You don’t have to be an expert to enjoy fine wine. Anyone can understand the joy of uncorking a new bottle handpicked by someone dear to you – and the assistance of an expert sommelier always helps, too. With an astounding reputation as one of the top five wine cellars in the world, Monvínic houses a dizzying selection of over 3,000 hand-selected bottles.

Their raison d’être, as they mention on their website, is to reflect the incredible diversity of the five wine-producing continents by sourcing and carefully storing wines. Their bodega is complimented by a library, conference centre and culinary space all designed to maximize the experience of hand-picking your perfect bottle. A delectable gift for any adult with more than a fleeting interest in gourmet indulgence.

Open: from Monday to Friday from 13.00 to 23.00.
The kitchen is open from 13.30 to 15.30 and from 20.30 to 22.30.
Saturday and Sunday closed.
 
Monvínic
Diputación 249
Tel.: +34 932726187
www.monvinic.com

One of the freshest designers to grace Barcelona in several years, Mariam Ponsa is well-known for her classic approach to modern fashion, using traditional techniques and dyeing methods to create luxurious and unique pieces with an edge. Her chunky knitwear and cosy scarves are the perfect understated gifts for even the hardest to please.

Mariam Ponsa
C/Princesa 14 and C/Elisabets 20
Tel.: +34 932955562
www.miriamponsa.com

Tucked away in the Gotico area, Formatgeria La Seu is a small cheese shop dedicated to bringing us only the finest and most sought-after cheeses from the farthest reaches of Spain, each one hand-selected by the owner (Scottish born Katherine McLaughlin). All products are sourced from small farmers who are dedicated to using sustainable production methods. We recommend a delectably creamy queso from the Catalan Pyrenees called Tupí, which comes lovingly packaged in La Formatgería’s own recyclable box. But if you can’t decide, there are always the in-house cheese tastings…

Formatgeria La Seu
Carrer Dagueria, 16
Tel.: +34 934126548
www.formatgerialaseu.com

Rubbing shoulders with MACBA in the stylish upper part of Raval, Open House is a British-run design shop home to an eclectic blend of design wares, from the locally-based Basque illustrator Ibai Etxeberria to Swedish jewellery designer Lo Lou and unusual jewellery made of natural elements bone, carbon and wood by Karlota Laspalas. Ideal for finding a stylish gift for design-conscious friends and family, all pieces here are hand curated by the store owner, Andrew Trotter, who has rapidly gained an excellent reputation for his unique taste since opening the shop in June 2011.


Open House
C/Notariat, 6
Tel: 931 125 837
www.openhousebcn.com

Photo ©Shopikon

A short stay in Barcelona is all too easily recognized by a return home with suitcases of endless garish gaudi paraphernalia, I HEART Barcelona sweaters and Sagrada Familia keyrings…but why are we all too often tempted by souvenir rubbish, made in China, when there is such an exquisite variety of genuine artesan-made, locally-designed products at our feet, begging to be discovered and lovingly regaled to our nearest and dearest this festive season?

Over the countdown to Christmas we will be bringing you DestinationBCN’s top picks for the best and most original gifts available in the city, from gourmet food suggestions to original catalan designers, presenting you with a new gift-idea every day until 25th December. This list isn’t intended for exclusive use over the festive season but rather as a useful point of reference that can be used for any occasion, at any time of year. Enjoy!

Cereria Subirà

Dating back to 1761 this candle shop located on Baixada de la Llibretería, 7 is the oldest establishment in Barcelona. Its original baroque décor remains intact while the use and style of the candles it sells has changed with the times. The trade’s main client had always been the Church and both the appearance of electricity in the 1900’s and later changes in liturgy during the 60’s were significant trials. It’s thanks to the arrival of magazines such as Marie Claire and Paris Match in Spain that promoted the use of candles in the home as decoration and insured the future of wax workers.

From the invention of gas lamps to electricity, the beautiful Cereria Subirà has survived countless threats to its existence and yet still stands proud offering a wide range of colorful and sweet smelling candles that make great gifts. Well worth a visit!

Opening hours:

Monday-Friday 09:00-13:30 and 16:00 – 19:30

Saturday 09:00-13:30

Calle Baixada de la Llibretería  7

Herboristeria del Rei

The Herboristeria del Rei next to the Plaça Reial dates from 1823 and was the first herbalist’s of Barcelona. In 1860 it became the royal supplier to Queen Isabel II and was lavishly remodeled by a theatre designer.

When you walk into this magical little shop you are met with the same aromas that customers would have experienced 185 years ago. The thick wooden drawers that line the walls are filled with over 200 different herbs and spices some of which can’t be found anywhere else. There are also hand made soaps, perfumes, herb mills and organic food products to choose from.

