Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A feast for the eyes, this Modernista confection is also the city's most traditional venue for
classical and choral music, although it has a wide-ranging program, including flamenco, pop
and - particularly - jazz. Just being here for a performance is an experience. Sip a precon-
cert tipple in the foyer, its tiled pillars all a-glitter. Head up the grand stairway to the main
auditorium, a whirlpool of Modernista whimsy.
DANCE
TABLAO NERVIÓN
set dinner €25-35, show with one drink €14; shows 8-11pm Thu & Fri; Jaume I)
For admittedly tourist-oriented flamenco, this unassuming bar (shows take place in the base-
ment) is cheaper than most, and has good offers. Check the website for details.
SHOPPING
The former commercial heart of medieval Barcelona is today still home to a
cornucopia of old-style specialist food and drink shops, a veritable feast of
aroma and atmosphere. They have been joined, since the late 1990s, by a raft
of hip little fashion stores.
FOOD
CASA GISPERT
9.30am-2pm & 4-8.30pm Tue-Fri, 10am-2pm & 5-8.30pm Sat; Jaume I)
The wonderful, atmospheric and wood-fronted Casa Gispert has been toasting nuts and
selling all manner of dried fruit since 1851. Pots and jars piled high on the shelves contain
an unending variety of crunchy titbits: some roasted, some honeyed, all of them moreish.
Your order is shouted over to the till, along with the price, in a display of old-world account-
ing.
ARTS & CRAFTS
ARLEQUÍ MÀSCARES
10.30am-8.30pm Mon-Sat, 10.30am-3pm & 4-7.30pm Sun; Jaume I)
A wonderful little oasis of originality, this shop specialises in masks for costume and decor-
ation. Some of the pieces are superb, while stock also includes a beautiful range of decorat-
ive boxes in Catalan themes, and some old-style marionettes.
CLOTHING, ANTIQUES
LOISAIDA
