The Rough Guide to Barcelona 8 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

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to Saturday 10am–10pm, though the cafés, restaurants and leisure outlets in
malls are usually open on Sunday too. All the stores below are open in August
unless otherwise stated. Barcelona’s daily food markets, all in covered halls, are
generally open from Monday to Saturday, 8am–3pm and 5–8pm (local varia-
tions apply), though the most famous, La Boqueria on the Ramblas, opens
throughout the day.
Antiques
L’Arca del Avia c/Banys Nous 20,
Barri Gòtic T933 021 598, W www
; M Liceu. Catalan brides
used to fill up their nuptial trunk (arca) with
embroidered bed linen and lace, and this
shop is a treasure-trove of vintage and
antique textiles. Period (eighteenth to
early-twentieth century) costumes can be
hired or purchased as well – one of Kate
Winslet’s Titanic costumes came from
here. Closed Aug.
Bulevard dels Antiquarius Pg. de Gràcia 55–57,
Dreta de l’Eixample T932 154 499, Wwww
; MPasseig de
Gràcia. An arcade with over seventy shops
full of antiques of all kinds, from toys and
dolls to Spanish ceramics or African art.
Closed Sat in Aug.
Mercantic c/Rius i Taulet 120, Sant Cugat del
Vallès T936 744 950, W
FGC Sant Cugat. This permanent antiques
and collectables market is out in the
suburbs but makes a great trip for casual
browsers and serious collectors alike. Every-
thing from furniture to farm machinery, old
radios to vintage jewellery, postcards to
erotic drawings, plus an outdoor Sun flea
market (until 3pm), weekly lot auctions (Sat)
and trade markets (1st Sun of each month).
Closed Sun afternoon, all Mon & Aug.
Arts, crafts and gifts
Art Escudellers c/Escudellers 23–25, Barri
Gòtic T934 126 801, W www.escudellers-art
.com; M Liceu. Enormous shop selling a
wide range of ceramics, glass, jewellery
and decorated tiles from different regions
of Spain. Shipping can be arranged,
and there’s also a gourmet wine and
food section.
Artesania Catalunya c/Banys Nous 11,
Barri Gòtic T934 674 660, W www
MLiceu. The local
government’s arts and crafts promotion
board has an old-town showroom, where
it’s always worth looking in on the current
exhibitions. Most of the work is contempo-
rary in style, from basketwork to glassware,
though traditional methods are still very
much encouraged.
La Carboneria c/Groch 1, Barri Gòtic T932 684
889, W M Jaume I/Barceloneta.
The Drap-Art creative recycling organization
offers a shop and exhibition space for artists
to show their wildly inventive wares, from
trash-bangles to tin bags.
Cereria Subirà Bxda. Llibreteria 7, Barri Gòtic
T 933 152 606; M Jaume I. Barcelona’s oldest
shop (founded 1760) has a beautiful interior,
selling unique hand-crafted candles.
Fantastik c/de la Mercè 31, Barri Gòtic
T932 954 877, W ;
M Drassanes/Barceloneta. At the “bizarre
bazaar” (the shop with the bicycle outside)
there are beguiling gifts, crafts and objects
from four continents, from Chinese robots
and African baskets to Russian domino sets
and Vietnamese kitchen scales. Much of it is
unclassifiable kitsch, and there’s usually more
in show in the upstairs “Kitchen Gallery”.
Papirum Bxda. Llibreteria 2, Barri Gòtic T933
105 242; M Jaume I. For all your writing
needs – hand-painted paper, draughts-
man’s pens, leather-bound notebooks
and more.
Taller Textil Teranyina c/Notariat 10, El Raval
T 933 179 436, W ;
M Catalunya. Teresa Rosa Aguayo opened
her Raval textile workshop in 1987, and still
weaves striking contemporary carpets, rugs
and wall-hangings and makes textile
jewellery and other objects. You can call in
any time to see the design work being
carried out, or sign up for one of the
courses. Closed Sat & Sun.
Books
General
Casa del Llibre Pg. de Gràcia 62, Dreta de
l’Eixample T932 723 840, Wwww.casadellibro
.com; MPasseig de Gràcia. Barcelona’s biggest
book emporium, strong on literature, humani-
ties and travel, with lots of English-language
titles and Catalan literature in translation.
SHOPPING
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Antiques • Arts, crafts and gifts • Books