What to buy in Barcelona

Antiques

If you can't break away from the old town, Carrer dels Banys Nous in Barri Gotic is lined with antique shops and is a good area to start. The side streets in the immediate area, including Carrer de la Palla, also hide a bevy of antique shops. While you're wandering along Carrer de la Palla, glance up at No 21 - it was once the Hospital de Sant Saver - founded back in 1462.

There are alternatives. Bulevard dels Antiquaris, Passeig de Gracia 55 (part of the Bulevard Rosa arcade complex) is jammed with more than 70 antiques shops, most of a general nature (furnishings, paintings, decorative items) with a few specialists: Brahuer (jewellery), Dalmau (wooden picture frames), Govary's (porcelain dolls) and Victory (crystal).

Art

You could start hunting for art in several places. Along Carrer de Montcada are several commercial galleries, the biggest being Galeria Maeght (Carrer de Montcada 25). Others include the Galeria Surrealista, next to the Museu Picasso, the Sala Montcada of the Fundacio La Caixa (Carrer de Montcada 16), Galeria Beaskoa next door and Galeria Montcada (jammed in next to the Palau de Dalmases). In Barri Gotic you'll find several galleries in Carrer de Petritxol.

Predictably enough, the presence of the Museu d'Arte Contemporani de Barcelona in El Raval is turning the surrounding area into an artsy zone. You'll find a half dozen small galleries and designer stores on Carrer del Doctor Dou, Carrer d'Elisabets and Carrer dels Angels.

The classiest concentration of galleries - about a dozen of them - is on the short stretch of Carrer del Consell de Cent between Rambla de Catalunya and Carrer de Balmes. A particularly interesting place is Galeria Victor Saavedra (tel 93 238 51 61; Carrer d'Enric Granados 97). Saavedra, himself an artist, has been promoting all sorts of artists from around Europe since the late 1980s.

The Guia del Ocio also carries a limited list of art galleries.

For many, a big Miro print or a Picasso poster would make the perfect gift. The Fundacio Joan Miro, Museu Picasso and Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (Macba) are all well stocked. The souvenir shops in the Oficina d'Informacio de Turisme de Barcelona (Placa de Catalunya 17), and Palau de la Virreina (La Rambla de Sant Josep 99) also carry limited offerings.

For high-quality postcards of Barcelona, prints and the like investigate Estamperia d'Art (tel 93 318 68 30; Placa del Pi 1).

Books

There is no shortage of decent bookshops in Barcelona, but the local product is pricey, largely due to high printing costs in Spain.

La Rambla

Llibreria & Informacid Cultural de la Generalitat de Catalunya (tel 93 302 64 62, Rambla dels Estudis 118). This is a good first stop for books and pamphlets on all things Catalan, although a lot of it is highly specialised and technical.

Llibreria de la Virreina (tel 93 301 77 75, Palau de la Virreina, La Rambla de Sant Josep 99). Here you'll find an assortment of art/architecture and art history books, many with at least some relevance to Barcelona.

Barri Gotic & El Raval

Antinous (tel 93 301 90 70, Carrer Josep Anselm Clave 6). This is a good gay bookshop and cafe.

Complices (tel 93 412 72 83, Carrer de Cervantes 2). It has gay and lesbian books.

Documenta (tel 93 317 25 27, Carrer del Cardenal Casanas 4). Documenta has novels in English and French, and maps.

Proleg (tel 93 319 24 25, Carrer de la Dagueria 13). Proleg is a women's bookshop.

Quera (tel 93 318 07 43, Carrer de Petritxol 2). It's a specialist in maps and guides, including for walking and trekking.

L'Eixample

Alibri (tel 93 317 05 78, Carrer de Balmes 26). This is one of the city's best general bookstores, with a wealth of material and foreign language books too.

Altair (tel 93 342 71 71, Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes 616). Altair is a great travel bookshop with maps, guides and travel literature.

Casa del Libro (tel 93 272 34 80, Passeig de Gracia 62). With branches elsewhere in Spain, the 'Home of the Book' is a well-stocked general bookshop.

Come In (tel 93 453 12 04, Carrer de Provenca 203). It is a specialist in English-language teaching books; there are also plenty of novels and books on Spain, in English and French.

The English Bookshop (tel 93 425 44 66, Carrer de Entenca 63). A good range of literature, teaching material and children's books can be found here.

Laie (tel 93 518 17 39, Carrer de Pau Claris 85). Laie has novels and books on architecture, art and film in English, French, Spanish and Catalan. It has a great cafe where you can examine your latest purchases.

