Holiday Gift Shopping Guide

Short on time and out of ideas for your nearest, dearest and the dreaded “amigo invisible” Spanish Secret Santa? No problem. Consider this your cheat sheet to thoughtful gift-buying at local Barcelona shops. It’s a been-there, shopped-that edit of some of Barcelona’s most fun and funky boutiques, spanning art prints to eye wear, and vinyl records to fancy collars for canine friends.

25 Barcelona Shops for Buying Gifts

1. Base Elements

For original art without a four-figure fee or gallery stuffiness, LA-born Robert Burt’s urban art den is all chill. Find works by Francisco de Pajaro (aka Art is Trash), El Pez, and Ivana Flores, plus an underground studio where you can watch street artists create their pieces. A gift from here will earn you street cred. ADDRESS:  El Gótico – Carrer del Palau, 6 WEBSITE:  Base Elements

2. BeTheStore

Be screams personality: citrus-bright Fjällräven backpacks, patterned bralettes by Love Stories Intimates, fruit-shaped pool floats in summer, furry slippers in winter, plus games and stickers for kids. Especially good for hard-to-buy-for men (so, all men). Check out their collection of travel books and other items for the cycling enthusiast in your life.

ADDRESS:  Les Corts – Carrer Comtal, 9  /  Gràcia – Carrer de Bonavista, 7  /  Turó Park – Avenida Diagonal, 606 WEBSITE:  BeTheStore

3. Be Your Magic

This warm-hearted, colorful nook is like a glitter-bomb of keepsakes you’d be thrilled to receive: feminist t-shirts, cushions with hand-stitched messages, cactus pots by Pompilio Plants and macramé plant hangers. And that’s just within the first step inside.  ADDRESS:   Arc de Triomf – Carrer del Portal Nou, 16 WEBSITE:  Be Your Magic

4. Bornisimo

Where the cool kids buy Veja sneakers and sports-brand-free backpacks, Bornisimo pairs local gems – i.e. wooden watches by eco brand MAM Originals or teal coasters of the iconic Flor de Barcelona street tile – with hand-crafted hats from Ecuador. ADDRESS:  El Born – Carrer de Sant Pere Més Baix, 98 WEBSITE:  Bornisimo

5. Carolina Blue

Imagine the dream Mallorcan finca. Now find everything to recreate the look at home: hand-glazed crockery, wicker lamps, baskets, gold-edged mirrors, statement vases, palm-tree candlestick holders, plus cozy knits by American Vintage. ADDRESS:  Sant Gervasi – Carrer de Santaló, 39-41  /  Raval – Carrer del Dr. Dou, 11 WEBSITE:  CarolinaBlue Barcelona

6. Cyriano

The ultimate lifestyle brand for dogs – because all dogs are good, even when they’re bad. Pick a mustard collar with gold stars, food bowls that wouldn’t look out of place at a magazine photo shoot set, or an outfit-coordinating carry bag made from buttery Italian leather. ADDRESS:  Turó Park – Carrer de Bori i Fontestà, 11 WEBSITE:  Cyriano 

7. Discos Paradiso

The kind of place where a music lover pops in for a quick look then emerges two hours later, this rummaging-essential record shop sells new and second-hand vinyl. It’s mainly electronica, plus some disco, funk, rock, and soul, and occasional live DJ sets. ADDRESS:  Raval – Carrer de Ferlandina, 39 WEBSITE:  Disco Paradiso

8. Grey Street

A homey design store with a spiritual twist, Grey Street stocks a carefully curated edit of luxe gift wrap (so hard to find in Barcelona), tarot cards, vegan cosmetics by Potions BCN, art prints, quirky jewelry, plus lots of lovely teas to get you through the Barcelona winter. ADDRESS:  El Born – Carrer Agullers 12  / Raval – Carrer del Peu de la Creu, 25 WEBSITE:  Grey Street Barcelona

9. HeyShop

Opened in summer 2019, HeyShop is the first physical store from Barcelona graphic design studio, Hey. It’s a rainbow-riot of color: bold typographic posters, cool prints for kids’ bedrooms (lions, mountains, boats), pastel tote bags, and unique silk scarves. ADDRESS:  Raval – Carrer del Dr. Dou, 4 WEBSITE:  Hey Shop

10. Imanol Ossa

Designer Imanol Ossa is the ultimate recycler, reusing items like musical instruments to create unique lighting. His style is industrial-sleek: shiny brass floor lamps made from cymbals, piano keys used as lampshades, and lightbulbs inside drums. ADDRESS: Raval – Carrer Peu de la Creu, 24 WEBSITE:  Imanol Ossa

11. La Central del Raval bookstore

A multi-language bookstore with benefits. Find great gifts – mugs, modernist-tile-patterned notebooks, coloring books – and a bar (hurrah!), which is a gorgeous collab between Satan’s Coffee, Xemei restaurant, and foliage from Estudio Sauvage. ADDRESS: Raval – Carrer d’Elisabets, 6 WEBSITE: La Central

12. La Clinique Fine Store

A beautifully curated sunglasses atelier that sells unworn vintage Dior and Givenchy frames from the 1950s to 1990s, plus a customization service for your existing pair. Also available, men’s braces and vinyl records, all sold in the chicest of studios. ADDRESS:  El Born – Carrer dels Mirallers, 7 WEBSITE:  La Clinique Fine Store

