that it draws a large crowd.

The high volume of people in El Rastro has two implications for the market, one more serious than the other. Every Sunday, there are many people walking up and down the market streets, which means both that you’ll have to walk a bit slower than usual to weave through the crowd, and that you need to be aware of pickpocketing.

The people who come to El Rastro range from locals to foreigners, but they could also include a few thieves looking to take advantage of distracted shoppers. While visiting El Rastro, and Madrid in general, be sure to keep your belongings tight on your body and in mind at all times.

If you’re cautious of your phone and wallet while exploring, then you shouldn’t run into any problems. Just remember to hold onto the items you already own while shopping for new ones.

Madrid is a metropolitan city where stealing is always a possibility, but in a place where bodies are already brushing against each other as you walk past, shoppers must be extra cautious. For a detailed guide on the whole of Madrid, visit the article, Pickpocketing in Madrid: Information and Avoidance.

This article has exposed you to the ins and outs of Madrid’s Sunday market, El Rastro, and you’ve probably already marked it on your calendar for this weekend. Just remember to set your alarm, because if you don’t get out of bed before noon, you’ll likely miss all the fun.

El Rastro is one of the many culturally rich traditions of the Spanish in Madrid. The market gives a glimpse into local fashions, customs, and leisurely activities, especially those of La Latina. El mercado del Rastro is an unmissable Madrileño tradition.