shops and shopping in Barcelona

Updated May 30 2023

Over the years the experience of shopping in Barcelona has changed a lot, and without doubt the biggest change has been the huge expansion of the choice and diversity available to shoppers, with many new chain stores and individual shops opening their doors. So the problem isn’t so much finding interesting shops, but rather choosing what to buy, given the wealth of shops available.

From the big shopping centres to boutique shops, taking into account all the wonderful independent shops in each district, patisseries and delicatessens, Barcelona has all these and much more to offer.

What to buy in Barcelona?

Many tourists and visitors to the city ask the same questions – ‘what should I buy in Barcelona?’ and ‘where should I buy it?’. Because it’s such a big city, in Barcelona you’ll find all the major international brands of clothing and accessories in various parts of the city, both in the main traditional shopping centre, and in the malls that are slightly further away such as Maremagnum, l’Illa Diagonal, Diagonal Mar, etc.

However, the items that you’ll see in many of these chain stores can be found anywhere in the world, so if you want to find typical clothing and accessories from Barcelona and Catalunya you’ll need to go to the smaller independent shops.

Shopping hours in Barcelona

Depending on the type of business and the area in which it’s located, the opening hours vary. In general, and for shops that are located in the busiest areas of the city, opening hours are from Monday to Saturday, from 10:00 until between 20:30 and 21:30. On Sundays and public holidays nearly all the shops, including those in the city centre, remain closed, with the exception of bars and restaurants.


However, you’ll still find some parts of the city where shops open on Sundays and public holidays, including the Maremagnum complex, near the port. A few shops in the district of El Born open on Sundays, although these are few and far between.

Sales and reductions in Barcelona

If you’d like to take advantages of seasonal sales in Barcelona, these generally take place twice a year, and are thus known as the summer and winter sales. Each lasts up to a couple of months.

The summer sales: from 1st July until the end of August.

The winter sales: from 1st July until the end of February.


* Note that this is the maximum sales period, and depending on availability of their products, some shops won’t offer reduced prices right up until the last day.

Types of shops in Barcelona

Depending on what you’re after, we’ll be able to point you in the right direction of where to find it, through the more detailed information we offer below.

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