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Shopping
In Girona. Shops in Girona.
C/ Santa Clara, local
craft stalls on Saturdays
quaint shop-fronts!
Shopping in Girona
is spread out across quite a few districts and within whats
called the 'Mercadel' area. There aren't many big chains
here except for ones like Benetton, Zara, El Corte Ingles
and Massimo Dutti, but mostly small shops like the
fishmonger, butcher and grocer etc, so not everything has
been swallowed up by the big retailers.
I'm not a 'shopper' but I've noticed an abundance of trendy
clothes shops and so many in general that I wonder how some
of them survive. Some statistics say that Girona has the
highest percentage of shops per head of population, which
could be right. There are many small, independent shops to
browse around and childrens clothes in particular are not
as cheap as in the UK, so my wife informs me!
Remember to carry additional ID when shopping with your
credit and debit cards, like your passport or a photocard
drivers licence. You may get asked for an I.D. even after
signing a till receipt and entering your pin details, when
buying by credit or debit card.
Colourful shop front in
the Girona old town La Rambla.
You really
will find shops everywhere but these are some of the best
places to head for:
The old town Rambla has many stylish clothes shops, and
others, like 'The Chocolate Factory' where you can buy
quality choc's plus more small, independent shops down some
of its side streets notably C/ Caderers. Just follow the
main Rambla down to the bottom, turn right and then left
again.
The Mercadal area, around streets like C/ Santa Clara (runs
parallel to the river Onyar), C/ Nou and the streets that
radiate out from around the Hotel Carlamany. The free
Girona map from the tourist office will help you locate
these streets, just ask for it at the desk.
Some shops that we've found of interest include these:
Casa.
Pl. Hospital. Home
interior decoration items, good value and the range changes
often.
Casa
Viva, in
Grand via Jaume 1, is a more up-market home decor store, I
saw some lovely mirrors here!
Gluki,
C/ Santa Clara,
heaven for chocolate-lovers, as is the shop called
'Chocolate Factory' in the old town La Rambla.
Coronel
Tapiaocca, Inside the Girona train station
it has a good range of casual, quality clothes for men and
women.
The Chocolate Factory
This shop review
below was kindly supplied by one our site visitors.
Just come back
from a lovely break away in Girona, shame about the
weather, but I definitely will return it's a beautiful
place. Info on your website was really helpful, so thanks,
but I must tell you about a gem of a place that's
definitely worth a visit and a mention on your website.
It's situated right in the centre in Hortes street,
perfectly located right by the red Eiffel bridge so you
really can't miss it and really easy to find again. It's a
beautifully designed gallery-workshop dedicated to glass
making and is called nou taller de vidre (I think!!!), a
place where time looking and gift buying was well worth
spent. I bought some really special gifts for my friends
and each one was a success. Everything is individually made
by local artists creating original pieces from contemporary
jewellery, glassware, glass pictures to a selection of
textile items too. You even have the opportunity to see the
two artists at work, melting the crystal glass with the
torch which was amazing to see. It''s very reasonably
priced, a great Girona gift, a real souvenir which is so
difficult to find these days, a refreshing change from the
normal stuff so can buy everywhere.
Also, go along C/ Barcelona
towards the Hotel Melia until you reach the 'Centre
Comercial Girocenter' (no.106-110) also known as Hipercor,
which has a large El Corte Ingles store inside with
plentiful, underground parking, a large supermarket in the
basement and a bar/restaurant on the top floor. Every
Saturday from mid-day it also offers free kids activities
in the 'libreria (book shop) section on the ground floor.
A couple of things to remember if you enter here with a
large bag of any kind you'll be asked to leave it at the
"Consignia" desk near the entrance/exit for free. Just hand
the assistant your bag and she'll give you a receipt which
you just hand in at the same desk when you've finished
shopping to get them back. Also if you come out of the food
hall upstairs with a plastic bag, a nice young lady will
tape-up the top, before letting you walk across the store!
www.elcorteingles.es
Girona also has one large modern out-of-town shopping mall
with extensive car parking called Espai Girones in nearby
Salt (pronounced 'Sal'), drive there (lot's of free parking
outdoors and underground), catch the L-2 bus from Girona
centre or go by taxi. Lots of stores (130) here like Zara,
numerous restaurants, fast-food places, cafe's, a
supermarket, an eleven-screen cinema, a play area for kids
(paid) and a bowling alley. (www.espaibowling.com). The
whole complex is open all day until 10 p.m. (cinema &
some eateries stay open a bit later) and gets crowded at
the weekends, especially from early evening onwards.
I've eaten here at a few places which are mostly upstairs
and, so far have'nt enjoyed any of them except the 'La Da
Vinci' pizza place.
