Spain has a long tradition in making leather goods (shoes, luggage, bags, coats, dresses, gloves, etc.), clothing (original fashion-designed or ready-made), Embroidery and lace, jewelry (classical or modern-design, as well as artisan gold and silver works), ivory objects, blown glass, Pottery and antiques (some of the antique galleries in Madrid, Barcelona and Seville are among the best in Europe.

Furniture
Interior-decorating items (the famous Lladro porcelains, irongrille designs, silver and other metal objects such as candelabra, trays, bowls, etc.), toys and musical Instruments (Spanish guitars are known to be the best in the world). Tourist buying in Spainmay also be entitled to certain special discounts.

Madrid and Barcelona are, of course, the major cities for shopping. In Madrid, the main commercial areas are: the Goya, General Mola and Serrano District for exclusive fashions.

Narvaez, Conde de Penalver for good ready-made items and the old downstowns are of Puerta del Sol, Alcala, Gran Via, Preciados and Arenal for almost everything.

Among the department stores, the Corte Ingles chain is one of the best. A must is the flea-market 'El Rastro', which takes place every Sunday morning, where you can find anything from a hat pin to an art masterpiece. In Barcelona, the Paseo de Gracia and Diagonal area for elegant shopping. The Ramblas and Plaza de Cataluna for almost anything. And the area around the church of Sta. Maria de los Reyes for antique galleries.

Other excellent areas for shopping are tourist centres, such as Torremolinos and Marbella in the Costa del Sol, Benidorm in the Costa Blanca, Playa de Aro in the Costa Brava, Reus in the Costa Dorada, Palma de Mallorca and Ibiza of the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands (mainly Tenerife and Gran Canaria) specially, since they are duty-free ports. Here, be prepared to bargain!

Canary Islands Shopping
The Canary Islands are a shopping paradise because there is no joy-cooling customs barrier. Shopping, therefore, is a pleasure as never before.

Not even the tax-free shops at the airports can compete with prices in the Canaries. Liqueurs, tobacco, cameras and film cameras, tape recorders, transistor radios, watches, everything is cheaper than in their countries of origin.

Granada Shopping
Fajalauza is one of the loveliest varieties of pottery in Spain.

Its primitive technique and forms and its blue, green and purple glazes are of Moorish origin.

Another traditional handicraft is taracea, which consists of inlaying wood with mother-of- pearl, sea shells and bone.

Along the steep Cuesta de Gomerez, there are a lot of shops selling pottery and taracea. Also worth visiting is the Alcaiceria, an old Arab market.

La Alpujarra produces superb woven cloth and patchwork.

Madrid Shopping
The afternoon is a good time, especially for tourists visiting Madrid, to have a look round the big stores and saunter down the main streets in the shopping center.

In Madrid one may acquire artistic products of rich and varied Spanish handicraft: rugs, tapestries, fans, cloaks, porcelain, ceramic ware, cast iron, wooden statues, objects of gold and silver, among many more; high fashion articles, "ready to wear", perfumes, jewelry and costume jewelry, leather goods--shoes, handbags, luggage, etc.

Sporting goods of all kinds--rackets, firearms, boats, etc.--all fulfill two important shopper requirements; superb quality at a moderate price.

Malaga Shopping
Handicrafts abound in the province of Malaga. Outstanding are the esparto grass works from Antequera and V?lez-Malaga, the embroidery from Mijas, ironwork from Ronda, and tinwork from Velez-Malaga. The flea markets at Fuengirola and Marbella are worth a visit.

Valencia Shopping
Coinciding with the city center are the main shopping streets: La Paz, Colon and Plaza de Ayuntamiento. There are shops here specializing in the very latest design trends.

On Sunday mornings, the milling crows in Plaza Redondda (behind Plaza de la Reina) denote feverish commercial activity. anything can be found there, from parrots to leather bags or second-hand watches. Customers are warned, however, to check that the article they are buying lives up to the promises of the expert salesman.

Many of the central streets are named after the trades that ware carried on there in former times, and there are still some vestiges of popular handicrafts today.

For fine wickerwork, go to the well-known calle de las cestas (street of the baskets). There are also a lot of fan-markers and goldsmiths, but the region's main handicraft is without a doubt ceramics.

The pottery and ceramic shops are all over Valencia, and sell their wares directly to the public.