Shopping in Vélez-Málaga
This is not a bad place to shop!
First and most obvioulsy, a 7 minute drive in the direction of the coast, from Escuela La Crujia will take you to the El Ingenio shopping centre. Based on the site of an old sugar factory and still displaying some of the fascinating old equipment in its halls, this centre has around 200 shops, with all the main high street brands found in Spain, plus a huge hypermarket (Eroski) – check out the great selection of seafood – hairdressers, photo processing shops, games shops, a cinema complex and a ‘mini village’ upstairs with plenty of bars and restaurants in the air-conditioned ‘village street’ to choose from. We recommend the pizzeria, alway a good choice with kids, and very tasty, and with a happy hour in the early evening.
In Velez-Malaga town itself, from the Plaza de las Carmelitas where the town hall is, take the street known as Camino de Malaga, to check out some very nice clothes boutiques selling at excellent prices – here you will find a refreshing and more individual selection which you don’t find in the high street chains.
Torre del Mar also has a good shopping street, calle del Mar, which crosses Avenida de Andalucía in the centre of town.
For food shopping, there are plenty of excellent butchers and fish shops in both towns and are worth trying for very good fresh fish, seafood and meat at great prices. The greengrocers are a must to try too, selling mainly in-season local produce from the very fertile vegetable plots to be found all around this area. From the Plaza del las Carmelitas, with your back to the town hall, look left and see a narrow street climbing the hill – head up and keep going and you will see the Mercado Cubierto (covered daily fresh produce market). This is a classic piece of Spain, as every town has a daily mercado. Here you will find all sorts of fresh vegetables, fruit, fish, meat, hams, olives, and more!
On Thursday there is an open market in both Torre del Mar and Velez-Málaga – great for fresh produce and a surprisingly varied selection of clothes, bags, linen, shoes and more!
Other markets: Saturdays – La Caleta. Mondays – Torrox. Tuesdays – at the entrance to the aerodrome opposite the track that takes you to the Escuela. All these markets start early and pack up around 1.30-2pm.