These three huge, retail shops or 'sheds' mentioned below
are next to each other, just on the outskirts of Girona
city clearly visible as you enter the city via the Girona
Sud (south) signs, from the slip roads off the main AP7
motorway. Worth checking out if you're planning to live
here as the prices are quite good and they have an enormous
choice. Theyr'e open Monday to Saturday 10am to 10pm,
closed Sunday. We visited once on a Saturday evening and
all these shops below were very busy, and parking was
difficult, seems like its a popular time to go shopping
here. To avoid the crowds try going early afternoon.
Media
Markt.
Electricals, PC's, Laptops, Peripherals, Digital Cameras
etc. All manner of domestic appliances, consumables, leads,
Phones, TV's, Hi-Fi's, just about anything that you can
think of with a plug on the end of it! Some staff speak
English and I've never seen such a wide range of
coffee-makers on one shelf! My favourite item has to be the
large fridge with a beer tap on the outside!
BauHaus.
Home decor items, lighting, DIY items, tools, kitchens,
bathrooms, heating and plumbing, garden furniture, sheds,
fireplaces, screws, nails and much more.
Decathalon.
Sports equipment and ton's of sports clothing for all
manner of Sports, bicycles, rollerblades, fishing
equipment, treking, camping & trekking equipment,
sailing, surfboards, wetsuits, gym equipment and trainers.
Opening
Hours.
Most other shops are open Monday to Saturday from 9am to
1.30pm and then from around 4.30pm to 8.00 or 8.30p.m, but
be careful as some smaller shops also remain closed Monday
mornings. Shops are closed on Sundays except on the coast,
where Girona locals normally go to places like Platja d'
Aro about a 30 min. drive from Girona. You do find the odd
bakers ('Fleca' ) or cake shop open on a Sunday, until
maybe 2pm, if all you want is a baguette, some cakes and a
coffee. I've also noticed the odd, small convenience shop
run by immigrants can be found if you look hard enough.
The larger department stores in Girona like the El Corte
Ingles in Carrer Barcelona are open from 10am to 10pm,
Monday to Saturday. If your'e here in August expect to see
many of the smaller, independent shops and cafe's closed
for their annual holidays for up to 2-3 weeks. Lately, I've
noticed some shops opening on festival days, especially if
it's before an important gift-giving occasion like the
three kings in early Jan.
The Catalan for open is "Obert" and "Tancat" for closed.
Sales
"Rebajas" in Spanish and "Rebaixes" in Catalan they start
in the second week of January, just after the Three Kings
festival and finish at the end of February. There are also
summer sales which start around the beginning of July.
Apparently the first day of the sales at the Corte Ingles
Hipercor store are a bit of a scrum.
Most shops usually have a second further reduction and then
a final clearance sale or "remate". Discount is
'descompte'.
Also, the Fires de Girona exhibition hall, next to Devesa
Park hosts an annual gigantic clearance sale of clothes,
shoes and some furniture from numerous local retailers, for
4 days at the end of January with free entry (also
something similar is held here in July).
Fira de Girona building.
My local Caprabo
supermarket which sells clothes had a sale (February) with
all the remaining clothing at only 2€ each! shoes,
shirts etc the lot. Needless to say it all went within the
first day.
Another 'retail event' which
happens at different times of the year is for some shopping
streets in Girona to host an outdoor one-day event where
the individual shop owners put out tables in front of their
shops and sell-off old or clearance stock at a discount,
look-out for flyers or small posters in local shops.
Girona street markets.
Every Tuesday and Saturday
in the Parc de la Devesa until about 2pm, mainly
clothing, shoes, a fruit and veg section with a few
plant stalls also. Girona also has a permanent, daily,
indoor 'Mercat' a large red building just down from
Pl. Catalanya in Placa de Leo (Lion) that has a food
hall, including fresh fish. Open daily (excl.Sunday)
until 1.30pm.
Flower market in La Rambla (Girona old town) Saturdays till
2pm. Indoor, outdoor plants, shrubs, cut-flowers and
bedding plants.
Craft stalls (left), on
one side of the Pont de Pedra, every Saturday all day,
till late.
Locally produced artisan
products.
Artisan food market (fira d'alimentacio artesana) is held
on the 1st Saturday of every month from 9am-8pm in the La
Rambla.
For art lovers there's a weekly Art market on Saturdays
from 9am-8pm in Carrer Mercaders I Abeuradors.
Collectors Fair. Books, stamps, cards, coins. Every Sunday,
under the arches in C. Francesc near Placa Catalunya.
Second-hand
market (intercanvi als Quatre Mercats).
