Guide to Barcelona

Shopping at Christmas

Monday, 14 December 2009 09:23

Shopping in Barcelona

Shopping in Barcelona is not like London, it is in fact a much more tolerable experience! Everyone loves to shop, but especially around busy times of year, like Christmas,there are too many people and too much to choose from, that it can be very stressful. However Barcelona is definitely a much calmer experience, the streets are wider, there are fewer tourists in the winter, and there are lots of branches of the same shop. For high street shops you should look in Portal de Angel, Las Ramblas and El Triangle and for your designer labels head up to Passeig de Gracia.

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Shopping at Christmas and the Christmas Sales- Christmas in Barcelona and indeed Spain is less commercial that the United Kingdom or the USA. There is less emphasis on pointless gizmos which will only last for the Christmas period, as their celebrations are rooted much more in the religious elements. The decorations are more minimalist and are only put up towards the middle of December, you do ot see chocolate advent calendars in the shops by October and there are no endorsedl Christmas jingles being played in November. The whole thing is much more understated and as a result shopping is much more fun.

There is a wonderful Christmas Market you must go and see in Plaza Catedral, right in front of the Catherdral. It resembles the typical English adaptation of a German Market that are put up in many cities at Christmas but instead of selling commercial goods and fast food, they sell the most amazing, hand-crafted christmas decorations and gifts. There is mistletoe beautifully wrapped in ribbons, and logs and moss to decorate the fire place, and whats more you can tell that the venders have found all these things themselves and done all the art work single handedly. There are little knitted baby clothes, hats and mittens and little booties, and the whole place just has an enormous charm about it.

With regards to the sales, there are probably less compared to the UK and US. There are no queues outside Wlamart, or people fighting over the last one on the shelf, however most shops do advertise "ventas" which means sale. If you go to the markets and the little shops in The Gothic District you are bound to pick up a bargain for Christmas every time.

Rather than concentrating on finding something with 20% off, you should move from market to market where you will find food and gifts. There are the most wonderful food stalls selling cheese, ham, wine and all wonderful Spanish traditions.

Visiting Barcelona over Christmas? Find your Barcelona accommodation here.