Barcelona

[daverave999]

I'm off to Barcelona next Thursday and was wondering if there is much of a difference in box prices compared to the UK?

If it's worth buying when I'm over there, anywhere you'd recommend? Best prices, best selection, etc.

Last of all, any problems with keeping them in hand luggage on the way back?

Any help appreciated!

[Mr Moore]

oh you lucky devil. barcalona.

[Jithell]

I believe a Spain is one of the best places to buy cubans. Good and cheap, well cheaper than here but then again what isn't? :bolt:

[Drewmidorn]

there is a great dedicated cigar shop at the airport! Not massively cheap but much cheaper than the UK.

D

[Stevieboy]

I love Barca!! There's a huge shop on Las Ramblas that was the cheapest place I could find when I was there a few years ago. There are literally dozens of Tabacs but not all keep a huge range of cigars but even so, you'll be spoiled for choice - you jammy git :p

[daverave999]

This is sounding promising! Would I be better buying in the airport on the way back? I'm after a box of RASCC and/or PSP4...

[Robusto]

I'd love to go there.

My wife's been there with her girls' crowd and came back raving. Maybe some of us could do something like that in the future, tho for me it would have to be in 2010 at the earliest as I've got to fork out for Cuba in Oct/Nov first.

[Ramon]

As the Government in Spain set the prices for all tobacco products they helpfully have a web page with the prices for everything here http://www.cmtabacos.es/wwwcmt/listaPrecios.php Also, all tobacco products can only be sold from registered Tabac shops.

Steve is right, the best Tabac shops are to be found on Las Ramblas.

[G-man]

If I mail myself today I mite make it by next Thursday to your home .then U could smuggle me in a suitecase and take me to Barcelo:hail:na with U. Then we could look for the best cigar prices together.:hail: Hold on GSS its gonna be a bumpy ride!!!!!!!
LMAO

[TJCoro]

I'm off to Barcelona next Thursday and was wondering if there is much of a difference in box prices compared to the UK?

If it's worth buying when I'm over there, anywhere you'd recommend? Best prices, best selection, etc.

Last of all, any problems with keeping them in hand luggage on the way back?

Any help appreciated!

:willy:Mr. Dave, Pick up a copy of the most recent Cigar Magazine. It lists the most recent prices using Spain as the benchmark.

FYI, they ain't that cheap, IMO, but maybe less the in the UK. :twitch:

TJ :bandit:

[daverave999]

As the Government in Spain set the prices for all tobacco products they helpfully have a web page with the prices for everything here http://www.cmtabacos.es/wwwcmt/listaPrecios.php Also, all tobacco products can only be sold from registered Tabac shops.

Steve is right, the best Tabac shops are to be found on Las Ramblas.

Ramon, you darlin'. That is a most helpful link! *bookmarked*

No luck gss, I need the space in my suitcase for cigars :eyebrows:

[EDIT] Thanks TJ. You may be disgusted (or amused..?) to know that UK retail prices are still more than Spanish ones. Considerably so in some cases.

[Drewmidorn]

Possibly more importantly than cigars (WHAT?? lol) you should try and see the Gaudi Cathedral and the Park.... absolutely amazing.

D

[Stevieboy]

Possibly more importantly than cigars (WHAT?? lol) you should try and see the Gaudi Cathedral and the Park.... absolutely amazing.

D

Correct and correct. Both excellent esp. the cathedral.

[Deano]

Agreed, the Sagrada Familia is probably the most awe-inspiring pieces of architecture I've seen, along with the Gaudi museum up on the hill, and even all the Gaudi (and Gaudi inspiried) buildings along the Ramblas.

Don't forget the open market - it's amazing. It's got a tiny entrance (oh er) and can easily be missed, but it opens up to a large brilliant market.

There's a cool boat/floating bar at the dock too.

