Shopping
Non European Union visitors to Spain have a little extra
incentive to bring souvenirs home: tax free shopping. So long as
the goods bought are items that could be taken back to you country
with you and the bill exceeds €90.15, you will make a saving
of 16 percent on purchases.
In Barcelona, the city is a shopper's playground. A three mile
(5km) shopping line tracks from Las Ramblas, through Placa de
Catalunya along Passeig de Gràcia and up Avenue Diagonal.
Most of it is pedestrianised and pleasant to navigate on foot. The
Tomb bus is a service specifically tailored for shoppers in the
city, covering all the major retail centres, it departs every seven
minutes from Catalonia Square and makes 28 stops up until Placa
Pius XII.
Barcelona is a very fashion conscious city and several big names
such as Giorgio Armani, Burberry and Bally are represented in
exclusive stores here while there are also local Spanish
mega-fashion stores like Zara, Mango and Adolfo Dominguez.
Travellers on a budget might want to take advantage of seasonal
sales. Winter sales officially start around 10 January and summer
sales around 5 July, savings are generally high, between 50 to 70
percent, during these times.
Shops open at about 9am and close between 8pm and 9pm daily.
Some shops close for a lunchtime siesta between 2pm and 4pm.