Barcelona Bargains - Maremagnum Luckies

Everyone knows that Barcelona is great for shopping. The city has a huge shopping area, which is even handily indicated as a shaded red area on the city's tourist maps. There's even a free bus called the "Shopping line" which runs up and down Paseo de Gracia, Diagonal and up to Plaça Fransesc Macia and back all day - for free. Many windows have the tax free shopping notices in the window for those outside the EU to claim tax back at the airport. And let's not forget that there are some big Spanish brands out there - Zara is the clothing chain store with branches in more countries than any other in the world, Custo is the only Spanish designer with a store on New York's 5th Avenue, and other newbies like Agatha Ruiz de la Prada and Desigual are also taking to the retail market like a fish to water.

So where's the best place for a bargain in Barcelona? Well, there are a number of outlet shops around Gran Via with Bruc and Girona (for new readers, those are street intersections), but to be honest it's all a bit hit and miss. To be fair, Lefties is a great option, which is the previously mentioned Zara's outlet chains, in the city centre. There's one at Plaça Universitat, and another at the Meremagnum complex pictured here - which is a great shopping mall, fairly recently done out with real shops (it used to be terrible). You can find loads of the street quality brands; Desigual, Pull and Bear, Jack Jones, and high street giants like H & M, too. There's even a Ben & Jerries/Häagen Dazs for those of you with a sweet tooth, or a Starbucks for those of you missing your double-shot-cinnamon-caffee-latte-light-sweetex or whatever the hell they sell in there.

However, there are some much better bargains to be had before you get to Maremagnum. As you cross over Rambla del Mar bridge (almost a continuation of Las Ramblas) then if you're lucky you might come across the luckies (pun intended there).

These are basically your guys who sell the false Gucci and Prada bags and belts, and people with whom I have absolutely no problem with at all. In fact, I love them!


You'll have seen them around the whole of Spain - they are usually sub-Saharians, who have sacrificed a whole lot to make it to the Iberian peninsula looking for a better life. On the rare occasions that my wife and I have approached them with a view of getting a present for someone, for example, we haven't even bargained with them as I applaud the fact that they've often been pushed into a corner but want to work their way out of that corner instead of turning to petty crime as do so many others. I'm not saying what they're not doing isn't criminal, but I just don't see the harm (...ok, don't point out the sweatshop in China to me cos we both know that's where the real ones are made, too!!).

The Spanish media complain that "top manta" takes away millions from the music and film industry each year, and I'd be inclined to agree - but don't punish the distributor, who makes a couple of cents on each CD. Look for the real gangsters in the equation.

In fact, it really riles me when you see the pathetic Port Police with nothing more to do with their time than cross the bridge and make the guys pack up (see the string on all 4 corners of their blanket?), walk around their corner, and set up stall somewhere else. Long Live the Luckies!

For a hassle-free way of visiting the city, why not try the Barcelona Tourist Bus. Also see some great apartments for rent in Barcelona for the hotel alternative.

Barcelona Nightclubs - what you need to know.

I'm not going to detail a list of the best clubs in Barcelona in this post, just a few tips and pieces of information that you might need to know or that will be helpful when you go out to sample the nightlife in Barcelona.

First of all, you should know that while in English, it's normal to say "clubs" and "clubbing", in Spanish you say "discoteca". If you hop in a cab and ask the driver to take you to a "club" they'll take you to a strip joint (where the majority have those...ahem...extra services on offer, too). So, although it might remind you of when you were at high school or college, "disco" is the word.


Discos in Barcelona don't open until late, and it's often 1am before the doors open. However, most places don't start to fill up until around 2 or 3am, which is when most of the bars and pubs start to empty too.

It's also important to remember that spirits are not measured in Spain, so if you come from somewhere where optics or measuring cups are the common practice, beware, as drinks are fairly strong over here. If you usually have 3 vodka red bulls a night, you might only need 1. Clubs usually close at around 5 or 6am, and if you're still up for the party, then the "afters" will be outside with flyers, announcing the next place to continue the party.

Another big mistake people make is screwing up your entrance ticket and putting it in your back pocket for example.

Almost all entrance fees to a disco will include a drink in the price of the ticket - "una consumicion". You often either get in for free, or pay a fee (above it was 15 Euros for a recent trip to Razzmataz) with a drink included. So don't make the mistake of throwing away your ticket!


A great way to enjoy the nightlife is to rent Apartments for groups Barcelona and come along with all of your friends. For more information about Barcelona in general, and how to save money in the current crisis, check out this Budget Barcelona city guide.

Last time out for Bread and Butter Barcelona

You may well be wondering what on earth the title of this post is all about. The Catalans have pan tomaquet right? not "pan con mantequilla"??!

Well, today ends the 4th year of the Fashion show or "tradeshow for selected brands" as the site describes it. There is also the same show in Berlin in the summer, but the Barcelona show still brings in the crowds. The show is split up into different sections and covers a huge amount of floor space at the Fira de Barcelona, at the foot of Montjüic. Denim base, Fashion now, Sport and Street, Urban superior, and even a discoteque style fashion base for expositions, catwalks and the general young feeling that current fashion has, especially in such a cosmopolitan city such as the Catalan Capital, Barcelona. The website boasts the fair as being "the leading international trade fair for Street and Urban Wear".

It's a shame that the Fira has lost out to Bread and Butter Barcelona(BBB), and I have the feeling that the upcoming 3GSM mobile phone conference will suffer the same fate - I can't put my finger on why, but suspect that it might have something to do with the hotels and other accomodation services hiking up their prices so much, due to the fact that they expect the huge multi-national companies such as Vodafone, Movistar, Samsung, etc. to pay - and indeed they have done for the past 4 years - it always comes out in the press on the days before the conference. Not sure in BBB has suffered the same fate (I doubt it), but let's hope it will be back soon!

