The Barcelona shopping experience

Barcelona is inextricably linked to the arts - music, art, architecture - and fashion too. The city of Barcelona begins to leave Paris in the shade as it becomes the most preferred destinations for those who enjoy shopping.

The most lively and exciting city in Europe and the one with the highest concentration of designer shops too, shopping in Barcelona is never a disapointment. It's also fantastic value - the low cost of living in Spain together with demand for style from the young and vibrant population means that clothes cost less than anywhere in Western Europe. A shopping trip to Barcelona is an absolute must for anyone wishing to change their wardrobe or making more expensive purchases such as designer bridal wear. But it's not just about bargains, unexpected bargains are part of the fun of shopping in Barcelona but it's more about finding truly exceptional clothes and accessories from unknown designers that you'd never find in other big cities.

Forget London and New York, Barcelona is fast becoming every fashionistas fantasy shopping destination. Most of people come not only because of wonderful architecture of Gaudi, but also because of shopping in Barcelona. Barcelona is an extremely practical city to make shopping, all is concentrated there in the center and the historical city. The Women fashion is particularly well represented, by the famous brands which all have a store in Barcelona, but also with the young creators increasingly present. The man will find what easily full its travel bags, the gourmets as well.

If shopping is your passion Barcelona will not disappoint. From designers boutiques and antique galleries to popular chain stores and the grand dame of shopping - El Corte Ingles. At the heart of Barcelona is the famous 5 km shopping zone with pedestrian friendly streets lined with shops, galleries, one-of-a-kind boutiques, cafes, restaurants and tapas bars. The shopping zone begins at the top of the Ramblas, and weaves through Placa de Catalunya along Passeig de Grcia and up Avenue Diagonal.

Brimming with independent boutiques, local designers and unique accessories the city offers a completely original shopping experience. Moreover, during the summer or winter sales when some prices are very attractive. On January 7, all the shops and malls open their doors with great discounts up to 70%.

Take care of your money - the temptation to spend it in Barcelona is extremely high!

Barcelona has become one of the shopping capitals in Europe. In contrast to London, Paris or Berlin, Barcelona is not only fashionable and setting new trends, but is also still relatively cheap.

There are many different shopping areas all distinct in their character. From the infamous Passieg de Gracia, which boasts designer brands from Chanel to Cartier, all the way through to shopping malls offering the best the high street has to offer. The really interesting shopping however, are the alternatives to the big brands and international stores. This area pulls together culture, design, and top notch local designers all together in the best little boutiques, so hidden away that most visitors don't even know they're there.

Although, there are certain areas of Barcelona that are better than others for shopping. The best areas to go to in search of luxury brands are located throughout the city and include the following:

El Born (La Ribera) is a small village in the city. Fashion but very authentic. Don't hesitate to roam into the little streets to breathe the old Barcelona. Charged with history, witness of the commercial prosperity of XIII century, El Born forms with the Barrio Gtico the old city of Barcelona. Despite humble beginnings as a settlement built on top of a medieval area of jousts and celebrations El Born has grown into being one of the most fashionable places in the city.

Nowadays people are attracted to Born for the shopping which consists of some beautiful but pricey boutiques and shoe shops which are useful to find that one-off piece. Some of the trendiest shops around such as Brazilian company Colcci have chosen Born as their home.

The Born district is considered by many the Barcelona Soho, a maze of wonderful backstreets where you need to get lost to find the best shopping treasures. The places to be when you are shopping in Barcelona!

Although some international casual brands have already opened their boutiques here, we can still say that in this neighborhood most of the shops are owned by local designers and craftsmen. Their ateliers and showrooms are just fascinating.

Although, the best shopping in Barcelona isnt constricted to just one street or area; really, you have a number of different shopping streets to stroll through, and likely not enough time to get to all of them.

If you are someone who enjoys walking around luxury shops, Barcelona dedicates a whole street to it. Very close to the most important points of the city like the Plaa Catalunya and Las Ramblas, Passeig de Grcia is the best place to do your shopping in top brands shops such as Yves Saint Laurent and Louis Vutton.

Las Ramblas is the most famous bulevard, something to see even if nowadays its too touristy and the local people try to avoid it in summer.

The famous Las Ramblas catch on Plaa Catalunya and tighten up down to the port, is the most animated artery of the city. It was the place where people from Barcelona used to meet. In the 19C this was the only place in Barcelona where flowers were sold. The flower market now stands alongside great kiosks selling books, magazines and newspaper from Spain and abroad. Stoll under the threes, admire the street artists, look at the alive statues Here we experience a very special lively atmosphere, the number of street artists, painters and bird-shaped sellers. Although Las Ramblas as a shopping area is known for their mainly souvenirs and overcharging shops.

