Going shopping in Sant Vicente del Raspeig, Alicante

Hello!

A little introduction as always: my name is Nadia and I completed an Erasmus programme at the University of Alicante. To be precise, for those that don't know, the University of Alicante is located in the town of Sant Vicente del Raspeig and not in Alicante itself. Moreover, I lived in the Rector 3 Residence which is really not far from campus. And so, today, I have decided to talk about where to go shopping when you live in Sant Vicente del Raspeig. I am going to put the Google Maps address of each location, because Google Maps is the way to go if you never want to get lost, haha - I've lost track of the number of times this app has saved me!

I would say that the most well known brands in Spain are Carrefour, Mercadona, Consum and Alcampo (Auchan that has been translated into Spanish, haha). There is also Lidl but I get the impression that the Spanish don't tend to go there as much as the others that I've mentioned.

I will put the address of Lidl here since it is the second closest to the halls of residence after Carrefour, so if you really like Lidl, you can go there, although I recommend Mercadona or Consum because I think the produce there is cheaper. (On the other hand, Lidl has a little bakery which isn't bad, but so does Mercadona hehe).

Here is the address and it's only 10 minutes away from the halls of residence:

Lidl

Anyway, I'm going to talk about these places in Alicante, as well as the little tiendas (grocery stores which can be found around and about, and which are sometimes a bit cheaper).

First of all, I will put the address of Rector 3 Residence as well as those of of the shops that I know, so that you can determine the distance.

Here is the web link for the Rector 3 Residence if you are interested:

Residencia de estudiantes

And here is the exact address:

Residencia Universitaria Rector 3

The closest shop to campus and to my accommodation is Carrefour but I don't think it's the cheapest, compared to Mercadona or Consum.

In fact, Carrefour is between 5 and 10 minutes walk from my halls of residence and just next to Sant Vicente's shopping centre, the Outlet Store.

I suspect you already know what Carrefour looks like, since it's already in France, so there's no need to put up photos of it.

Mercadona and Consum are Spanish chains. Both shops can be found in the centre of Sant Vicente del Raspeig. Indeed, the university campus and accommodation are not far away from the centre, about one tram station away (so 5 minutes by tram) and I would say between 15 and 20 minutes if you walk from the accommodation.

Here is the address of Mercadona in Sant Vicente del Raspeig:

Mercadona

Source

Here is the address of Consum in Sant Vicente del Raspeig:

Consum

Source

And finally Alcampo which is a bit further away because you have to take the tram. In fact, Alcampo is a part of the Plaza Mar shopping centre. It's the same route that goes to Alicante and you can see straightaway the enormous Alcampo from the tram window. Besides Alcampo, which is immediately visible when entering the shopping centre, there are shops, restaurants on the top floor and a cinema (which I think also shows films with subtitles, something I mention because most only have Spanish voices).

Here is the address:

Alcampo

Source

Apart from these supermarkets, you can also find little grocery stores which sometimes sell fruit and vegetables for a better price than the others. And so I suggest you go walking and lose yourself in Sant Vicente, or even in Alicante, in order to find them, because there are several. I only remember the little grocery store Jia, which is at the entrance to Sant Vicente.

One little trick that I recommend, if you're a lazybones like me and you don't want to carry tons of shopping, is to buy a hand cart (you know, the little carts that old people use in the markets) - honestly, its so practical and useful, I used it all the time even if it was weird.

I found a really good one for only 10 euros in the shopping centre El Cort Inglés which is located in the centre of Alicante. You can't miss it - as soon as you leave Luceros Station, you will see it.

Ironically, I think it was the only cheap thing I found in that place, as the prices are super expensive there.

Even so, I'll put the address:

El Corte Inglés

Source

I'd like to give a special mention to the shops MBK and DOMTI which are not supermarkets for doing the shopping but more like shops in the style of a trade show or a bazaar which are very affordable places to buy, for example, frying pans, sheets, household cleaning products if you are in a house share, etc. I should specify that DOMTI is a shop in which all products are a maximum of 2 euros, (be careful though because although 2 euro prices are good, they can quickly accumulate - it is cunning).

MBK is located 5 minutes from the halls of residence - here is the address in any case:

MBK

Meanwhile DOMTI is located in the centre of Sant Vicente del Raspeig. Here is the address:

Domti

I should clarify that the photos are not of Alicante or Sant Vicente, they are just random photos to show you exactly what the shops look like, so that you will be able to find them easily.

There we have it! I hope this will be helpful for you!

Goodbye!

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