[G-man]

Mr. Dave
I am sadened that U would put cigars befor a BOTL! Sob,rubbing my eyes,holding back the crying ! Oh Ya thats right gotta load up on gars,your right need all the room U can get. Enjoy your trip and my the cigar gods point U in the right direction :eek:

[daverave999]

Thanks gss. :biggrin1:

My good lady has the Cathedral on the itinerary, and Montserrat looks like it will get a visit too. Going to try and make it to the beach if we have time (she lives in the Midlands so loves beaches!)

L'Estanc de Laietana (http://www.geocities.com/estanc/) looks worth popping into. Thought I'd point it out for those who search Barcelona in the future as it doesn't appear to be on La Rambla.

[Mr Moore]

I dont want to bring the conversation down an intellectual notch, but do try and see 'the nou camp' Dave. Barcalona's footballing answer to the colloseum. Sorry guys, had to get that one in there.

[Ramon]

Some more useful links:
http://barcelonatourist.org/shopping/ciutat-vella/95-gimeno-cigars
http://www.barcelona.com/layout/set/print/barcelona_directory/shops/gimeno
http://www.gimenocigars.com/US/Intro.htm

[Stevieboy]

Some more useful links:
http://barcelonatourist.org/shopping/ciutat-vella/95-gimeno-cigars
http://www.barcelona.com/layout/set/print/barcelona_directory/shops/gimeno
http://www.gimenocigars.com/US/Intro.htm

That's the place to visit for sure!!! If you only go to one shop, go to this one. They have a huge selection of singles . Enjoy yourself mate :41:

[Gary]

Hey guy's, haven't been on the forum for a couple of weeks, but found this thread very interesting seeing I'm off to Barcelona tomorow (Friday 27th) until Monday for my 30th birthday.

Intend on seeing and visiting most of what everyone has already said on here, especially the cathedral and Nou Camp on Sunday seeing the shops close on Sunday's and the other half wont know what to do with herself :biggrin1:.

Obviously will be popping into a few cigar shops, sampling a few sticks and all being well bringing a few home as well. Anyway Dave, if you like I could maybe do a wee review on Tuesday or something of what I found good etc, maybe recommend some cigar shops to visit and possibly what the shop at the airport is like, just to give you a better idea before you head off next Thursday. Might even get a few pictures uploaded too.

[daverave999]

Gary, that would be most helpful! Thank you. Have fun. :D

[Gary]

No worries.

[Gary]

Right Dave, back from Barcelona yesterday and had an excellent time there, you'll love it (I hope), great food & drink, great people, great sights and of course great cigars, so I'll try and do a wee review here and include some things that I hope you'll find useful, that might help you so here goes.

Upon Arrival
Upon arrival at Barcelona airport, as soon as you exit the airport building, take a right and walk about a hundred yards or so and you'll find a bus stop for the airport bus. The bus is about 4.50 Euro and will take you from the airport, making a couple of stops en-route for people, to the square in the centre of Barcelona city centre called Placia Catalunia (probably have spelt that slightly incorrectly). The buses from the airport run every 6 minutes or so and my advice is to try to exit the airport as quickly as possible to get a seat on the bus, especially with luggage as the journey takes about 20-30 minutes. The square you arrive at is at the top of La Rambla with many other streets off it, so you might want to look up google maps or something to see where you hotel is in relation to the Square.

Food & Drink
I found the price of the food and drink in Barcelona to be ok, some people may think it was a little on the expensive side which I could understand but remember everywhere in Europe is getting hammered by the falling Euro and it's definately not dearer than the UK or Ireland. Myself and my partner for the most part ate authentic Spainish food like Tapas or Paella which I have to say was absolutely beautiful, I couldn't get enough. La Rambla is packed with restaurants and bars, cafe's and pubs and if you walk down La Rambla to the very bottom to the marina you can cross the bridge where there's a shopping centre and more restaurants by the waters edge. On the last night we ate at the Hard Rock cafe in the Square (Placia Catalunia) which was cool, and serves the usual burgers and steaks etc, but definately try some local restaurants.

