Barcelona Shopping Night Kicks Off Christmas

I wasn't sure I'd be writing practcally the same as I wrote last year regarding the expectations of the nation (practically) on two upcoming events - the Christmas shopping campaign and the Christmas Lottery - but it appears that not a lot has changed in 12 months (save a president). Press releases all week have been praising the sales of the lottery tickets as per usual, and despite the cyber Monday plodding along yesterday and the fact that the 23rd December is the best day for retail in Spain, the initiative to get people digging deep early starts tomorrow night in downtown Barcelona.

Yes, for those fortunate few with rather deep pockets, many of the city's most exclusive (read expensive) shops open from 20h till "the early hours" of the morning to participate in the shopping night. Don't be fooled by the link, people, the site is in Catalan or Spanish, not English. There are also many of the chain stores dotted along the same streets (this year Caspe and Rossello join in, too) to pick up some late night bargains, too, don't worry ;o)

Heavily concentrated around the city's most chic street, Paseig de Gracia, almost all of the shops and hotels have activities going on to entice the locals into the shops. Bands, cooking, Tapas, etc. all co-inciding with the turning on of the Christmas lights, too. Similar to last year, you can get a Passport to travel around the shops - only this time you can download one from their facebook page, and tying in nicely with my recent post on Android apps for visiting Barcelona, the shopping night even have their own andriod app too.

If you're coming to Barcelona this winter, check out BCN Rentals for their selection of last minute barcelona deals. And for a quick llok into the neighbourhood where the event is happening, see this guide to Eixample.