Shops

Torre del Mar is the commercial hub for a good part of the Axarquía, which for a town of this size means an unusually complete high street. The directory documents 75 verified shops across fourteen trades.

Where each trade sits

• Avenida de Andalucía for supermarkets, banks and everyday errands. It is the spine of the town.
• Calle del Mar for clothes and perfume. Small independent boutiques, not chains.
• Calle Pintor Cipriano Maldonado for anything to do with the home. Four of the town's six kitchen studios sit on the same street.

Two things that catch visitors out

Small shops close at midday. The chains keep going, the independent shop does not. Between roughly two and five in the afternoon a lot of shutters come down, and that is normal here rather than a sign of a quiet town.

Thursday is market day. The open-air market takes over the Plaza de la Paz area with more than 200 stalls, mostly fruit, vegetables, clothes and shoes. Bring cash and go early. The covered food market, in Calle del Río, is a different thing and opens Monday to Saturday.

The full shop directory, trade by trade and with each address verified, is in Spanish.