In the alleys of the old town of Barcelona you can find more small shops. Here shops have survived, still committed to tradition. Sometimes the small shops effect something antiquated but loveable, they offer the products of goods for everyday or you can find fine food shops. Their own sweets are regarded as a souvenir, perhaps an olive oil, a good wine or Turron (nougat). In addition to the traditional shops a lot of new trendy fashion boutiques have found their place in the Old City. It's worth it, just to stroll along the small streets and see.

At the Plaa Catalunya at the upper end of the Ramblas of Barcelona you find one with largest department store, El Corte Ingls, a huge shopping temple, in which almost anything is to buy. From the cafe on the top floor you have a magnificent view of the square.

We must look at the La Boqueria market somewhere in the middle of the Ramblas. This market is famous modernist, but it is nevertheless quite typical for the markets, as in any district can be found. There is everything fresh fish, fruit, vegetables, etc..

Not worth a visit are the market stands at the bottom of the Ramblas. This is partly junk offered, they target group are all too clearly the tourists.

Very nice is also the Maremgnum. Here you can find everything - be they shops, supermarkets, restaurants, a cinema complex or a disco.

Passeig de Gracia

Barcelona's second most famous street (after La Rambla), Passeig de Gracia is without doubt the city's best boulevard for spending serious amounts of salary. It is absolutely Barcelona's most famous designer shopping street with the highest concentration of designer brand shops and some of the top Barcelona tourist attractions.

Passeig de Grcia was from the beginning designed to be Barcelona's Grand Avenue. It is Barcelona's most elegant avenue and one of the best architectural walks in the city with lots of Modernist buildings (la Casa Batll, La Casa Mil...). The quality and quantity of modernist buildings is unrivalled.

It's origins can be traced back to Roman times when it was a path that linked to the Via Augusta. In medieval times the city's door to this road was the Portal dels Orbs (blind people's gate), today the Portal del Angel pedestrian shopping area.

The Passeig de Gracia street is very centrally located. It starts at Plaza Catalunya and as the name indicates it ends at the Gracia area of Barcelona, which is an old village that got swallowed by the city.

The Passeig de Gracia is home to some of Barcelona's best hotels which include the Casa Fuster and the Condes de Barcelona.

Aside from being one of the best places to see Catalan Modernist architecture, this avenue is one of the major streets for shopping in Barcelona. As we said, all national and international fashion houses have their boutique here.

Designer brands wink seductively at you from every window... Chanel, Luis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Diesel and many more. And with some of the city's most famous Modernista landmarkson the same street, including two buildings by Antoni Gaudi, you can justifiably call this particularly shopping spree a cultural activity.

Avinguda del Portal de l'Angel

Leading down from Placa Catalunya (the central square which links Passeig de Gracia and Las Ramblas together, amongst others), Portal de l'Angel is not quite as posh as the Passeig but a great place to stock up on high quality.

In Ciutat Vella, Portal de lngel is a pedestrian street that offers loads of stylish shops such as Zara, Mango and Massimo Dutti, along with a huge El Corte Ingls. El Raval has a really diverse community, and with that comes interesting boutique shopping so if you desire something wholly unique, this may be your best bet.

Almost as famous shopping street in Barcelona is Avenida Diagonal which stretches from Diagonal mar area by the sea all the way up to the posh residential area of Barcelona called the Zona Alta. Avenida Diagonal has fantastic shopping especially in the upper end and many of the highest-end designers calls Avinguda Diagonal home, including Armani and Gucci.

La Roca Village

With a convenient location between Barcelona and Costa Brava, and a cosmopolitan mix of top international brands at fantastic prices, its no surprise La Roca Village is the ultimate shopping destination for travelers to the City of Gaudi.

Whether you are a keen fashionista or a bargain hunter looking for the best buy, La Roca Village has everything you need and even more. With a beautiful layout of elegant tree-lined avenues and inspiring Catalan architecture that reminds of the 19th century glory, this charming outlet village boasts over 100 luxury boutiques where you can enjoy discounts of up to 60 percent all year round. The fashion offer ranges from world-famous labels like Guess, Ralph Lauren or Versace to Catalan favorites such as Lupo, Custo Barcelona and Desigual.

In addition to the designer clothing, La Roca Village features a nice selection of home furnishings, lifestyle stores, trendy cafes and upscale restaurants serving both traditional and international fare. Moreover, the undecided customers can call upon the services of a personal style consultant a person specialized in helping clients choose the perfect outfit.

This shopping heaven lies only 40 min from the city and can be reached by car, by train (from Barcelona Sants station to Granollers, where a shuttle bus runs to the Village) or by the Shopping Express from the center of Barcelona.

La Roca Village is part of Chic Outlet Shopping, a collection of luxury outlet Villages by Value Retail.

As we said, you can easily find department stores and shopping centers in Barcelona. Like in every city, its very practical to find in one place all the shops you might need to visit. Some are really classical: you will find in those centers what you also find all over Europe, with the same brands and items (Fnac, Sephora, Zara).

