Madrid shopping is just what you would expect from a sophisticated European capital - plentiful, entertaining, and varied.

The Gran Via near Callao offers many shopping options, with still more in the streets leading from Callao down toward the Puerto del Sol.

For those with a taste for luxury, the Salamanca neighborhood offers many high end boutiques. The area around Ortega y Gassett and Serrano is jammed with designer stores.

A funkier slice of life comes along Fuencarral, which heads north off the Gran Via toward Glorieta Bilbao. If you consider the Gen X generation hopelessly over the hill, you might well find what you want along this street or the parallel Hortaleza.

For bargain imports from around the world, try the side streets around Lavapies. Immigrants from around the world tend to set up shops here, selling goods imported their homeland.

The department store chain El Corte Ingles has stores throughout the city, and can be counted on to have almost anything you could want, from voltage transformers to fine wine.

Last but not least, the legendary Rastro flea market erupts each Sunday, just as it has for hundreds of years. An entire neighborhood is packed elbow-to-elbow with shoppers and vendors, selling a lot of clothing but also a bizarre range of products ranging from plastic hoses to bird cages.