Fodor's Expert Review El Rastro
On Sunday morning, Calle de la Ribera de Curtidores is closed to traffic and jammed with outdoor booths selling everything under the sun. Find everything from antique furniture to rare vinyl of flamenco music and keychains emblazoned with "CNT," Spain's old anarchist trade union. Practice your Spanish by bargaining with vendors over paintings, heraldic iron gates, new and used clothes, and even hashish pipes. Plaza del General Vara del Rey has some of El Rastro's best antiques, and the streets beyond—Calles de Mira el Río Alta and Mira el Río Baja—boast all sorts of miscellany. The market shuts down shortly after 2 pm, in time for a street party to start in the area known as La Latina at and around the bar El Viajero in Plaza del Humilladero.
Off the Ribera are two galerías, courtyards with higher-quality higher-priced antiques shops.
