Souvenir shopping: 3 shops with original gift ideas

Wherever you go on holiday, chances are you’ll want to pick up a souvenir or three for the people back home. It’s not always easy to find the right thing, though, amongst all the tacky magnets and plastic keyrings…

We’re always on the lookout for great ideas to share, so here are three of our favourite souvenir gift ideas!

Galeria Maxó: 3D souvenir photos

The walls of Galería Maxó are hung with little wooden frames, each containing a photo of a place in the city. Flower-laden doorways, street art, bars and shops all feature. But all is not as it seems… look closer, and you’ll see that each picture has a cutaway element, revealing the inside of the building. Et voilà, 3D photos!

• Choose a photo of that bar you loved, a street you’ve wandered down, a restaurant where you enjoyed a memorable meal, or anywhere else in the city that takes your fancy. We’re sure you’ll find a reason to buy at least one!

• The artist, Maxó Rennella, has more than one string to his bow. You’ll also find posters, large paintings and all sorts of multi-dimensional treasures, alongside vintage objects, including old cameras.
  

There’s a little train running around the ceiling in the shop, but be warned: don’t watch it for too long, or you’ll make yourself dizzy!

Where? Carrer dels Carders 25  and Carrer Petritxol 18 in the Gothic Quarter
When? Every day, 11am – 10pm
How much? Framed souvenir photos €23
Why? For something original

A “Singular Souvenir”

Manel Bonet has created a whole range of high-quality souvenirs representing the sights and symbols of Barcelona. With the help ofMartí Abril and David Torrents, he offers bags, T-shirts, mugs, notebooks and the omnipresent magnets, all recreating the urban iconography of the city in a contemporary way, highlighting Barcelona’s cultural riches.

The designs are split into 3 collections, with not a stereotypical image of the city in sight!

• Eixample: The architectural streetplan of the Eixample quarter, centered on Avigunda Diagonale
• Singular: Modernist images based on the works of Gaudi, including Casa Batlló, la Pedrera and the streetlights on the Passeig de Gracià
• Flower: The famous flower of Barcelona, the “Panot”, found all over the city’s older pavements. It was first used on the Casa Amatller, designed by the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch in 1900.

Where?

In the city’s museum gift shops
When? Variable – see museum opening hours. You can also order objects online
How much? €3 – €22
Why? For designer, cultural souvenirs

Boutique Kitsch: beat the heat with a fan

You’re bound to find something that takes your fancy among the hundreds of fans on display in this shop, run by Guadalupe “since the 1992 Olympics”, as she says.

• You’ll find fans made from pine as well as from more precious woods, including pear, apple and cherry. Some are made with cotton and hand-made Italian lace.
• There’s also a hand-painted collection by artists such as Pere Munné, a star of the Catalan art scene.
• And there’s more! The shop offers fans of all shapes, sized and colours, at prices ranging from 1 to 200 euros.

• Whatever you choose to buy, you’ll be given an information sheet showing the meaning of different fan positions – so you don’t unwittingly make seductive gestures at someone in the street, for example.

Guadalupe herself is an artist who creates papier maché figurines. Her twin sister, “even madder than her”, is responsible for the lifesize flamenco dancer, mother and child, and old man figurines which take it in turns to stand guard over the front of the shop.

Where? Plaça Montcada 10, in the Born
When? Mon lundi au samedi de 11h à 20h
How much? €1 – 200
Why? Who doesn’t enjoy playing with a fan? Buy them for friends, family – or even yourself!

So there you have it – there’s no excuse to buy plastic junk when there are such lovely souvenirs on offer, now, is there? 😉