Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Left Shopper, Pg de Gràcia Centre Shoe shop, C/Portaferrissa Right Clothes boutique, Gràcia
Shopping Tips
! Opening Hours
with a stroll along Carrer
Banys Nous and Carrer de
la Palla in the Barri Gòtic.
For more antique finds,
head to the Bulevard dels
Antiquaris (see p50) on
Passeig de Gràcia, home
to over 60 antiques and
arts shops. The antique
markets, including the
Mercat dels Antiquaris
(see p53) and the Port Vell
antique market, at week-
ends (10am-8pm), are
also worth a browse.
^ Clothing
conversions are: US &
UK 36 is 46; 38 is 48;
40 is 50; 42 is 52.
* Music
Most stores are open
10am to 2pm and 4:30pm
to 8pm Monday to Satur-
day. Department stores
and other large shops
don't close at lunch time.
@ Sales
FNAC has a vast
music selection, as does
the department store El
Corte Inglés. Equally
popular among locals are
the small eclectic music
shops along Carrer Tallers
(see p82) . Also worth a
look are the CD and vinyl
music shops on nearby
Carrer Riera Baixa (see
p82) . d FNAC: El
Triangle, Pl de Catalunya
4 d El Corte Inglés:
Portal de l'Àngel 19-21
Barcelona's big sales
(rebaixes) come twice a
year, from 1 July to the
end of August and from
7 January until the end
of February.
£ Reclaiming VAT
Non-EU citizens can
claim an IVA (VAT) refund
on most purchases over
€90 when they leave
Spain. Shops displaying
the tax-free logo will pro-
vide a tax-refundable
receipt, which you pre-
sent before checking-in
on departure. IVA (VAT)
of 16 per cent (7 per cent
on food) is included in
the advertised price. IVA
for hotels is 7 per cent,
which is not always
included in the price.
$ Leather
High-end clothing
stores dot Passeig de
Gràcia and Avinguda Diag-
onal. For trendier gear,
head to Carrer Portafer-
rissa and Carrer Pelai.
Spain's success story is
the wildly popular men's
and women's contempo-
rary clothing chain Zara,
which is all over town (and
all over Europe). Another
universal favourite is
Mango, targeted towards
younger women, which
also has branches all over
the city. If you're looking
to buy local, there are a
number of top-end
Catalan designers,
including Antonio Miró.
d Zara: Pg de Gràcia 16
d Mango: Pg de Gràcia
65 d Antonio Miró:
C/Consell de Cent 349
( Late-night Shops
Vip's is an all-purpose
drugstore-bookstore-café,
where you can buy books,
gifts, beer, wine and
snacks. Open Cor sells
everything from fresh
flowers to wrapping
paper, beer and wine .
d Vip's: Av. Diagonal, 3
• Open until 3am daily
d Open Cor: Ronda de Sant
Pere 33 and Gran de Gràcia,
29 • Open until 2am daily
) Department
Leather items are a
good buy in Spain and are
of high quality. There are
good shoe stores on
Carrer Portal de l'Àngel,
Carrer Pelai, Rambla de
Catalunya and Passeig
de Gràcia. Loewe and
Kastoria sell quality leather
goods. d Loewe: Pg de
Gràcia 35 d Kastoria: Av
de la Catedral 6-8
% Antiques
Stores
Barcelona's leading
department store is El
Corte Inglés, which has
branches across the city.
You can find seemingly
everything under one
roof, including a super-
market and a gourmet
food shop. d El Corte
Inglés: several locations,
including Pl de Catalunya
14, Av Diagonal 471-473
& Av Diagonal 617-619
& Sizes
Clothing sizes tend
to be small in Spain. Size
conversions for women's
clothing are: US/UK 6/8 is
36; 8/10 is 38; 10/12 is 40;
12/14 is 42; 14/16 is 44.
For men's clothing, the
Antiques aficionados
will be richly rewarded
139
For Barcelona's best shopping areas See pp50-51
 
 
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