| Barcelona is great for shopping. The Catalan Capital | | | | along the lines of a HMV, or a Virgin Megastore, and |
| has one of the biggest "shopping areas" marked on | | | | stocks DVDs, CDs' and a fairly impressive bookstore, |
| your Barcelona map, and designated by the Barcelona | | | | including a great travel section and a fair amount of |
| City Council, and there used to be a "Shopping Line" | | | | English books, too. |
| which was a free bus taking you 5 kilometres and | | | | Just a short walk away and another great stop for |
| covering some of the 35,000 shops in the city. Many | | | | books is "Portal del Angel" street - real fans of |
| of the biggest Spanish brands such as Custo, Zara, | | | | Barcelona literature could even take a shortcut |
| Desigual have prime spots along Las Ramblas, Passeig | | | | through Carrer Santa Ana, which was the home of |
| de Gracia and other select locations sitting side by | | | | leading character "Daniel" in Carlos Ruiz Zafon's |
| side with the likes of high street brands such as H | | | | bestseller "The Shadow of the Wind". Here you can |
| & M, and more exclusive boutiques - the likes of | | | | find the Spanish Chain Store "El Corte Inglés" |
| Armani, Fendi, Gucci, Calvin Klein, etc. | | | | whose book collection also has an impressive English |
| However, one often overlooked aspect of the city's | | | | collection of reference and non-fiction. Continue down |
| shopping is books. Barcelona is a great place to buy | | | | towards the inner winding walkways of the Gothic |
| books, and not just Spanish or Catalan books - there | | | | Quarter of Barcelona and "Happy Books" speaks for |
| are some great English sources to find, too. | | | | itself and has a few shops within the city itself. |
| Books are also big business in Barcelona. The Patron | | | | Away from the old town into Poble Sec |
| Saint of Catalonia is Saint George, and on the 23rd | | | | neighbourhood also houses a real gem - Elephant, a |
| April - Saint George's Day and a national holiday in | | | | second hand English bookstore where you can come |
| Catalonia - it is tradition for boys to present a rose | | | | and exchange old novels and pick up some great |
| to the girls, representing the blood of the slain | | | | new ones, too. |
| dragon. And what do the boys receive in return? A | | | | Moving on to some of the rest of the bookstores in |
| book - the 23rd April is also the anniversary of | | | | Barcelona (not necessarily English, or with a good |
| Spain's most famous Author, Miguel Cervantes, | | | | English collection), then BCN Books also has a good |
| whose works include the fantastic "Don Quixote de | | | | collection of books over 3 stores in downtown |
| La Mancha". The city's streets fill up with mobile | | | | Barcelona, and "Casa del Libro" (the Book house, or |
| bookstores, and the famous Las Ramblas is a mass | | | | house of books) also dates as far back as 1923. |
| of coloured roses. So where to go if you want to | | | | Finally, if it's travel books you're looking for, then look |
| find some good books? | | | | no further than Altair on Gran Via, number 616. This |
| A great place to start would be FNAC, at the top of | | | | extremely central bookstore has everything you can |
| Las Ramblas, inside "El Triangle" at Plaça | | | | think of with regards to world travel, anthropology, |
| Catalunya - the city's main square. The French chain is | | | | geography and is a great place to compare. |