Yes, sadly the best Spanish department store/supermarket is called the English Shop. Presumably modelled on Marks and Spencer, the central Madrid version, just up from Sol, is insanely huge. 9 floors? Including a basement supermarket and sub basement carpark. The supermarket is great, all the stuff you could want, including stuff you shouldn’t, ever buy, like tinto mixed with lemonade (yes the spanish will insist on mixing coca cola with their red wine why why why???) I drank this, and yes, it made me drunk, watching Sex and the City with my two female American roommates at Los Amigos Sol, but frankly, if it tastes of cold Mulled Wine why bother?
It is not so cheap as Dia supermarket, where I got a very effective roll on (they have to be in the spanish weather) so if you’re on a budget avoid El Corte Ingles for food purchases.
However, the seventh floor tourist centre is where to get your cheap postcards, ten for €1.50, plus lots of spanish tat, all much cheaper than the typical little tourist shops. The restaurant is on the same floor if you’re feeling peckish, reasonably priced but not as cheap as the best tapas bars.
Since you are in Spain, it’s always nice to check out the hunting department, where you can buy big knives and rifles, for when the bulls turn nasty. I lingered round the department with a misty eye but there was one genuine customer at the time, an older Spanish businessman (I think from my experiences in Vaughantown that older spanish businessmen are the only people left on earth who know how to have a good time).
I took the escalator up through what appeared to be an insanely large lingerie section, and the menswear section was likewise enormous.
It is all air conditioned and a welcome respite from the Madrid sun.