Shopping & Sightseeing
There is loads to see and do in Barcelona, like any good city a weekend is never enough time to see half of it never mind all of it. Remembering that all the big shops close on a Sunday we thought it a good idea to leave the tourist bus thing till then. There's 3 tourist bus routes round the city, red blue and green (I think green doesn't start till the summer). We opted for Red which takes in Gowdi's impressive cathedral and seeing I'm a big football fan the Nou Camp was a must which is also on the Red route. However please bare in mind that if you are into this sort of thing, and are intending on going to the Nou Camp it's only open to 1430hrs on a Sunday so you might want to get up early and go? All tourist buses leave from the Square. I've inserted some pictures of the Cathedral and the Nou Camp to get you in the mood :biggrin1:

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The most expensive thing I found was clothes. Just off the Square, parallel to La Rambla is another street, forget the name, but if shopping is your thing then this is the place for you, wall to wall designer shops, department stores etc etc. But you may want to bring plenty of money. At the Nou Camp I thought I'd buy a Barcelona polo shirt just because I was there and to remember the occasion, but at 70 Euro I thought again, almost ?70, I could get it cheaper at home.

Cigars
Saving the best for last, there is two cigar stores off La Rambla, both on the left hand side of the street as your walking down towards the marina. I've included pictures of both below.

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Gimeno is the first shop you'll come to, a great shop which has an excellent range of cubans as well as some of the better non cubans like Ashton VSG. It also sells top of the range humidors and accessories by Davidoff, St. Dupont etc etc along with pipe products and a great range of rums. Before I went I was told that the shop had a cigar cellar under the store and that not everyone got to go down and experience it. On Monday an hour or so before we left Barcelona I went down to the shop to get some cigars. I asked the man behind the counter that I'd like to look at a box of Vegas Robania Maestros (Spanish Regional Edition) and he asked me to follow him. He led me down a private spiral staircase that you can see at the back of the shop and I found my self in the walk in cigar humidor under the shop that I was told about, honestly it's like an Aladan's cave of cigars, every cuban brand you can think off with actual tobacco leaves hanging from the roof, FANTASTIC! I think it was because I wanted at least a box that I got invited down. In the actual shop itself they have a massive humidor behind the counter, so if it's just a few singles your looking he might just give you them from there. Anyway I ended up getting the box and a pack of 5 Cohiba Siglo IV as you can see below.

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I have a price list for the shop of the cuban's they sell. Unfortunately I can't get it on here, but if your looking any specific cubans on this trip, post which ones your looking and I'll tell you their prices. Some brands they sell packs of 3, 5 and 10 depending on the size.

The second shop further on down La Rambla is much smaller with a much smaller stock of cubans, but because the Spanish government set the prices for tobacco products, they'll be the same price as Gimeno.

There's also a very impressive cigar shop at Barcelona airport that you can visit on your way home, very up market with a nice selection, but to be honest I found the prices at Gimeno better.

All over the city there's also small shops or kiosk's called Tabac's that sell packets of cigarettes, we ended up bringing back 16 carton's of John Player Red for my girlfriends mother and not a custom's officer in sight upon our arrival :biggrin1:, so fill your boots if you also like the occasional fag.

Anyway, hope some of this helps, so have a good trip and let us know what it's like and what sticks you get if any.

[Gary]

Anyone any idea why some of my attachments / photo's worked and some didn't :mad:?

[Stevieboy]

Sounds like you had a great time G!!

I'm not too familiar with VR but the pictures certainly caused a stirring downstairs :biggrin1:

[cj121]

I've never had the pleasure of Barcelona yet, but my wife has been literally dozens and dozens of times (almost moved there). Glad you enjoyed it.

Great post Gary and a nice experience by the sounds in terms of the cellar. Right, where's my passport. Out of curiosity and as an example, what price did you pay on the box, if you don't mind me asking?

Re attachments, it may be a formatting issue. Please don't ask me to elaborate as I'm chancing my arm there and haven't got a clue really!!:smile::biggrin1:

You could try uploading them to a secondary site such as Photobucket and give that a go?

