Barcelona Shopping
Department Stores
If shopping is on your agenda during your visit to Barcelona you won't be
disappointed in this shopper's paradise. Your first port of call should be Plaça
de Catalunya where you'll find the enormous El Corte Inglés department store
which sells just about anything you're likely to be looking for. On the opposite
side of the square is FNAC which is a great store for anything electrical and
technological as well as music and dvd products.
Transport for Shoppers
Heading north along Passeig de Gràcia and west along Avinguda Diagonal is a
5km route packed with shopping opportunities including some of Barcelona's best
designer outlets and jewellery stores. Such is the popularity of this circuit
with shopaholics that there's a dedicated bus service running along the route
known as the TombBus. This service is marked as T1 Tombbus and departs regularly
from Plaça de Catalunya to Avinguda Diagonal where it goes west as far as Plaça
de Pius XII where it turns back.
Designer Labels
For fashion items the city has become well known for for its own Custo
Barcelona brand which has branches scattered around the city. Check their
website www.custo-barcelona.com for store locators. More mainstream fashion
stores for women include the Zara and Mango brands which both have shops on
Passeig de Gràcia. Another Spanish brand is the shoemaker Camper that has an
outlet at Carrer Elisebets, 11 in El Raval.
Although shopping for designer gear is concentrated mainly in the L'Eixample
dsitrict and Avinguda Diagonal along the route of the Tombbus, there are trendy
boutiques geared towards the younger market around the El Born area of La
Ribera.
Porcelain and Leather Items
Another well known Spanish brand for shoppers worldwide is the porcelain
figuerine producer Lladró
which you'll find on sale in the El Corte Inglés stores and in speciality shops
on Passeig de Gràcia. Kastoria (Av. Catedral 6-8) in the Barri Gòtic is an
official Lladró stockist and is a good choice for leather products which aren't
the bargain that they once were in Spain but are still much cheaper than in
northern Europe for high leather items. The Loewe shop is another favourite for
leather products and is on the shopper's circuit at at Passeig de Gràcia, 35.
Shopping Village Excursion
If you have time and want to take your shopping pastime to the next level
then you should consider an outing to the La Roca shopping village which is
just 30 minutes outside Barcelona in La Roca del Valles. This dedicated shopping
village is packed with well known brand outlets and is accessible by bus from
Fabra i Puig. Just check the
La
Roca website for bus timetables.
Barcelona Markets
If you enjoy wandering around flea markets then head for the Els Encants
Vells on Friday or Saturday but don't expect to find much of interest. More
covenient a venue is the Barri Gòtic which hosts various speciality markets
including the coin and stamp collectors market in Plaça Reial on Sunday mornings
and a art and craft market at Plaça de San Josep on Saturday and Sunday.
La Boqueria Food Market
No mention of shopping in Barcelona would be complete without reference to
the Boqueria food market (La Rambla ,91) which is an absolute must for anyone
visiting the city. It is a plethora of noise and colour, packed with fresh fruit
and vegetable stalls, fish and meat vendors and all kinds of other food related
merchants selling local cheeses, herbs and spices and a range of ethnic
products. There are also some great little bars at the back serving great tapas
all day long.
Opening Times:
On average, independent shops open from 10am to 8pm with maybe a three hour
break in the afternoon (2pm-5pm) The large department stores and shopping malls
don't take this break. Saturday is the main shopping day though smaller shops
may not open again in the afternoon whilst most places, apart from tourist shops
on La Rambla, will close all day on Sunday.
Sales Time:
You can pick up some bargains in the winter sales which start in early
January and in the summer sales during the first week of July.
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