Vinçon – A shopping experience in Barcelona

Do you like contemporary design? I know just the place to be, Vinçon in Barcelona. I already wrote about it 2 years ago, but it is really one of my favourites.

This cool shop is housed in a listed building for its architecture and is a great combination between new design and “old” design. Vinçon is treated as a window display so that when you take a walk through it your experience becomes a unique one and different to what you would feel in a department store.

It is located at the Passeig de Gràcia, next to the Pedrera building by Gaudi. Hard to miss I would say.

They have all kinds of homeware stuff, furniture, books, toys and lots of nice gadgets. Visiting this shop might take up more than half an hour if you want the full experience. If you don’t like shopping you still may enjoy this.

You know, there are these shops where it’s hard to leave without having made a purchase. Vinçon is definitely one of them.

Away in Barcelona

Last week I was in Barcelona. The weather was good, not too hot or too cold, and no rain.

During the trip I have managed to stay off the ‘Rambla’, I didn’t go anywhere near it. Maybe because I have been in Barcelona many times. I’ve also lived there, but that was 9 years ago.

So, what did I do? Shopping, walking around, eating, drinking…just the fun stuff.

The best shopping experience was Vinçon on Passeig de Gràcia 96. The shop is very large, which you don’t notice until you actually enter it. It’s fantastic, there are all kinds of items for sale there, furniture, designer goods, notebooks, kitchen utensils, art, bikes etc. One of the highlights is the enormous rooftop terrace (it’s a pity that they don’t have a small bar there).

Further, I’ve seen many shops on Passeig de Gràcia. Some of them are ok, others are not. The best shopping is still in the small boutiques, for example near the Picasso Museum or in Gràcia.

In terms of food, there are tourist places, local places and semi-tourist places. I like the local places, the ones where they talk Catalan or Castellano to you. The ones where you just throw your small litter on the ground.
Most of these places have good tapas and are fairly priced. I still don’t understand why people go to tourist places?!

One of my favourite places is Maitea, it’s across my old house in Eixample. They serve pinxtos (Basque tapas) and normal fare, which is really good. Sit at the bar and indulge yourself with all the good food!

I can go on and on about Barcelona, but some places need to be kept secret. A place for a nice drink near the beach is CDLC -or Carpe Diem Lounge Club- which is a bit more upmarket and popular with tourists.

Maybe I can visit Barcelona soon again… I hope so!

Barcelona