Centro Comercial - La Vaguada ??? (Madrid)

I was wanting to know if anyone has visited La Vaguada, Madrid's biggest shopping center.

I've heard they have everything there. I know the big centers seem to be more of an American thing, but I wanted to get everyone's opinion on it.

Hi, kk49827,

I used to live right across the street from La Vaguada, in the Barrio del Pilar. I was there all the time. Yes, it's a big place, something like an American mall, but different, too. There's a big hipermercado, Alcampo, that's sort of like a KMart with a full sized supermarket. There are a variety of stores, some bigger, some smaller, that sell all kinds of things. There's a great mercado, where you can buy all kinds of fresh foods from stalls, in the lower level on the western end. Two floors above it there is a restaurant section, and some of the restaurants are really quite good. There's a movie theater, and there used to be a bowling alley there, too. (Does anyone know if the bowling alley is still there?) You could reach it by walking through the gardens on the roof. There's also a section off to one side with artesania shops, where you can buy all types of interesting hand made items.

I liked it, and I could do all my Christmas shopping there, but then I lived there and it was convenient. Would I recommend going there as a tourist? Only if you really love shopping, or you're in the area, and honestly, the Barrio del Pilar is not much of a tourist attraction! What do the rest of you think?

I went to la Vaguada two times in my trip to Madrid.
It's a great place for shopping, it's huge and it has all kind of shops. It has a place with lovely tea for sale and another with frutos secos; I warmly recommend triskis, it's delicious, very crsipy and tasty.
I liked BSK shop (Bershka I think it's its name) with some cheap clothes, it has an El Corte Ingles (there are some funny bed covers very soft and with "Real Madrid" on them), Zara, Mango and a lot more.
For eating I recommend La Antena, I wrote a description of it on this board.
And it has a great advantage: it's open on Sundays, all the other shops are closed (except fnac and the bookshop of El Corte Ingles).

I don't know whether La Vaguada - aka Madrid 2 - is the biggest shopping centre in Madrid but, in my opinion, it is the best one.

It's not only a shopping centre but it also has exhibitions throughout the year.

Regards,

Antonio

PS: Note that it's a bit far from the city centre (subway station: "Barrio del Pilar").


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La Vaguada is an interesting place to shop and to hang out. It is not too bad going by metro. On the way back to the Plaza del Callao we took the bus and it was a nice scenic ride. In the mall there is even a quiosco!! There are so many neat shops and there was this one place that we ate at... I don't remember the name, but they specialized in rotisserie chicken or something, which was REALLY GOOD and also equally good was their tortilla. The only thing that wasn't that good was the music. It was a small place but they played music and it was loud and consisted of Hindu chanting or something. The people who worked there were really friendly and nice but you eat facing a wall of mirrors, which was quite...unique.
Great place and I thought that the Barrio del Pilar was interesting also.

la vaguada is pretty interesting...

it is basically an american shopping mall that has everything from clothing and home furnishings, to trinkets and a food court.

there are pretty cool expositions too.. like SEAT (the car manufacturer) shows their new cars there, as well as others...(like american malls do)

it's also close to the chamartin station so it sees a lot of traffic.. also it sees traffic because it's the biggest mall! it's great for a rainy saturday or sunday...

Across the street from La Vaguada (south) is a shop called 'Ventisca.' It's an outdoors specialty shop (camping, hiking & survival). I first found a Ventisca in Bilbao, then I looked up and found this one in Madrid. If you are into backpacking, it's a good place to know: quality merchandise & good prices.

I believe I went to La Vaguada last time I was in Madrid. Or maybe it was another mall with Alcampo. I got a giant jug of colacao and a dozen Spanish glasses (the extra strong kind), among other things. We need more glasses, so I'll have to go back.