Where To Shop In Central Barcelona?
With its year-round tourist-friendly climate, the beautiful parks, dreamy architecture and of course, the exceptional cuisine, everybody knows that Barcelona is a great holiday city. But does Barcelona have good shopping? Is there more to buy than an FC Barcelona shirt with your name on the back and a bottle of cava? The short answer is a definite yes. From fashion to food and from artisan jewellery to handcrafted leather, Barcelona is a shopping dream. In our Barcelona shopping mini guide we’re going to show you the best places to shop in central Barcelona.
What Is The Main Shopping Area In Central Barcelona?
If you’re staying at Hotel Continental Barcelona or Hotel Continental Palacete you’re close to four of the best shopping streets in central Barcelona, Passeig de Gracia, La Rambla, Carrer d’Avinyó and Portal del Angel. Each has their own appeal but together they offer Barcelona’s best shopping experience.
Passeig de Gracia
Starting at Plaça de Catalunya and heading away from the ocean, this is Barcelona’s most glamorous shopping street where Armani and Gucci rub shoulders with Cartier and Chanel. If that sounds a little out of your shopping budget, don’t let that stop you from exploring this street though, because it’s not only credit-card-maxing stores that Passeig de Gracia has to offer. In between the pretty trees and fancy cafés, you’ll find everything from Zara Home to Nike, and from Mango to Uniqlo. And that’s not all, because shoppers are also likely to wander past two of Gaudi’s most famous buildings – Casa Batlló and Casa Milà.
Portal del Angel
Heading towards the ocean from Plaça de Catalunya, Portal del Angel is Barcelona’s equivalent of London’s Oxford Street and offers a similar array of big-name brands and flagship stores. If there’s one way that it trumps Oxford Street though, it’s that it’s more condensed (at only 250m long) and you don’t have to share the street with cars and buses. When it comes to shopping in Barcelona, this is the place to easily shop from H&M to Zara, Pull & Bear to Benetton and with long opening hours (especially in summer) you can shop through to sunset. If you’ve got a long shopping list and you’re short of time, then El Corte Inglés (located on Plaça de Catalunya) is a must. This huge department store has seven floors that will easily enable you to tick off your entire list under one roof.
La Rambla
This is the least shopping focused of the four, but it’s an important one to include on our list. If you’ve visited before you’ll know that in summer La Rambla can get very busy, but this wide tree-lined avenue is a charming and uniquely Barcelona shopping street with plenty of distractions in between the shopping. While the cafés, human statues and crowds might slow down the most focused shoppers, it’s got an undeniable charm that makes it one of the most loved streets in Europe. Shopping highlights on La Rambla include the inimitable La Boqueria food market where the heritage and sheer array of food on offer as well as the beautiful building it’s housed in have earned it the title of ‘world’s best market’. La Rambla is also home to some captivating and historical specialist stores like Casa Beethoven and the Escriba pastry shop.
Carrer d’Avinyó
If you’re looking for something totally different then head into Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter and navigate your way to Carrer d’Avinyó. In many ways this off-the-beaten-track shopping street is the opposite of Passeig de Gracia, where the wide road is replaced with a narrow alleyway, the grand high-end stores are replaced with small boutiques, and the fancy eateries are replaced with bars and cafés that draw the student crowd. While the area might not be for every shopper, it’s one of the best places to find something arty or artisan.