The area of Montjüic is a popular place to relax, with some of Barcelona's nicest parks and gardens and some fantastic views of the city, too. Avoid the stuffy hotelrooms, and go for a Barcelona apartment,next time you visit.

Great Barcelona Bars Part 4 - London Bar

Time for another post on Barcelona Bars. It's been a while, so thought I'd update with a decent addition, which used to be one of my haunts, on a great pub crawl that I might end up putting on here one of these days.

London Bar is a Barcelona institution. It's been around for yonks, and has the fantastic floor plaque to prove it - looking particulary shabby, which I think is well fitting for the outside of a pub!


London Bar is a great place for Live music, and I've been in there many times without knowing a group would come on, and have seen some really coll acts - a couple of jazz groups, punk rockers, and some funky blues groups all squeezed on the "stage" at the back. To be honest, weused to go as it was one of the only decent places we found that didn't charge an entrance fee once all the other pubs had kicked out. Oh, and they've got becks on tap.



They've recently started showing Live Football on a big screen (something new as it used to be a locals place) which I suppose might be to draw the crowds from the newer English/Australian/Irish bars (just along from London Bar on the same street you have The Queen Vic and then on Ramblas itself there are Hogans, Sports bar, etc.) but I'd bet it would be a great place to settle down for the late kick-off and start the night there. It wouldn't surprise me if you ended up staying all night!

A great way to stay in Barcelona's old town is to rent a Barcelona apartment and feel like a local with your own placeYou can then explore the best Barcelona nightlife for yourself!

Comments welcome here guys, have you even been to London Bar? Anywhere else you'd like to see featured? Or have you been anywhere but can't remember the name/location?

Iron in the Old Town

Wandering through the old town today, in the Raval, I came accross a great public show of ironmongers at work.

There is a new iron workshop or taller which has opened just off Carrer Nou de la Rambla (where you can see Gaudi's Palau Güell) on nearby Carrer Sant Ramon, number 25. As part of the opening, the association of Forja Viva organised a street exposition of ironmongers working and making things for the public. As I wasn't expecting this, it was a great little distraction, so I thought I'd blog it.

As mentioned, the nearby Palau Güell - a UNESCO World Heritage site designed by Antonin Gaudi - is just along the street, and Gaudi himself was the son of an ironmonger. This influence is apparent is many of his works, such as La Pedrera on the balconies, and the gates and windows at Palau Güell. It's fair to say then, that some of the ironmongers on display had been influenced in turn by the great Reus-born architect, and that would be no surprise, but there were still a few gems in there.

According to the leaflets and website, it's the first time that anything like this has been done in the city and it aimed to "recognise the work of artesanal hands of the forge and (gain) respect that this...work deserves, relevant in our history and culture"


Unfortunately, I was stopped at taking photos at the small exhibition space along on Nou de la Rambla,with the simple reply that you can't take photos "porque no"! so my apologies if the post seems a bit limp - I would have liked to have added a few more photos, but I'm sure you get the drift.

One of the little gems was this funky Spider bottle holder thingy, which I thought was very original.


It's one of the reasons I love living in the old town - unexpected exhibitions (it may well have been publicised, but I didn't see it) and one you can enjoy in a local Barcelona apartment for rent, too.

For more information about the city, too, try this local Barcelona guide.

Lost in Translation? Surely yes!

I've always been drawn to the theatre, and living in Barcelona there are loads of theatres with often some cracking plays and musicals on, but I've only even been once (Stomp, the percussion with bin lids, about 5 years ago!).

Avenguda Paral·lel has the most concentrated amount of theatres in the city with some classics such as Cuitat Condal, Teatro Victoria, Apolo, Teatre Tivoli, and the Moulin Rouge style "El Molino" (the windmill) which is currently undergoing a full makeover (well overdue) and perhaps something that I'll post about soon. These are some of the most famous theatres in Barcelona, and often have full houses for many varied productions.

The problem for me, of course is that they're all in Catalan (very few are in Spanish). I'm not saying that I wouldn't be able to follow the plot or understand the lines, but many productions up and down Paral·lel are the broadway classics, and I just can't bring myself to listen to "Grease" or something similar in Spanish or Catalan?! Surely the songs translated don't even rhyme?!

I don't doubt that I'm missing out on possibly a great night, and some friends testify to have had a great night watching the cast of Mamma Mia (which was prolonged due to huge success) strut their stuff on the boards. Fame has also just left the city after record breaking ticket sales.

Cuitat Condal, for example, has the permanent fixture of Joan Pera, who is a right unto himself - if only because he is the voice double for Woody Allen in all his films (he even makes a cameo in Vicky Cristina Barcelona), amongst others. And Paral·lel metro station at Nou de la Rambla is neighbour co-incidentally to Bagdad "theatre" the city's live porn show.

So what I really find amusing, (and makes me feel like I'm not missing out on too much) is when I see something like Monty Python's Spamalot coming up - and having rave reviews!! The Catalans think that their humour is very satyrical and sarcastic, kind of like the English - TV3 for example shows repeats of the Young Ones and Blackadder at prime time (ask any Catalan if they know the series, you'll be surprised at the answer!). So I guess it's no surprise to me that Spamalot has done so well, even if we are all in "crisis". I suppose it's just as important to be able to laugh about life than get depressed about the crisis, right?! Good on them,I say, and maybe I'll sneak into a matinee this month and let you know how it goes....if not,I can always pop down to the nearby Llantiol Theatre in the Raval for some English comedy nights!

For more details about Apartments for rent in Barcelona check out BCN Rentals and for a good Barcelona Guide follow the link.