Clothing & Fabrics

If you're after international fashion, Avinguda Diagonal is the place to look. Shops along here include Calvin Klein (At No 484), Giorgio Armani (No 490; No 620), Gianni Versace (No 606) and Gucci (No 415). Jean Pierre Bua (No 469) hosts designers ranging from Jean Paul Gaultier through to Helmut Lang.

Max Mara (tel 93 488 17 77; Passeig de Cracia 23) has several branches around town.

Loewe (tel 93 216 04 00; Avinguda Diagonal 570) is one of Spain's leading and oldest fashion stores, founded in 1846. There's another branch, which opened in 1943, in the Modernista Casa Lleo Morera (Passeig de Gracia).

Try Ortiga (Carrer de Bon i Fontesta 10) if you're looking for pret-a-porter evening dresses.

Adolfo Dominguez (Passeig de Cracia 32) is a star name in Spanish fashion and Gonzaio Cornelia (Cnr Passeig de Cracia & Carrer de Casp) is known for men's clothing.

Zara (I'llla del Diagonal shopping complex; Avinguda Diagonal 584; Passeig de Cracia 16; Hostal Lausanne, Avinguda del Portal de I'Angel 24) is one of the country's most successful outlets for women's fashion.

Antonio Miro (Carrer del Consell de Cent 349) concentrates on light, natural fibres to produce smart, unpretentious men's and women's fashion - jackets are a strong point.

Jeanne Weiss (tel 93 301 04 12; Carrer d'En Rauric 8) has some nice lines in African printed fabrics, cushions and shirts.

Obach (tel 93 318 40 94; Carrer del Call 2) has, since 1924, been purveying hats in the heart of the Call.

Loft Avignon (tel 93 301 24 20; Carrer d'Avinyo 22) is one of several hip young fashion stores that have sprouted along this once sombre Barri Gotic street.

In El Raval along Carrer de la Riera Baixa, a string of clothing stores has appeared in the past couple of years. The kind of clothes, from pseudo military through to grunge, reflects the still gritty nature of this part of the old town.

Crafts

For an overview of high-quality Catalan crafts (artesania), pop into the Centre Catala d'Artesania (tel 93 467 46 60; Passeig de Gracia 55). It is dedicated to promoting and maintaining Catalan craft traditions.

Natura Selection (tel 93 48819 72; Carrer del Consell de Cent 304) has a big stock of ethnic bags (leather and cloth), jewellery, pots, drums, candles, carvings, glass, baskets, tablecloths, rugs and more.

Casa Miranda (tel 93 301 83 29; Carrer de Banys Nous 15) offers you woven baskets of all shapes and sizes.

Galeria Africa Negra (tel 93 319 16 31; Carrer dels Banys Veils 5), unsurprisingly, specialises in a wide range of crafts from all over Africa.

Even if you're not interested in all the mounds of wax, you may want to pop in to Cereria Subira (tel 93 315 26 06; Baixada de la Llibreteria 7) just to say you have been in the oldest shop in Barcelona. It started trading in 1761.

A couple of interesting ceramics and pottery shops owned by the same people are hidden north of the Catedral. Ceramiques i Terrisses Cadi (tel 93 317 73 85; Carrer de les Magdalenes 23) has a diverse range of plates, jugs and so on. The owners will either be here or in the twin store (simply called Ceramica) across the road.

Design

Vincon (tel 93 215 60 50; Passeig de Cracia 96) has the slickest designs in furniture and household goods, local and imported. Not surprising really, since the building belonged to the Modernista artist Ramon Casas.

Bd Ediciones de Diseno (tel 93 458 69 09; Carrer de Mallorca 291) is worth a look, even if you have left your credit cards at home. Here you will find a collection of pieces for the home by some of Barcelona's leading designers. Opened in 1972, this prize-winning store is located in a Modernista house built by Domenech i Montaner.

Artquitect (tel 93 268 23 86; Carrer del Comers 31) is interesting for enthusiasts of building design.

Food & Drink

Serious champagne sippers should pop by Xampany (tel 670 84 50 11; Carrer de Valencia 200). It stocks over 100 types and brands of cava and all the associated drinking utensils. For a completely modern and international approach to wine, try La Vinia (tel 93 363 44 45; www.lavinia.es; Avinguda Diagonal 605; open 10am-9pm Monday to Saturday). This mega wine store has fine drops from around the country and abroad.

Need some cheese? A couple of spots are worth seeking out. Formatgeria La Seu (tel 93 412 65 48; Carrer de la Dagueria 16) has a nice selection on display, and you can taste a few morsels with a drop of wine for a small fee.

If coffee is more your tipple, head for El Magnifico (tel 93 319 60 81; Carrer de l'Argenteria 64). These guys have been roasting all sorts of coffee for most of this century.

