Shopping in Barcelona is a fascinating and integral part of a trip to this city. Large-scale markets and entire streets with large-scale shopping complexes and small shops offer a wide variety of goods that are worth buying during the trip. You only need to know what and where to look, and what time is best for shopping.
Barcelona Shopping Overview
Going on a shopping trip in the capital of Catalonia, it is advisable not only to draw up a route along which it will be convenient to travel to find things of interest, but also to take into account certain features of the work of urban outlets.
As a rule, the best time for a successful shopping is the sales season. In Barcelona, as in many cities in Europe, there are 2 such seasons:
- Winter – lasts from January 7 to approximately mid-March.
- Summer – lasts from the first of July to the beginning of September. But in August, many shops are closed, as Barcelona residents are massively dispersing on holidays.
With the start of sales, “Rebaixes” signs, that is, “Discounts,” are posted in stores. Typically, discounts are 30-70% of the value of the goods. In the last days of sales, they reach a maximum size of 80-90%, but the range is already quite poor.
Those who are shopping for the first time in Barcelona can buy the special Guia de Compres brochure, which lists 450 city stores in alphabetical order.
In Spain, you can return up to 16% of the money spent on the purchase of clothing and shoes. This is possible subject to several conditions:
- goods should be bought only where the inscription “Tax free shopping” is present;
- the total amount of purchases must be at least 90.15 euros;
- There must be a receipt for the goods;
- purchases must be in their “original” packaging, otherwise they are equal to second-hand ones.
You can apply for Tax free at the airport, for this there is a special counter with the inscription Global Refund.
What to buy
In any large city there are “their” goods that are worth buying. Barcelona is no exception; here you can engage in targeted shopping.
Stradivarius, Zara, Mango, Pull & Bear, Massimo Dutti are all world famous clothing brands hailing from Spain. And it is quite natural that in this country the assortment will be wider and prices low.
Pikolinos, Zinda, El Naturalista, Manolo Blahnik, El Dantes, Camper, Pura Lopez are popular shoe brands, also Spanish. There are shops of these brands in almost all shopping centers and on the streets of the city.
Leather products deserve special attention: shoes, clothes, bags, accessories. All this is done beautifully and efficiently, any product will be a successful acquisition for many years. Prices for accessories start at 20 euros, for a pair of shoes – from 40 euros.
In the season of sales for shopping, a lot of buyers come to Barcelona stores, and because of the huge lines in the fitting rooms, it is not always possible to normally measure the thing you like. Shoppers with experience go around the stores a few days earlier and calmly try on everything that they liked, and on the first day of the sale they go to the store for specific things.
Any product of the world-famous Carrera y Carrera jewelry house is a real masterpiece. Prices are appropriate, the simplest little ring costs 1500-2000 euros.
A much more economical option is jewelry UNO de 50, which is also popular all over the world. These gizmos are made of a special alloy, and on top are coated with silver or gold dusting.
In this country, you can take any cosmetics with olive oil – they will be of high quality. True, it is advisable to buy them in pharmacies.
In Barcelona, they buy olive oil, cheeses, jamon, spicy chorriso sausages and fouet, made in the neighboring town of Vic.
Regarding cheese: the Catalan cheese makers have their own specific traditions, allowing you to get excellent varieties of this product. Going to grocery shopping, guests of Barcelona buy these cheeses:
- tender Alt Urgell i la Cerdanya;
- soft goat Garrotxa aged under ashes;
- Hard Sheep Serrat;
- dessert Mató de Montserrat;
- white with a black crust Costa Negra;
- the likeness of the French brie Tou del Tillers.
The assortment of wines in Spain is very large, and mainly dry light wines. The best wine in this country is the wine from the Rioja region, a bottle costs 8-15 euros. Catalonia produces affordable, light table white wines. The most famous is sparkling wine cava.
Shopping centers in Barcelona
There are a lot of shopping complexes in this city, and without shopping any shopping will be incomplete. In high-rise buildings there are both branded boutiques and cheaper stores.