When you visit this living museum be sure to write a note in their treasured visitor’s book that has been signed by hundreds of enthusiastic locals and tourists alike to show support for its preservation.

Opening hours:

Tuesday – Saturday from 10:00 – 20:00

Calle Vidre 1

Colmado Quilez

Colmado is a Spanish word for your typical grocery store and it’s also used as an adjective meaning “full to the brim” or “heaped”. The Colmado Quilez was founded in 1908 and its shelves are indeed heaped with the choicest gourmet foods from around the world.

The shop offers over 4000 products and specializes in the highest quality cheeses, embutidos ibéricos, foie, caviar, bubbling wines and liquors and all for very moderate prices. Its famous façade remains unchanged and the effort to conserve the store has been awarded a commemorative plaque by the Town Hall that reads “Guapos per Sempre” (In Catalan: Beautiful Forever).

Opening hours:

Monday – Friday from 09:00 – 14:00, 16:30 – 20:30

Saturday 09:00 – 14:00

Rambla de Catalunya, 63

www.lafuente.es

Barcelona is full of great terraces, and parks in which to unwind and flick through the pages with a cool glass of “vino” or a rich steaming coffee and something sinfully sweet.

Thankfully, when it comes to English bookshops in Barcelona, we’re spoilt for choice. The blossoming tourist trade and cosmopolitan nature of the city has spawned all kinds of outlets for riveting reading matter…

The expansive, multi-layered branch of French Chain FNAC on Plaça Catalunya, opens from Monday to Saturday and offers a large selection of international books, press and just about everything else except the kitchen sink: CDs, DVDs, hi-fis, TVs, computers, mobile phones and a reasonable cup of coffee and a sarnie are all up for grabs in store.

www.fnac.es

If it’s more of a literary fling you’re after, VIPS on Rambla de Catalunya stocks International newspapers and magazines, which you can peruse over a hamburger and milkshake every day of the week, should the urge take you.

Hibernian Books on Carrer Montseny is bursting at the rafters with thousands of new and used English books. Part-exchange is also welcome (although children, half-eaten ice creams. metro-tickets and uncomfortable shoes are not accepted in return for books!
I should know, I’ve tried all of those.) If variety is the spice of your life, this is the store for you. From children’s books to antique novels, this place is rather like a tardis, in which one loses all sense of time, space and matter. Don’t pop in on the way somewhere: you won’t make it on time! Open from Monday to Saturday.

www.hibernian-books.com

For those who prefer not to live in the real world, Norma Comics on Passeig de Sant Joan 9, is Barcelona’s biggest comic store and offers all the usual favorites from Marvel, Tintin, and Manga to the most obscure and beguiling Spanish and European authors, a selection of which are available in English and other languages. DVDs, dolls, costumes and assorted other comic lovers paraphernalia is also offered. Norma is open from Monday to Saturday.

www.normacomics.com

La Central, one of Barcelona’s best known Spanish bookstores, has several outlets around the city and offers a good selection of international literature, some of which is in English: art, poetry and biography are among the highlights, and regular readings are held in the evening at the Raval Branch and some staff speak English. The café serves good strong hot coffee and a devilishly tempting array of cakes (I should know, I’ve tried them all.)

www.lacentral.com

BCN Books offers two branches, an English bookstore on Calle Roger de Lluria and a book cash and carry on Calle Rosselló, 24, for those with a hearty literary appetite or many imaginations to feed. The store stocks a hearty selection of educational books, plus a selection of contemporary and classic fiction, travel guides and dictionaries.

www.bcnbooks.com

For Anglophiles seeking Anglopedias, my favorite English bookshop is Elephant on Calle Creu de Mollers.
This tiny, homely store in Poble Sec, just off Avenida de Parallel is practically built of books. For 3 euros or less, you can rummage around in this treasure trove and pluck out a gem of any genre from sci-fi to sporting legends, cookery to cartography, and astrology to zoology.
There’s a great cafe at the back, where you can grab a seat among the leaning towers of literature and get a good strong cup of coffee and a toastie or a brownie. Word-worshipers are also invited pause for thought and contemplation in the eloquently grafittid bathroom.
The owner, Canadian-born Frank Sirett opened his great-value bookstore in 2002 “because I could, and because I wanted to.”

Señor Sirett is himself, rather like a good book, welcoming, fascinating and well worth a repeat visit. (Which isn’t difficult, given that the store is open from 10:00 till 20:00, 364 days a year.)
“With so much virtual information flying about, having something in print in front of you is somehow more flesh and blood.” Frank told me. Authenticity and lack of pretension is something one immediately senses that Frank Sirett embodies (as do his coffee and toasties, by the way.)
Elephant is, in my book, the best thing to hit Barcelona since sliced jamón.

www.lfant.biz