Barrio de las Letras
Shopping guide · Checked 8 October 2026

What to bring home from Madrid.

Madrid's best buys are the ones with a shop attached: a 1915 sweet shop, a fan-maker on the Puerta del Sol, a cologne that has not changed since 1912. Eight things worth looking for, and the sums that go with them.

See what to bring home Take Madrid with you
Barrio de las Letras
01The classics

Eight things, and where to find them.

Made here · Food

Violetas from La Violeta

Violet-shaped candies from a 1915 sweet shop. Only sold from this one Madrid shop and a few stockists; the tins are gifts in themselves.

About €8 · small tinLa Violeta, Plaza de Canalejas 6 to verify
Made here · Accessories

Casa de Diego fans

Hand-painted wooden fans and umbrellas from a shop trading on the Puerta del Sol since 1858.

About €35 · hand-painted fanCasa de Diego, Puerta del Sol 12 to verify
Made here · Beauty

Álvarez Gómez Agua de Colonia

The citrus cologne Madrid has worn since 1912, in the yellow bottle, from the Serrano shop.

About €15 · 300 mlÁlvarez Gómez, Calle Serrano 14 to verify
Made here · Bags

Loewe at Casa Loewe

Spain's luxury house since 1846, at its Goya flagship with the fullest range. A Puzzle bag is the purchase the refund was made for.

About €2,900 · Puzzle bag mediumCasa Loewe, Calle de Goya 4 to verify
Made here · Leather

Taller Puntera leather

Bags and small leather goods made in the workshop behind the counter, in the Austrias quarter.

About €90 · crossbody bagTaller Puntera, Plaza Conde de Barajas 4 to verify
Local favourite · Drink

House vermouth from La Latina

Bottled vermut de grifo from the tabernas of Cava Baja. Counts against your alcohol allowance.

About €12 · bottleTaberna La Concha, Cava Baja 7 to verify
Local favourite · Food

Jamón ibérico de bellota

Vacuum-packed slices travel well and are allowed into your country for personal use. Buy from a market stall that slices to order.

About €15 · 100 gMercado de San Miguel or any market to verify
01Fresh & new

Newer names, and where to find them.

Newer labels, concept stores and makers: the side of Madrid the classic guidebooks tend to miss.

New label · Streetwear

Nude Project

Streetwear label founded in Barcelona, with a large store on Calle de Fuencarral in Malasaña.

Price to checkNude Project, Calle de Fuencarral 18 to verify
Supermarket find · Beauty

Deliplus

Mercadona’s own-label makeup and skincare, sold in its supermarkets across Spain.

Around €5 · check in storeAny Mercadona supermarket to verify

Entries marked “checked” were confirmed against the shop’s own website on the date shown; those marked “to verify” have not been confirmed yet. Photos show the category, not the exact product.

02What’s on

When to go to Madrid.

Sales, Christmas markets and fairs that fall around your trip, with the dates we have checked and the ones we are still waiting for.

Christmas marketConfirmed

Plaza Mayor Christmas market

Late Nov to 31 Dec 2026

Free to enter, about 104 stalls, mostly nativity figures and decorations. Opening day to be confirmed.

Source: esMadrid
SalesExpected

Winter sales (rebajas)

Usually from early January

Spanish shops choose their own sale dates, so there is no single start day. Big stores usually begin in the first days of January.

Sales period: shop prices may differ from the list prices used for comparisons.Source: Shop announcements
SalesExpected

Summer sales (rebajas)

Usually from early July

Shops choose their own dates.

Sales period: shop prices may differ from the list prices used for comparisons.Source: Shop announcements
Shopping eventConfirmed

Black Friday

27 Nov 2026

A date on the calendar, not a legal sales period. Each shop decides what, if anything, it discounts.

Sales period: shop prices may differ from the list prices used for comparisons.Source: Calendar
Confirmed means the dates were checked against an official or organiser source for that year. Expected means it recurs and this year’s dates are not out yet. Checked 21 October 2026. Nothing here is sponsored.
03Point & know

Point it at the tag, right there in Madrid.

Found something you like? Scan the tag and see the real price against Home before you reach the till.

  1. Point. Open the camera in the app and point it at a price tag or a barcode.
  2. Compare. Shopover finds the product and puts the Home price right beside it.
  3. Decide. The tax refund comes off and anything due at the border goes on, so you see one real price.
Shown with sample products. In the prototype the camera works from the barcode and the printed tag.
A hand holding a phone up to a price tag in a shop
04Compare

How does Madrid compare?

Not near a tag? Type the product. Shopover shows what it costs in each guide city next to the price at Home, with the refund taken off and any border charge added on.

Two hands comparing prices on a phone at a cafe tableWhich looks cheaper in the shop is not always cheaper at the till: tax refunds, border charges and exchange rates all move the real price. That is the number Shopover shows.
Official list prices checked 8 October 2026. Shops differ, so on average expect these figures, not exactly these.
05Before you buy

The rules, in plain words.

Choose your Home to see the rules for your trip.

Sources: Agencia Tributaria (DIVA), GOV.UK personal allowances. Checked 8 October 2026.
Worked example · Le Creuset casserole 24 cm

Choose your Home to see the sums.

Free during the pilot

Take Madrid with you.

Tell us where you are travelling to next and join the waitlist. When you arrive, Shopover shows what to bring home, where to buy it, and what any price really means.