The area of this complex is 90,000 m², and it has about 200 stores. On the ground floor there are household appliances and electronics stores. On the second, boutiques were established that sell clothes, shoes, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics. There are stores Lacoste, Levi’s, Oysho, Zara, H&M, Miss Sixty, Desigual, Benetton, Calvin Klein, Pull & Bear, Sephora.
Not only shopping is possible at Diagonal Mar. There are restaurants, a bowling alley, a cinema center and an entertainment area for children Mar de nens.
Shops are open from 10:00 to 21:00, the day off is Sunday.
Shopping center is located near the sea and the promenade: Avenida Diagonal 3, Barcelona, Spain.
The entertainment and shopping complex L’illa Diagonal impresses with its multidirectional nature. On an area of 35,000 m², in addition to boutiques, there are 2 4 * hotels, a sports center, a dance hall, cafes and restaurants.
This shopping center has over 170 stores. Women’s clothing is represented by the brands Conti, Mango, Stradivarius, Violeta, Zara, Desigual, and men are waiting for things from Pepe Jeans, Levi’s, Lacoste, Diesel, Primark, Jack & Jones.
There are shoe stores of such brands in this Barcelona complex: Camper, Conti, Sebago, Geox, Lindsey, Panama Jack, Yerse, U-Casas, Vialis.
Groceries are also here, and in an extensive assortment.
L’Illa Diagonal is open from Monday to Saturday inclusive from 9:30 to 21:00, and from June to September until 22:00.
Location of this shopping center: Avinguda Diagonal 557, Barcelona, Spain.
This shopping and entertainment complex has the highest popularity among residents and guests of Barcelona. It attracts with its favorable location, extravagant architecture and functionality.
In large-scale Maremagnum there is an activity for the whole family: from the terrace to look at the sailing ships, go shopping, eat in a restaurant (there are an incredible number of them), visit the cinema.
In this center there are almost 230 stores with a variety of goods. Clothing for men and women is offered by the brands Blanco, Desigual, Lacoste, Pull & Bear, Bershka, H&M, Stradivarius, Macson, Mango, Superdry. High-quality modern children’s clothing is represented by the brands Bóboli, Pimkie, Juguettos. Shoes are offered by branded boutiques of Casas Kids, Querol, U Casas, Havaianas.
FCBotiga – this is the name of the store where you can buy the attributes of FC Barcelona.
Shopping in Maremagnum is possible even on Sunday, as trading platforms operate every day from 10:00 to 21:00, and in the summer until 22:00. The working hours in restaurants are individual.
Maremagnum is located on an artificially created island near the old port. The shopping complex is connected to the shore by the Sea Rambla bridge, which is a continuation of the famous La Rambla promenade. Shopping center address: Carrer Moll d’Espanya 5, Barcelona, Spain.
This is not an ordinary shopping center, because it is designed as a real city with streets, boulevards, shops.
Directly in the open air there are at least 230 stores with clothes and other goods. Among the brands represented here are Yves Rocher, Blue Spirit, Intersport, Naturcenter, Alain Afflelou, Foot Locker, Douglas, Coronel Tapioca.
Of course, there are excellent restaurants where you can relax after shopping.
La Maquinista works according to this schedule: from 10:00 to 21:00 every day, Monday is a day off.
The shopping center is located on the outskirts of the city, address: Paseo Potosí 2, Barcelona, Spain.
Although the El Triangle shopping complex is small (only 15 stores), shopping lovers will still have something to do here.
The huge range of FNAC media market offers computer equipment, electronics, books, as well as discs with music, films and computer games. In addition, tickets for all concerts planned in Barcelona are sold here.
At Habitat, you can choose from a variety of household products. You can buy quality sports shoes at Foot Locker, and branded clothes at Desigual and Massimo Dutti.
El Triangle is closed on Sunday, the rest of the working hours are from 09:30 to 21:00.
The shopping center is located in the central part of the city: Plaça Catalunya 1-4, Barcelona, Spain.