This is supported
and run by the Girona local authority to promote
re-cycling, held four times a year each time at a different
location. It's essentially a giant swap-shop, so no money
changes hands, you take something you don't want hoping to
find something that you do want. Items include books,
music, clothes, toys, electrical goods and household items.
To reserve a table tel.972 419 017, and for future dates
check www.ajuntament.gi/mercatintercanvi
I've
also heard about something similar in the nearby town of
Llagostera www.llagostera.cat
Outside of
Girona.
Between Barcelona and Girona on the AP7 motorway (Salida 12
for Cardedeu) there is a chic, oulet shopping village
called La Roca with over 100 stores open all year round. It
offers large discounts on previous years clothes
collections and has restaurants, cafes, cash points and a
childrens play area. www.Larocavillage.com Going the
opposite way towards France and just before the border
there's also a Catalan shopping village.
Car Boot
sales: I've
heard of one in Estartit, held on every other Saturday and
also in Castello d'Empuries on Sundays at Urb. Castello Nou
between 8am-2pm.
Santa Cristina d'Aro Inland nr. St. Feliu de Guixols has a
used market day on the first Sunday of each month.
I've also heard about a second-hand market in Pals, held on
a Saturday.
If you fancy venturing North into France then go to
Perpignan, about an hour's drive from Girona, as they have
a weekly Flea Market every Sunday, starts early untill
about 2pm. I've been here and it's worth going, lot's of
bric a brac mixed with collectibles and genuine antiques.
Currency.
The currency here is the Euro. Coins of 1, 2, 5,10, 20 and
50 cents and 1 and 2 €. Notes of 5, 10, 20 50, 100,
200 and 500. I very rarely see the 100/200/500€ notes,
and anyway it makes common-sense to keep to the lower
denominations. Many shops and retailers will refuse to take
anything bigger than 50€ notes.
The bigger banks in Girona offer currency exchange and
larger hotels, just lookout for the muti-lingual signs eg.
Change/Cambio.
Banks / withdrawing
Cash.
Banks are open usually from 9am to 2pm Monday to Friday,
although you do find the exception with some closing at
1.30pm on a Friday or the day before a Bank Holiday. Also,
many operate summer/winter opening times.
Girona also has many different "Caixa" (savings) banks with
ATM's inside or outside, open 24hrs. so it's easy to get
cash this way if you need to. With some that have the ATM
inside you have to swipe your card to enter when out of
hours. Once inside and you've entered your card, the screen
based process has an English language option and will also
alert you to whether your withdrawl will incur any
commission charges.
If you live here and have a local debit card the fees can
vary between 60 cents and 3-4€ for each cash
withdrawal, but the display will alert you to whatever the
costs are and offer the option to continue or to cancel,
before any money is withdrawn.
Tip, for UK visitors the Nationwide debit card is one that
you can use without being charged any commission fees.
Sales Tax
(IVA)
This is like the UK VAT tax and varies on the type of
product, from 7% on food items to 16% on most others.
Non-EU residents can claim this tax back on any purchases
at Girona Airport in the Travel Value store called Aldeasa
(handling fees may apply).
Customs
Visitors from outside the EU must declare any gifts and
personal items worth over €175.
For more
information about the festive season here go to our
Christmas in Girona page.
Other Street
Markets in the Costa Brava area and Inland.
In alphabetical
order:
Banyoles
Every Wednesday in the Placa Mayor.
Begur
Wednesday and Sunday, street market selling clothes and
food.
Besalu
Every
Tuesday in the centre.
Calonge
Street market every Thursday.
Empuriabrava
Every Saturday on the seafront.
Figueres
Every Tuesday and Saturday fruit and veg street
market.
La Bisbal
d'Emporda
Street
market every Friday.
L'Escala
Market days are every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday in the
Passeig Maritim.
L'Estartit
Every Thursday in the Avinguda de Roma. I've also heard
about a monthly car-boot here, every 2nd Sunday but yet to
visit.
Lloret de
Mar
Street market every Tuesday.
Olot
Street market every Monday.
Palafrugell
Tuesday and Sunday mornings.
Palamos
Street market every Tuesday.
Pals
Street
market every Tuesday, near the Pavello poliesportiu.
Platja
d'Aro
Street market every Friday.
Roses
Street
market every Sunday.
Sant Antoni
de Calonge
Street market every Wednesday.
Santa Coloma
de Farners
Street market every Monday and Saturday.
Sant Feliu de
Guixols
Street market every Sunday in the Placa d'Espanya and
stretching out along the sea-front a little.
La
Seu
Street market every Tuesday and Saturday.
Torroella de
Montgri
Street market every Monday.
Tossa de
Mar
Street market every Thursday.
Verges
Street market every Tuesday.