i'm planning a european shopping trip, probably for late october/november, and thinking of madrid or barcelona - which do you think would be better? or can anyone suggest any other european cities (not UK though)? i have kind of ruled out italy since i think it's pretty expensive there. thanks x
That's a tough decision. Both are awesome for shopping, especially for shoes/boots. I think I prefer Barcelona's sights and overall ambience, but I agree with littlebean that Madrid probably has better shopping -- more choices, definitely.
Madrid has a great Zara outlet off of Gran Via (although it's kind of overwhelming!) and a really hip shopping district off of the Chueca metro stop with lots of offbeat shops and awesome shoe stores. There's also a huge, slightly crazy market at La Latina with some great deals on jewelry, scarves, and other trinkets. PM me if you have more specific questions -- I was just in Madrid and Barcelona a few months ago and did a fair amount of shopping!