Fantastik: bazaar is a precious word
FOR MODERNITIES WITH ECLECTIC TASTES
gray street : Also known as the store that housed Satan's coffee corner (who buy their coffees, of course, in The Magnificent, look how beautiful and how well everything fits together), Gray Street is one of those places where you enter to buy a gift and leave with twenty pocholadas for yourself . They have vintage clothing and accessories, handmade notebooks, remnants that ask for “sew me”, handmade cuteness from local artisans… Knowing how to select so well is an art. (Peu de la Creu 25)
An Ask Alice notebook on Gray Street
DoctorPaper : Little tin cups from going on a field trip with the boy scouts? amigurumi manuals? Pantone products? Diana cameras? Here they have literally everything, with preference for vintage airs and stationery products made with recycled material. Tintineros attention: his catalog of products of the reporter in bloomers would leave the Castafiore speechless. (Travessera de Gràcia 130 and Rec 40).
Gray Street Notebooks
fantasy : Bazar is a precious word and here they honor its meaning. Not suitable for minimalists, the apotheosis of color is experienced intensely in this store full of objects from China, India and especially Mexico. We are big fans of the now classic Mexican oilcloths with flowers, their ceramics and tin plates, and their selection of religious-pagan objects. (Joaquin Costa 62).
Fantastik: not suitable for minimalists
FOR FOODIES TIRED OF BUSINESS
mariol house : In case you weren't tired of hearing it everywhere, we repeat it here too: vermouth is the trendy drink. So you have to act accordingly: today more than ever it is appropriate to show up at someone else's house with a bottle of the wonderful vermouth that the Casa Mariol harvesters sell in their private store/winery. They also sell cavas and classic wines , but to surprise, nothing like these beautifully designed bottles. (Rossello 442).
Casa Mariol: a vermouth, please
** Cafés el Magnifico and Tealosophy ** : Giving away coffee and tea will not be the most orthodox, but it is a guarantee that your gift will not end up in a drawer dying of laughter and from a fabulously scented bag. In cafés el Magnifico the best cafés in Barcelona buy their product and with this everything is said. The offer is so wide that you have to let yourself be advised and convinced by its shopkeepers. Tealosophy has a colonial style that immediately harkens back to an old Opium ad. Its founder, the Argentine Inés Bertón, is one of the few people in the world who holds the wonderful title of “tea nose” . We do not need much more to convince us of its benefits. (Cafés el Magnifico, Argenteria 64; Tealosophy, Bonavista 3)
Tealosophy, teas and colonial style
papabubble : See how in this store / workshop knead and cut the candy is a hypnotic show . Children, adults and tourists go crazy with their boxes and packages of colored candies. An already international success that surprises for the simplicity of its concept: it's just candy, yes, but how vicious . (Wide 28) .
FOR CRAFTIES
Bee nest : It is one of the most beautiful shops in Barcelona and in addition to buying you will want to stay and live in it . Fabrics, kits to make everything, manuals, wool, stamps... perfect for those who master the diy language and know what scrapbooking and washi tape are. (Torrent de l'Olla 23)
Honeycomb: you will want to stay and live
Duduá : It is not a store but a space for workshops (and factotum of practically the entire diy movement that moves in the city) but, in these times of antimaterialism and vindication of experiences, nothing better than giving away one of the highly requested courses. If your friend is a fetén craftie, he probably won't need the tricot or t-shirt yarn, but what about trying the tapestry one?
Duduá: diy in Barcelona
FOR THE VERY TRAVELERS
Altaïr bookstore : Not only do they have all the travel guides imaginable; they also offer maps (of the useful and decorative ones), novels related to exotic or local destinations, inspirational photography books , comics, cookbooks and everything needed to get the recipient of a gift from this store packing up for their next destination. (Grand Via 616).
Altaïr Barcelona, 60,000 references to travel
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE A NEW HOME
Wunderkammer : Hidden in an alley in Gràcia, this place is a madhouse of wonderful things at a good price. They have wooden furniture from India, crockery that Lady Grantham from Downton Abbey could eat on, apparent costume jewelery that Josephine Baker would wear without hesitation… An ode to good taste that even a coaster or a nutcracker can be objects of desire. If they even have a cool dog. (Francisco Giner 8-10).
the A : Lovely pots, old cages, wooden letters to decorate, candlesticks in the shape of a dove … A precious little intimate shop that will drive those who have a house with a garden / terrace / balcony crazy. And if you don't have any of these three things, they sell some beautiful cacti in glass fishbowls , bouquets of dried wild flowers and plants in white ceramic balls that just by putting them in a corner they already make a home. (Torrent de l'Olla 86).
Vincon : Congratulations, Vinçon is still open here! Its iconic shop windows and the years spent doing important informative work in the construction of Barcelona as a city of design make it a must-see. The best place to find crap for daily life that will end up becoming essential. (Passeig de Gracia 96).
Vinçon and its iconic shop window
FOR CHILDREN
Bateau Monday : Those who envy the photos of their German or Nordic friends' children surrounded by cleanly designed, handcrafted-looking toys they have to come here. A small, varied toy store with a Francophile air, its books, games and clothes transmit creativity, beauty and fun. The recipients of the gift will make you a little envious. (Plaza de la Virreina 7).
the king of magic : A classic that never fails. A store with character, a waste of old-style charm, which is sometimes a bit scary and always fascinating. Kids go crazy for tricks and adults enjoy being in a store that has survived in good health since the end of the 19th century. Well, and the tricks too. (Princess 11).
Imaginary Syndrome : It is not an exclusively children's bookstore but children love it and connect with the children's part (in the best sense) of adults. Illustrated pop-up books, stories that are precious objects to admire and with which they encourage the love of reading from when it has to be done, the beginning. (Aragó 108) .
*** You may also be interested in...**
- Curious shops in Madrid where you can find the perfect gift
The Bateau Lune shop window