Shopping in Barcelona
If what you like the most is shopping, you are in the ideal city, where you will find all kinds of commercial offers and for all budgets; clothing and accessory stores, shopping centres, antique shops, artisans, flea markets and markets with a wide range of local gastronomic products such as sausages, oil or wines.
Business hours
Most shops in Barcelona open from 9.00 a.m. until 1.30 p.m. and from 5.00 p.m. until 8.00 p.m. from Monday to Saturday, although some small shops close on Saturday afternoons. Shopping centres and large department stores are open from 9.30 or 10.00 a.m. until 9.00 p.m.
Main shopping areas:
Barcelona is a cosmopolitan city with something for every shopping lover. There are 22 shopping áreas where you can find everything from traditional shops to high-end brands, and shopping centres offering a wide range of goods, services and leisure activities. While a broad range of shopping options are available wherever tourist visits are frequent, the main areas are: first, the one and only Passeig de Gràcia, running from Plaça Catalunya up to Avinguda Diagonal (going towards the mountains), where shoppers can lose themselves in the neighbouring streets of Eixample Esquerra and stroll up the tree-lined Rambla de Catalunya. Walk until you come to Avinguda Diagonal, one of the city’s main roads, where you will find an ample range of high-end shops. Alternatively, if you choose to walk towards the sea from Plaça Catalunya, you can take Portal del Angel down and then weave your way along Calle Portaferrisa and Plaça del Pi, then head in the direction of the cathedral. You will be making your way to La Ribera and, specifically, to a district known as El Born. This area has recently became home to the city’s trendiest shops, with clothes from the best independent designers, the coolest and most urban styles, and a number of showrooms.
Get information about the
“Barcelona Shopping Line”online or at any of the tourist offices. The route extends for a total of 5 km, making Barcelona one of Europe’s best shopping destinations. Turisme de Barcelona also offers the “Barcelona Shopping Tour”, a guided tour that lasts for three hours.
Info: www.barcelonaturisme.com
Tourist information centre.
Plaça de Catalunya, 17
Tax free
The Spanish rules for allowing refund of VAT (IVA) to foreign visitors, who are residents outside the EU areas follows: Your purchases must exceed 90,15 € (aprox. USD 100) per shop. Ask the shop assistant for a Tax-free Shopping Cheque which is your claim for the Tax Refund.
El Corte Inglés: Tax Free – Devolución del IVA.
Premier Tax free: Carrer de Bergara, 16 premiertaxfree.com
Global Blue Tax free: Tax free refund at the Turisme de Barcelona information office. Business hours: from 8:30 to 20:30 h daily. We only accept cheque issued in Spain from Global Blue.
www.barcelonaturisme.cat/bsl