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Always full of locals and visitors, it is an attraction no one should miss if they visit the city on a Sunday or a public holiday. Set in the La Latina district, around Ribera de Curtidores, with Plaza de Cascorro as its nerve centre, the market takes in a large, almost triangular block bounded by Toledo, Embajadores and Ronda de Toledo and takes in other streets such as San Cayetano, Fray Ceferino González, Carlos Arniches and Mira el Río, as well as Plaza de General Vara del Rey and Plaza Campillo del Mundo Nuevo.
According to the area we walk through, we can find different articles, from craft work, clothes and accessories, to kitchen equipment, records and second-hand magazines, toys and all kinds of old objects from different periods. The surrounding area contains numerous antique and discount stores, while there are now many shops selling vintage furniture and other items.
On record since 1740, this market was originally a meeting place to sell, exchange, and flog second-hand clothes, an alternative to street selling. Its curious name may be due to the fact that it used to take place by the old slaughterhouse, and the dead cattle that were transported prior to skinning left a trail (‘rastro’ in Spanish) as they were dragged along the ground. Also in the 16th century, ‘Rastro’ was synonymous with butchery or skinning.
It is thought that the market got its name from the trail left by the carcasses of animals being taken from the abattoir and the tanneries in the area. Today it is home to over 1,000 vendors, who are there on Sundays and public holidays from about nine in the morning until 3 pm.
Many people round off their visit with an aperitif in one of the area's bars, where they can enjoy a glass of wine, a beer or some draught vermouth with a paella tapa or a squid sandwich in Ribera de Curtidores and the surrounding streets.
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