Eixample Shops

Historically, this 170-year-old design house has been in the business of haute couture, and while they still produce a house line for women and offer custom tailoring and suiting services for men, the lush space is mainly devoted to a handpicked assortment of big-name lines. For women, there’s Balenciaga, Lanvin, and Saint Laurent; for men, Bottega Veneta, Givenchy, and Nick Wooster.

With a focus on Barcelona-based designers and under-the-radar lines from all over the world, this two-story multi-purpose space (shop, gallery, and studio) offers a little bit of everything, from furniture to home décor to clothing to kids toys to art. And while the assortment is vast, the fun, modern aesthetic acts as the unifying factor. To make the best use of the space, the owners host workshops, talks, and exhibits for the local community.

Hailed as the biggest travel-centric bookshop in all of Europe, 30-year-old Altair is an essential stop for slightly less app-obsessed globetrotters. In addition to multi-lingual guides and maps for destinations far and wide, the shelves here are stacked with biographies, memoirs, and specialty tomes on everything from flora to fauna to architecture.