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The English custom of January Sales starting on Boxing Day doesn´t quite translate in
Spain - the habit of squeezing every last moment from the Christmas break means the Spanish sales tend not to start till after the January 6th Kings Day celebrations. As soon as they do start, the
word Rebajas, meaning Reductions, can be seen in every shop window, and it´s a great time to take advantage of the great shopping on offer in the Alicante region.
The first thing most people
think of is shoe shopping in Elche, and it´s understandable why - many of the shoes are made up the road in Elda, but it´s Elche´s factory outlets that offer the best bargains - and it´s a good excuse to
explore Elche´s beautiful old town which is crammed with bars, cafés, restaurants and shops. Sitting outside Café Paris, sipping coffee or wine, watching the world go by behind the ancient Basilica
seems like a perfect antidote to all that shoe shopping.
Alicante itself has an elegant centre with great shops. The wide tree-lined boulevards offer high street names and Spanish
stalwarts like El Corte Inglés, Spain´s biggest and best department store chain (for bargains throughout the year, head to the top floor of the clothing building), it can be expensive, but the service
and range are both first class. There are also some great indoor malls in Alicante, the huge Plaza Mar 2 and Gran Via are the main two.
Plaza Mar has three floors of top names shops and the excellent Al Campo hypermarket - it´s also a great location with fantastic sea views. Close by, the Gran Via complex, with the Carrefour hypermarket, is sure to keep you occupied for several hours.
There are also quite a few retail parks dotted around, Elche´s L´Aljub, the largest in Alicante (also a major cinema complex), the Bassa el Morro next to the motorway in Petrer, the outlets
at Vista Hermosa on the outskirts of Alicante city, and the newly opened outlet centre in San Vicente which is a great place to pick up some brand name bargains.
Another great option is to
visit the toy factories in Onil - most of Spain´s toys are made here and there are amazing bargains to be had by buying directly from the factories - the town is famous for dolls, and you can visit the
doll museum and the pretty towns of Castalla and Biar which are close by.
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