El Rastro

Updated on October 1, 2026

El Rastro is Madrid's great flea market. It sets up every Sunday and public holiday, from 9am to 3pm, between Plaza de Cascorro and the lower end of Calle Ribera de Curtidores, in the Embajadores neighbourhood, with around 1,200 stalls. Clothes, crafts, records, books, knick-knacks and second-hand goods fill some fifteen sloping streets. The market is documented as early as 1740 around the city's old slaughterhouse. Its name is said to recall the trail of blood left by carcasses dragged down to the tanneries below: Ribera de Curtidores means "tanners' bank". On weekdays the stalls are not set up, but the neighbourhood's shops, antique dealers and galleries stay open.

Highlights

Calle Ribera de Curtidores

The Rastro's main street runs down from Plaza de Cascorro towards Ronda de Toledo, lined with plane trees and stalls on both sides. It is mostly clothes, bags, accessories and souvenirs. This is the busiest street: move with the crowd and look at the ground-floor shops too.

Plaza de Cascorro

The starting point of the market, at the top of Ribera de Curtidores, near La Latina metro station. The statue in the middle honours Eloy Gonzalo, a Madrid soldier who became a hero of the siege of Cascorro, in Cuba, in 1896. The square is still quiet early in the morning, while the vendors set up.

The themed streets

Around the main street, some streets have their own speciality. Calle San Cayetano, known as the "painters' street", has shops selling paintings, prints and frames. Plaza del General Vara de Rey is known for old magazines, trading cards and second-hand clothes.

The neighbourhood's antique dealers

Antique arcades, such as those opening onto Ribera de Curtidores, stay open on weekdays. It is a chance to hunt for furniture, tableware or old objects without the Sunday crowds.

Infos pratiques

Tips

The Rastro is very crowded and pickpockets are active: carry your bag in front of you, keep your phone and wallet in a closed pocket and only bring the cash you need. Bring cash, as many vendors do not take cards, and feel free to haggle at the second-hand stalls. After the market, do as Madrileños do: a vermouth or tapas in the bars of La Latina, around Calle Cava Baja, a few minutes' walk away.