But some are more typically Spanish like the department store El Corte Ingls where everyone should go at least once for its selection of perfume, books, fashion, sports gear, home decor, household goods, electrical products, music, hairdresser, travel agency.

El Corte Ingls is Spain's largest department store chain. El Corte Ingls is seen by the Spanish as a symbol of their culture. Many products and services in various local stores cater to the country's diverse regions. It offers from the last fashion tendencies to all kind of home products, clothing, perfumery, a supermarket, a library, a gourmet store, tickets selling and a travel agency. You cannot miss this enormous building in plaza Catalunya. El Corte Ingls is "the" department store of Barcelona.

Another shopping center is Bulevard Rosa who offers more than 100 small shops, only Spanish brands, with an emphasis on fashion clothing, shoes, accessories and jewellery. The shopping centre is pleased to be able to join a range of irresistible brands and one of the best offers of fashion in the city. In their stores you will find from the boldest products to the classics. Bulevard Rosa is situated in the middle of the Eixample, Barcelona, making a spectacular place in the heart of the Barcelona's shopping area.

If youre after a more American experience, Diagonal Mar has more than 250 stores, a movie theater and activities for kids, along with a great view of the Mediterranean. Diagonal Mar Centre is a unique space where you will be able to find for your day to day needs, the latest in clothing and design, from the most modern to the most typical restaurant and even a good movie at the multi-theatre space. A real nice shopping area in front of the Barcelona beach.

Lilla is a popular shopping center on a huge avant-garde architectural building in one of the city's busiest business districts. The complex of Lilla Diagonal has a little bit more than 20 years of successful trajectory. Situated in Sant Gervasi neighborhood, the surface of the mall is quite smaller but the commercial offer offers from national to international fashion brands; beauty products and perfume; jewelry and accessories; home decoration; restaurants and food; and supermarkets, as well as a unique fresh market.

The best stores include Marks & Spencer, FNAC, Decathlon for sports, the hypermarket Caprabo, Bang & Oluffsen, bags and suitcases from Mandarina Duck, Agatha's accessories, the Disney shop, Zara for fashion, and restaurants like Pizza Hut and Monchos. In addition to all the shops, you'll also find a fresh food market, a supermarket, several others restaurants, a hairdresser's, an hotel and numerous offices.

Opened in 2000, La Maquinista: "The Machinist" is an open-air mall, the only one in Barcelona and one of the biggest of Catalonia. Made of metal structure, there are 230 stores within this large, spread out complex. Perfect to find apparel, specialty stores, and restaurants.

You'll find at la Maquinista brands like: Alain Afflelou, Blue Spirit, Coronel Tapioca, decimas, Foot Locker, Douglas, ideas, Intersport, Naturcenter, Sephora, Yves Rocher, Swarovsky. The only disadvantage is that it's quite far from the city centre.

In conclusion, Barcelona has now begun to gain a reputation as being one of Europes top cities when it comes to fashion. Certainly it is starting to give citys such as Milan, London, Madrid and Paris a run for their money.

In fact it has become a shoppers paradise and if you want to bag some real bargains then make sure you visit the city when the countrys two annual sales take place. The first is the winter sale that begins on the 6th January and goes on through until the end of February or the summer sale that begins in the middle of June and finishes at the end of August. Through out these sales you can really bag some great deals with shops offering discounts between 50 and 75% on their goods.

Barcelona is like a very big shop whose main axis of shops, known as the Shopping Line, consists of 5 kilometers pedestrian precinct with wide pavements which can satisfy the most demanding requirements. Craftsmens workshops, exclusive shops, franchises, shopping centres and street markets all make up the shopping offer of Barcelona. There are three main shopping areas in the city: Centro, Eixample and Diagonal.

You will find a lot of luxury shops including many of the big brands like Versace, Giorgio Armani, Burberry, Bally, Cartier and Calvin Klein to name but a few. You will also find many high quality Spanish designer shops supplying a dizzy array of clothes, shoes, jewelry, apparel and accessories with chic European style.

Interesting information about shopping in Barcelona City Center:

Tax free: residents from outside the European Union are entitled to have Value Added Tax (known as IVA, in Barcelona) refunded on purchases of more than 90.

Opening times: most of the shops and shopping centres are open from 10am-8.30 or 9.30 in the evening. Traditional shops open from 10am-2pm and from 4.30-8.30pm.

Sales: the winter sales generally begin in the second week of January and go on until the end of February, and the summer sales begin on 1 July and run until the end of August.

How to pay: most people pay in cash or with a credit card, when you must show your passport or identity card.

From designer stores to unique boutiques, the city has something for everyone, and the pedestrianized nature of much of the city makes shopping in Barcelona a pleasurable experience.

Make room in your suitcase or closet because there is a lot of great shopping in Barcelona!