Nuts to you at Casa Gispert (tel 93 319 75 35; Carrer dels Sombrerers 23), where they've been toasting almonds and selling all manner of dried fruit since 1851.

L'Ametller (tel 93 319 64 91; Carrer dels Banys Veils 7) is a tiny little place stacked to the rafters with all sorts of interesting local food and drink products, lots of them with a sweet side.

Xocolateria Valor (tel 93 487 62 46; Rambla de Catalunya 46) has for more than 100 years been responsible for tooth decay in countless willing victims in Alicante. It opened in Barcelona a few years back. You can buy to takeaway or try anything from ice cream to milk shakes on the spot.

Furniture

You probably won't be buying, but drop into La Maison Coloniale (tel 93 443 22 22; Carrer de Sant Antoni Abat 61) anyway. The colonial-style furniture is exquisite, and so is the setting - what remains of the 15th-century Gothic Esglesia de Sant Antoni Abat, largely destroyed in the civil war.

Jewellery

Joyeria Bagues (tel 93 216 01 74; Passeig de Cracia 41), in Casa Amatller, is a reliable name in high-quality rocks. If you want to check out a more international name, try Cartier (tel 93 488 00 62; Carrer del Consell de Cent 351). For gold jewellery, Vasari (Passeig de Gracia 73) is reliable.

Tous (tel 93 488 15 58; Passeig de Cracia 75) aims its more light-hearted jewellery at young customers and offers other accessories ranging from original perfumes to stylish sunglasses.

If you wander down along the museum trail on Carrer de Montcada, you'll find several silver specialists on the same street. Carrer del Call is lined with little jewellery stores, a lot of them dedicated to cheaper costume stuff.

Lladro & Majorica

These are possibly the two best-known Spanish brand names in the world. Lladro porcelain is coveted as much as the Majorica pearls that compete with it for display space in several stores around Barcelona. Garcia (tel 93 302 69 89; La Rambla 4) is a handy spot to take a look at these products. You will find Majorica pearls in El Corte Ingles department stores too.

Music

Several small shops specialising in indie and other niche music can be found on or around Carrer de Sitges and especially on Carrer dels Tallers (El Raval), which boasts a dozen music stores.

Castello (tel 93 31820 41), at Nos 3 (classical music), 7 and 79, is a large family business that has been going since 1935; it is said to account for a fifth of the retail record business in Catalunya.

Rock & Blues (tel 93 412 59 86; Carrer dels Tallers 10) is a haven for vinyl and rare records.

CD-Drome (tel 93 317 46 46; Carrer de Valldonzella 3), nearby, specialises in house, hip-hop, trip-hop and other hops.

Daily Record (tel 93 301 77 55; Carrer de Sitges 9) is another interesting outlet.

Musical Instruments

New-Phono (tel 93 315 12 04; Carrer Ample 37), in Barri Gotic, has been selling instruments under one name or another since 1834. The shop is housed in what was once the stables of a noble family.

Perfume

Regia (tel 93 216 01 21; Passeig de Cracia 39) is reputed to be one of the best perfume stores in the city.

Photography

Arpi (tel 93 301 74 04; La Rambla 38) has five floors given over to all things photographic (still, video and cinema). It is a standard port of call for professional snappers. For a good second-hand collection of cameras, try Casanova (tel 93 302 73 63; Carrer de Pelai 18).

Shoes

There's a gaggle of relatively economical shoe shops on Avinguda del Portal de l'Angel, which is just off Placa de Catalunya.

Camper (tel 93 215 63 90; Carrer de Valencia 249), something of a classic shoe merchant in Spain, has a good range.

Souvenirs

If you're in the mood for a little kitsch, the easiest thing to do is head for La Rambla. The place is lined with shops that will sell you all sorts of junk. However, before you flash your cash at the merchants, have a look inside Barcelona Original, the souvenir boutique in the building of the Oficina d'Informacio de Turisme de Barcelona (tel 906 30 12 82; Placa de Catalunya 17). It has an interesting range of quality stuff, including ceramics, watches, art prints, coffee-table books and the like. Most of the major museums and art galleries have shops attached where you can 'buy the T-shirt' and other more substantial gifts.

El Ingenio (tel 93 317 71 38; Carrer d'En Rauric 6) is a whimsical fantasy store where you will discover giant Carnival masks, costumes, theatre accessories and other fun things.

For some, football is the meaning of life. If you fall into that category your idea of shopping heaven may well be La Botiga del Barca (Carrer de Aristides Maillol s/n), near the team's Museu del Futbol at the Camp Nou stadium and its branch (tel 93 225 80 45) in the Maremagnum complex. There you can get shirts, keyrings, footballs, the works - anything you could think of featuring the famous red and blue colours.