5 Best Shopping in La Rambla, Barcelona

Catalans are pros when it comes to chocolate and Chök, the Chocolate Kitchen, is a local favorite thanks to their assortment of chocolates as well as their vegan cakes and pastries, all made daily, with natural ingredients. The shop on Carrer Carme is where it all began but the Barcelona-based brand has since added locations throughout the city and elsewhere in Spain.

The Triangle d'Or or Golden Triangle at the top end of the Rambla on Plaça Catalunya is a stylish and popular complex and home for, among other stores, FNAC, where afternoon book presentations and CD launches bring together crowds of literati and music lovers.

The popular Argentinian visual artist Maxó Rennella uses his adopted home of Barcelona as his muse and interprets the city using various mediums. There are several Galería Maxó locations sprinkled across downtown but this is the largest, spanning two floors. The 3D collages are especially popular and easily fit in carry-on luggage. 

This modern shopping complex sits on an artificial "island" in the harbor and is accessed by Rambla del Mar, a wooden swing bridge. The shops inside are fairly run-of-the-mill, but this mall is one of the few places in Barcelona where you can be sure to shop on Sunday. On the first floor, there's a good food court with fine water views.

Barcelona’s wave of creative cake makers owe a lot to Antoni Escribà, a pastry chef who elevated the craft to an art form, especially in the field of chocolate sculptures. His three sons—Cristian, Joan, and Jordi—keep his spirit alive in the Casa Figueras, a jewel box of a shop awash in mosaic murals, curly copper work, and other fanciful Art Nouveau detailing. Tortes, chocolate kisses, and candy rings are just some of the edible treasures here that delight and surprise. A second Escribà shop, which has a café area, is at Gran Vía 546 in the Eixample.