Markets
Barcelona does not violate the pan-European tradition: there are several colorful markets, which will be interesting to visit both for shopping and to get acquainted with the capital of Catalonia.
In the heart of Barcelona, on La Rambla, the popular authentic Boqueria market has settled in. Among the shopping arcades with a variety of products, there are pretty cafes where you can drink aromatic coffee and have a tasty meal.
About what shopping in the Boqueria market can be found in a separate article .
This is one of the newest markets in Barcelona, striking in its original appearance. The walls and ceilings here are very bright, in rich colors, beautiful mosaics depicting fruits and flowers on ceramic surfaces.
But inside – the same bright real fruits and vegetables, flavored cheeses, herbs and spices, meat and fish – and all the freshest. Shopping in this market is always successful, because the choice of products is huge, and the prices are very affordable.
Santa Catarina awaits visitors in:
- Monday – from 7:30 to 14:00;
- Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday – from 7:30 to 15:30;
- Thursday and Friday – from 7:30 to 20:30;
- Saturday – from 7:30 to 15:30.
Santa Catarina Market is located at Avinguda de Francesc Cambó 16, Barcelona, Spain.
Shopping streets
The most popular shops are concentrated on the central city streets, sometimes united in large-scale shopping quarters. For fans of shopping, this location is very convenient.
Carrer de Pelai, stretching from Plaça Catalunya to Central University (about 300 meters in length), is a true paradise for shoppers with different levels of affluence. But nevertheless, the local shops have the greatest popularity among young people, who prefer budget-friendly items of modern brands.
Among the boutiques established here are Topshop, C & A, Happy Books, Mango, Bershka, Zara, Discos Balada.
The most exquisite boulevard of the Catalan capital, where you can admire the masterpieces of the great Gaudi, is Passeig de Gracia. Shopping can also be done here, as there are boutiques of status and more democratic brands working between the streets of Carrer d’Arado and Calle del Rosellon. More specifically, these are: Rolex, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Jimmy Choo, Valentino, Burberry, Lacoste, Zara, Woman’s secret, H&M.
In Barcelona, this shopping street is well known among first-class shoppers. There are boutiques of brands such as Versace, Gucci, D&G, Comptoir des Cotonniers, Emporio Armani, Calvin Klein. However, there are boutiques for less experienced shoppers.
This place is also great for good shopping. Here are just hope for budget prices here.
On this street of Barcelona there are central clothing and footwear stores of the most iconic Spanish companies Desigua and Custo. There are other equally good points with shoes: Royalty Shoes Gallery, Jorge Juan, Mayol Sabateria, Vogue. There are also Oysho, Zara, Zara Home, Massimo Dutti, Tous, Intimissimi, Panama Jack.
On this street, which stretches down from Plaza Catalunya, there are quite a lot of retail space with budget prices, although there are plenty of expensive things here.
In the list of boutiques: Massimo Dutti, H&M, Calzedonia, Zara, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho, Uterqüe.
This world-famous boulevard cannot be called an area for real shopping, because here they offer mainly only a variety of souvenirs, paintings. But there are plenty of such things: the range is amazing.
On La Rambla are all tourists visiting Barcelona, and here you should be wary of pickpockets.
Barcelona Shopping Line
Especially for convenient shopping, the Barcelona authorities organized several bus routes, giving them the general name Barcelona Shopping Line. All routes are circular, they start and end at Plaça de Catalunya. Buses running between the most popular points for shopping are easily recognizable by the inscription Barcelona Shopping Line. They go every day except Sunday, the schedule is as follows:
- Monday – Friday: from 7:30 to 21:45 with a frequency of 7 minutes;
- Saturday: from 9:30 to 21:20 with a frequency of 15 minutes.
You can pay the fare directly with the driver – the price is 10 euros. With a purchased ticket you can ride all day, getting out and stopping at any of the stops – this makes shopping in Barcelona even more pleasant and convenient!
Best places to shop in Barcelona:
