Granada Shopping

I happened to shop at the El Corte Ingles in Granada but throughout Spain you will find this chain of department stores. From my assessment they are like the Wal-Mart of Spain so if you are looking for department store stuff, it's there!!

If you want English books which aren't your normal trashy holiday books check out Metro. It is the only truly bilingual book shop in Granada.

It also has a notice board of events going on in Granada, English and Spanish classes and anything related to English and Spanish language interests.

What to buy: It has most of the top authors from all genres. It also sells kids books and games as well as Spanish learning books.

It also has all the top authors in Spanish if you fancy practicing your Spanish well as English learning books and games.

What to pay: For the English books it is basically the English price converted into Spanish.

The small narrow street - more or less - just beside the Cathedral is in the morning a small street filled with 3-4 stands with fruits and vegetables. A really nice place to buy fresh fruit and vegetables cheap.

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This small shop looks as if the bags are going to be sporting ridiculous price tags but go in and be pleasantly surprised :-) . Everything is 20 euros! There are some great designs, nice materials and a number of other accessories too. Totes, backpacks, clutches.......lots to choose from at prices its hard to ignore.

Even though I ticked the Womans clothes section above doesn’t mean men can't buy second hand clothes here as well; I just couldn't see a box for clothes in general!

In Plaza Universidad and Calle Escuelas you can find lots of really CHEAP second hand clothes shops.

If you are looking especially for jackets (although it sells everything else too) try the shop on Escuelas with the giant Aliens in the doorway. You can get all sorts of Jackets and coats here for men and for woman.

It is also full of interesting art work such as the alien in the picture, paintings and a really old gas pump from America. The changing room curtains are made from off cuts of jeans sewn together and there are interesting collections of plastic toys jotted around the shop!

What to buy: Leather Jackets (from 45€)
Skin Coats (from 9€-75€)
Trousers (from 5€)
shoes (about 30€ for good trekking shoes)
skirts (from 3€)
tops
bags
toys! (on display and for sale for 1€)

What to pay: Anything from 3 euros

This patisserie is on the ground floor of the hotel we stayed. They offer a great variety of cakes. Piononos and Felipes are the specialties of the house. In fact, the patisserie was created by Ceferino Isla, the patissier who created the famous pastry called Pionono.

There is also a great variety of ice creams.

There are three more branches in Granada and two in Santa Fe.

Each city in Spain seemingly has a pedestrianized street or two that has shops where the locals all shop. In Granada you have Calle Zacatin which runs south from the Gran Via de Colon and Calle de los Mesones which runs east-west a block south of the Plaza Bib Rambla. These streets basically servce as the city's shopping mall with stores that have the latest fashions, jewelery, watches, etc. And the cool thing is that the locals are usually all out during the early evening taking their daily stroll.

What to buy: You name it...it's all there!

What to pay: Varies

one evening we wandered through the souk in the Albaicin district, small shops, stalls and tea shops all packed together in the narrow winding streets, we liked the fact that there was no pressure to buy and we could browse as much as we liked, we bought a carved wooden ring for our grandson, only 2 euros, and a box of joss sticks the smell of which was everywhere we walked.
We didnt stop for a glass of tea and a puff of the hubbly bubbly pipes, but we wished we had bought a pack of the tea which is for sale everywhere - there were so many different blends to choose from