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Passeig de Gràcia Barcelona’s grand avenue of lavish Modernista
buildings is fittingly home to the city’s premier fashion and design
stores. From the international big league (Chanel, Gucci, Swatch) to
Spain’s heavy hitters (Loewe, Camper, Zara, Mango), it’s all here. And topping the interior design list is the perennially popular Vinçon.
Side streets reveal more sublime shopping, notably Carrer Consell de
Cent, which is dotted with art galleries, and carrers Mallorca, València
and Roselló.
Shop front, Passeig de Gràcia
Bulevard Rosa & Bulevard dels Antiquaris Opened
in 1978, Barcelona’s first fashion mall, Bulevard Rosa, is still one of
its classiest, with over 100 shops showcasing clothes, shoes and
accessories by Spanish and international designers. The adjoining
Bulevard dels Antiquaris is a spacious mall, with over 60 antiques and
arts shops. Bulevard RosaPg de Gràcia 53 Open 10am–9pm Mon–Sat
Bulevard dels AntiquarisPlaça de Catalunya & Carrer Pelai The
city’s booming centrepiece is also its commercial crossroads, flanked
by the department store El Corte Inglés and the shopping mall El
Triangle, which includes FNAC (books, CDs, videos) and Séphora (perfumes
and cosmetics). Lined with shoe and clothing shops, the nearby Carrer
Pelai is said to have more pedestrian traffic than any other shopping
street in Spain. El Corte InglésPl de Catalunya 14 Open 10am–10pm Mon–Sat
El TriangleC/Pelai 39 Open 10am–10pm Mon–Sat
Portal de l’Àngel Once
a Roman thoroughfare leading into the walled city of Barcino, today the
pedestrian street of Portal de l’Àngel is traversed by hordes of
shoppers toting bulging bags. The street is chock-full of shoe,
clothing, jewellery and accessory shops.
Shopping crowds, Portal de l’Àngel
Rambla de Catalunya The
genteel, classier extension of La Rambla, this well-maintained street
offers a refreshing change from its cousin’s more down-at-heel carnival
atmosphere. Chic shops and cafés, as well as their moneyed customers,
pepper the street’s length, from Plaça de Catalunya to Diagonal. You’ll
find everything from fine footwear and leather bags to linens and lamps. Avinguda Diagonal Big
and brash, traffic-choked Diagonal is hard to miss, a cacophonous
avenue that cuts, yes, diagonally across the entire city. It is a
premier shopping street, particularly west of Passeig de Gràcia to its
culmination in L’Illa mall and the large El Corte Inglés department
store near Plaça Maria Cristina. Lining this long stretch is a host of
high-end clothing and shoe stores (Armani, Loewe and Hugo Boss among
them), interior design shops, jewellery and watch purveyors, and more.
Handbags, Avinguda Diagonal
Carrer Portaferrissa From
zebra platform shoes to bellybutton rings and pastel baby T-shirts,
this street’s other name could well be Carrer “Trendy”. Along this strip
you’ll find El Mercadillo
minimal, crammed with hip little shops selling spiked belts,
frameless sunglasses, surf wear and the like. Just off this street is
Galeries Maldà, Barcelona’s first shopping gallery, with a range of
shops and a cinema showing original-version independent and Bollywood
films .
Galeries Maldà
Storefront, Carrer Portaferrisa
Gràcia Old bookstores, family-run botigues de comestibles
(grocery stores) and bohemian shops selling Indian clothing and
accessories cluster along Carrer Astúries (and its side streets) and
along Travessera de Gràcia. A string of contemporary clothing and shoe
shops also lines Gran de Gràcia. El Born Amid
El Born’s web of streets are all sorts of art and design shops. Passeig
del Born and Carrer Rec are dotted with innovative little galleries
(from sculpture to interior design), plus clothing and shoe boutiques. La Maquinista Housed
in an old locomotive factory in the Barri de Sant Andreu is one of
Catalunya’s biggest shopping centres. The mall offers everything under
one roof, with over 200 shops, including several outlets, a multiplex
cinema, a bowling alley and fastfood eateries galore.
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