Barcelona Shopping and Design

SHOPPING

Shopping in Barcelona has become one of the main activities of visitors to this city, whether on holiday or on a business trip. The quality, quantity and variety of goods on offer is simply astounding and the main shopping areas add the incentive of being located in architecturally rich settings so that you can combine shopping with a thorough knowledge of Barcelona’s architecture. Take for instance the Passeig de Gràcia with its landmark Modernist buildings, many of which house fine shops (jewellry, fashion, gifts) at street level. Or choose to shop on the Diagonal and you will find that L’illa Diagonal, Barcelona’s newest shopping centre is set in a simply stunning white building designed by architect Rafael Moneo, who in 1996 was awarded the Pritziker Prize for Architecture (the closest equivalent of a Nobel Prize for architecture).
Turisme de Barcelona, in collaboration with various merchants associations, has created what is known as the "shopping line", which is a line on the city map that runs from the Maremagnum complex of the old port, up the Ramblas-Gothic quarter, the Plaça Catalunya-Portal del Angel-Plaça Universitat area, and continues up Passeig de Gràcia-Rambla Catalunya to the Diagonal and along the Diagonal up to Plaça Reina Maria Cristina. You will find much more information on this Shopping Line a little further on.

BUSINESS HOURS
General shopping hours are from 9am or 10am to 1:30pm and from 4pm or 5pm to 8 or 9pm. Some shops, mostly in malls, and large department stores open at 10am and don’t close at lunch time. Saturday is the busiest shopping day of the week, but many shops close in the afternoon. Sunday shopping is not widespread due to government regulations, but in some tourist areas and on certain holidays you will find many shops open for business.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR
You can find almost anything in Barcelona, but in recent years Barcelona has become especially famous for sophisticated design, in fashion, jewellry, decoration, and furniture. The next headings discuss these in a little more detail.

ANTIQUES
If you want a really unique item or gift you have a great selection of shops specializing in antiques. The best place for antique shopping in Barcelona is on the Passeig de Gràcia in a complex called Bulevard dels Antiquaris (Antiquarians Boulevard). There are over 70 antiques shops in this one location specializing in everything you can imagine. You could spend hours browsing here and you will also be surprised by the excellent quality-price ratio. An important point is that if you shop here, with every purchase you receive a certificate of origin and a written guarantee from the seller. The Bulevard dels Antiquaris is well worth exploring if you’re looking for that unique gift or collectible that you can’t find anywhere else.

LEATHER
Leather goods are one of Barcelona’s traditional specialities and you can find a great many shops offering excellent value. While the prices may no longer be the bargains of years past, the quality and design available certainly make up for it. One of Brcelona’s oldest and best shops for leather goods is Kastoria, next to the Cathedral.

FASHION
Just look around and you’ll see that Barcelonans are stylish dressers, and when you see the wide selection of fashion shops you understand why. All the major international labels are represented in this city and there are also excellent local designers. On the Passeig de Gràcia and the Diagonal there is a mind boggling variety of excellent men and women’s fashion shops, of which we have included a selection in the Shopping Listings.

FAD
Plaça dels Àngels 5-6.Design organization.

Custo Barcelona
Plaça de les Olles 7.
Famous designer know for his t-shirts

BD Ediciones de Diseño
C/Mallorca 291.
Interior design shop with reproductions of Gaudí furniture. In the modernist house Casa Thomas.

Adolfo Domínguez
Passeig de Gràcia 32.
One of Spains most famous designers.

D Barcelona
Av. Diagonal 367/Rec.
For kitsch lovers. Young designers have an exhibition space in the back.

TAX FREE SHOPPING FOR NON-EC RESIDENTS
If you reside outside the European Community you can get your tax back on purchases over 15,000 ptas by filling in the appropriate forms and getting them stamped by customs when you leave the country. If you shop at establishments displaying the TAX FREE SHOPPING logo all you have to do is fill in the form complete with passport information (the shop attendant can help you with the process)..You will then be given a Tax Free cheque for the amount of your refund (16% on most items) which you must have customs stamp after showing the goods as you leave the country. Inside the departures area at Barcelona Airport you can cash your Tax Free cheque at the office inside the departures area of Terminal A. If you prefer you can obtain your refund in the form of a charge-card credit or certified cheque. A handling fee will be deducted from the VAT amount. Remember that in Barcelona most of the prices you’ll see include the tax, so that not only the favourable exchange rate but also the Tax Free refund combine to make your shopping here an unbeatable value.