Page 192 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Spain

190  BARCEL ONA

SHOPPING IN BARCELONA

Barcelona is known for its style and and help define the city when time is
sophistication, and can be neatly divided limited. There are many food markets as
into distinctive shopping districts – Passeig well – 44 in all – and a scattering of flea
de Gràcia for designer stores plus old shops markets such as the modern Els Encants
with beautiful Modernista frontages, Barri and the charming Sant Cugat antiques
Gòtic for eclec tic antiques and boutiques, fair. There is something for everyone in
El Born for serious fashion divas, and El Barcelona – from high-street fashion and
Raval for markets, quirky design and unique boutiques to local shops selling
museum shops. These categories are not traditional crafts. All shops close on
fixed, but do provide a useful rule of thumb, Sundays, except Maremagnum.

Food and Drink sausages. These include
Barcelonans are proud of their inventive combinations such
culinary heritage, and rightly so. as pork and cuttlefish, beef and
The land produces superlative beetroot, and lamb and wild
vegetables and fruits, flavourful mushroom. Casa Gispert is
meats and a huge array of the stop for top-grade dried
cheeses. The bountiful sea offers fruit and nuts, as well as coffee
fresh fish and other seafood, toasted in-house. The fabulous
and the wine-growing regions Formatgeria La Seu is a
of the Penedès and the Priorat walk-in dairy where you
make some of the best vintages can choose from a great
in the world. As if all this wasn’t seasonal collection of cheeses
enough, chocolate shops, candy made by small producers.
makers and patisseries also do Xocoa is the trendiest of
their best to complete the feast. the many chocolate-makers in
La Boqueria food market is the city, with its retro pack aging
Some of the beautifully displayed the obvious place to start a and fun shapes, including
confectionery at Escribà gastronomical journey, but chocolate CDs and giant keys.
Barcelona’s numerous specialist Escribà Pastisseries is more
Markets
food shops are not to be extravagant, with magnificently
Barcelona has an impressive ignored either. sculpted cakes and life-size
range of markets selling OlisOliva, in the Mercat chocolate models of famous
a wide variety of things. Santa Caterina in El Born, stocks personalities. Cacao Sampaka
Everyone should explore a superb selection of olive is an innovative sweet shop that
La Boqueria on La Rambla, oils and a range of beauty stocks amazing off-the-wall
one of the most spectacu lar products such as soaps and fillings such as anchovy, black
food markets in Europe. The lotions. Around the corner, olive and blue cheese, as well
small and lively Plaça del Pi is La Botifarrería de Santa as more familiar herb, spice
also home to a food market María stocks wonderful artisan and floral flavours.
selling cheese, honey and charcuterie and a lip-smacking Casa Colomina is ideal for
sweets. It is held on the first selection of home-made those who want to sample
and third Friday, Saturday
and Sunday of each month.
On Sunday mornings, coin
and stamp stalls are set up in
the Plaça Reial, while antiques
are sold in Plaça Nova on
Thursdays. The city’s main flea
market, Encants Vells, takes
place on Monday, Wednesday,
Friday and Saturday. It offers
a variety of goods including
jewellery and clothing.
In December, a Christmas
street market is held near the
cathedral, where Christmas
trees, figurines and other
decorative items are sold. Mouthwatering fruit stalls in La Boqueria market

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