• Go early with small kids: stalls open around 9am, and by late morning the narrow streets are hard going with a stroller
• Start at the top in Plaza de Cascorro and walk downhill along Calle de la Ribera de Curtidores, the market's main street
• Saturdays at El Rastro, a smaller antiques, food and entertainment fair, fills Plaza del General Vara del Rey on the first Saturday of most months (not July, August or November)

A flea market of more than 1,000 stalls, recorded as early as 1740, that spreads from Plaza de Cascorro down the steep Calle de la Ribera de Curtidores and its side streets. Kids hunt trading cards, old magazines and records, kitchenware and odd objects of every age; each street has its own mix.

The shops stay open all week; the stalls come out on Sundays and holidays.