13. La Nostra Ciutat

If you’re looking for Barcelona-focused art, your recipient’s gallery wall starts here – there are quirky prints aplenty, spanning maps to building facades to mantras. It’s also a must for under-€15 trinkets and stocking stuffers: phone cases, socks, pins, keyrings and postcards. ADDRESS:  El Gótico – Carrer del Pi, 11, and Carrer de Santa Anna, 12  /Raval – Carrer del Dr. Dou, 11 WEBSITE:  La Nostra Ciutat

14. Lantoki

The love child of fashion design graduates Urko Martinez and Sandra Liberal, Lantoki is a slow-fashion shop and studio that runs garment-making courses for adults and kids. The clothes are elegantly made basics (think: Cos), plus cosmetics by Ortigia Sicilia. ADDRESS:  Raval – Carrer del Dr. Dou, 15 WEBSITE:  Lantoki

15. Luciernaga

If you didn’t get to “luciernaga” in Spanish class, it means “firefly”, and this store is like someone’s turned the light on in a mad professor’s cupboard: there’s artisan food, educational toys, pineapple-printed Mac cases, and Barcelona-scented soaps. ADDRESS:  El Gótico – Carrer del Regomir, 30 WEBSITE: Luciernage Barcelon

16. La Mamavaca

More than a maternity store, La Mamavaca is a support network: with gift options by the pram-load – silicone teething necklaces, swimwear, nightlights, lotions – plus courses that you can enroll friends into, such as mom-baby yoga and baby massage. ADDRESS:  Gràcia – Rambla de Prat, 25 WEBSITE:   La Mamavaca

17. Miscelanea

Affordable local art is the ethos behind Miscelanea, where leaving with five prints – from delicate sketches to bold seascapes – is likely. Budgets range from postcards to author-signed originals; mull your choices over a drink in the upstairs bar with DJ decks. ADDRESS:  Raval – Carrer de Guàrdia, 10 WEBSITE:  Miscelanea

18. Moss Olfactory Lab

This fragrance lab sells 100% natural perfumes, all made on-site and available in spray, tincture, and solid forms. But it’s the classes that really elevate you as a gift-giver: the recipient will learn what scents tickle their nose, then make their own signature blend. ADDRESS:  El Born – Carrer dels Mirallers, 7 WEBSITE:  Moss Olfactory Lab

19. Natura Casa

There are a million Natura shops around Barcelona – all excellent for candles and slouchy sleepwear – but Natura Casa is the mothership. Swoon over plants, wine glasses, coffee-table books, fairy lights, baskets and marble tables. ADDRESS:  Gràcia/Eixample – Avinguda Diagonal, 472 – 476 WEBSITE:  Natura Casa

20. NoThrow Design

An eco-design collective based between London and Barcelona, NoThrow styles interiors like bars and hotels, has downloadable furniture templates for DIY fans, and sells wow-factor recycled goodies, from fabric clocks to glasses made from old beer bottles. ADDRESS:  Gràcia – Carrer del Diluvi, 4 WEBSITE:  NoThrow Design

21. Norman Vilalta Bespoke Shoemaker

Men’s footwear does not get more exquisite than Argentinian leather god Norman Vilalta’s bespoke and ready-to-wear brogues and Chelsea boots. Not bad for a former corporate lawyer who only retrained as a shoe-master’s apprentice in his 30s. ADDRESS:  Eixample – Carrer d’Enric Granados, 5 WEBSITE: Shop Norman Vilalta 

22. Olokuti & Olokuti Petits

A store with sustainability as its mission, find yoga accessories, ceramics, cookware, fashion and eco stocking fillers, like a metal drinking bottle with tigers. In Gràcia, Olokuti Petits has divine kidswear, wooden toys, such as a casteller-building kit, and a backyard garden to catch a serene moment while holiday shopping. ADDRESS:  Gràcia – Carrer d’Astúries, 38 and 23 (Petits)  /  El Gòtico – Carrer de la Palla, 6 WEBSITE:  Olokuti

23.  S’Oliver

Imagine a vintage fashion fair inside a secret vault of the old town, then add crockery, furniture, Christmas decorations, and just about every other genre of objet d’art possible. It’s a sleeves-up, get-stuck-in, root-about kind of place that’s pure gift gold. ADDRESS:  El Gótico – Carrer dels Banys Nous, 10

24.  Suara Store

Know a cat lover? Purr-fect. (Sorry). Suara stocks cat-themed products, such as sweaters with cats dressed as David Bowie or “I hate humans” slogans. Part of the Suara Foundation, which rehomes street cats, you can visit the felines for a €6 donation.    ADDRESS:  El Born – Carrer de la Fusina, 6 WEBSITE:  Suara Store 

25.  Typographia

A t-shirt is a failsafe gift that too often ends in H&M. Typographia’s global pool of young artists produce left-field designs of edgy illustrations, computer graphics, ironic slogans, and modern interpretations – like a Mona Lisa with tattoos and piercings. ADDRESS:  Gràcia – Travessera de Dalt, 1  /  Raval – Carrer d’Elisabets, 5   /  El Gótico – Carrer del Pi, 11 WEBSITE:  Typographia