[daverave999]

What a whole bunch of useful information. That's a GREAT post thanks Gary! I think that has just made this the definitive Barcelona thread. ;)

I'm probably looking to pick up a box of RASCC if I don't spend too much cash on booze or food. Didn't happen to see any in the airport did you?

[Gary]

Dave, if your talking about the Ramon Allones Specially Selected they'll cost 222 Euro's for a box of 25 or 8.90 Euro each.

The box of VR Maestros cost me 100 Euro, for a box of 10, but I still consider that a good price as Limited Edition and Regional Edition cigars usually come in boxes of 10 and are usually more expensive than this.

Some other prices that caught my eye where:

Cohiba Robusto = 15.85 Euro each
Cohiba Lanceros = 18 Euro each
Partagas Serie D No4 = 9.50 Euro each
Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No2 = 9 Euro each
Montecristo No2 = 11 Euro each
Rey del Mundo Choix Supreme = 6.90 Euro each
Romeo Y Julieta Short Churchills = 9.45 Euro each
Bolivar Royal Corona = 9.20 Euro each
Romeo Y Julieta Escudos 2008 Limited Edition = 10 Euro each
Hoyo de Monterrey Regalos 2008 Limited Edition = 10 Euro each

Other so called lesser cuban brands are an absolute snip, brands like Guantanamera, Flor de Cano, Cabanas or Quintero can all be purchased in several different sizes for under 2 Euro each.

Dave you should pick up a price list inside the shop on your first cople of days and then you can mull over it for a while before making your purchase?

[daverave999]

Ramon Allones Small Club Corona (http://www.cigars-review.org/Ramon-Allones-Small-Club-Coronas.htm). Mmmm!

Good thinking about getting the pricelist first. I was going to investigate some of those others too, as I quite fancy a bundle of something cheaper for when I've drunk too much.
I'm hoping I'll get some time to chill rather than my girlfriend rushing me round all the time, so hopefully can sit back and relax with something tasty.

Is it T-shirt weather there yet?

[Stevieboy]

The box of VR Maestros cost me 100 Euro, for a box of 10, but I still consider that a good price as Limited Edition and Regional Edition cigars usually come in boxes of 10 and are usually more expensive than this.



E100 !!! Great price Gary. would love to have gotten hold of a box

Can you still smoke indoors in Spain or have they fallen like the rest of the EU?

[Mr Moore]

[quote=Gary;10955]Dave, if your talking about the Ramon Allones Specially Selected they'll cost 222 Euro's for a box of 25 or 8.90 Euro each.
I think monty would be cheaper on the RASS !
I really thought Barca would be cheaper for cigars than those prices.
I still would love to go.

[Stevieboy]

I really thought Barca would be cheaper for cigars than those prices.
I still would love to go.

I thought that too MM - seems to gone up a lot since I was there 3 years ago. Still cheaper than here though. The cheapest I can the VR online for is about ?130 so E100 is a very good price :smile:

[Ramon]

The prices are all on the link posted earlier guys :wave:

[Gary]

Dave, I don't think those Ramon Allones were on the price list but I'd be surprised if they don't stock them.

It's not t-shirt weather yet mate, on the Saturday we were there it pissed all day, but saying that it's not cold either, well it wasn't when we were there, bring a top and/or a light coat and you should be grand.

The one surprising thing is that you CAN still smoke in the restaurants and bars, couldn't believe my eyes, thought forsure the smoking ban would be there by now!



Ramon Allones Small Club Corona (http://www.cigars-review.org/Ramon-Allones-Small-Club-Coronas.htm). Mmmm!

Good thinking about getting the pricelist first. I was going to investigate some of those others too, as I quite fancy a bundle of something cheaper for when I've drunk too much.
I'm hoping I'll get some time to chill rather than my girlfriend rushing me round all the time, so hopefully can sit back and relax with something tasty.

Is it T-shirt weather there yet?

[Ramon]

There is a smoking ban in Spain http://gospain.about.com/od/spanishlife/f/smoking_spain.htm

[Gary]

Maybe there is but every single bar and restaurant that I went into there was clearly numerous people smoking, so it's not enforced too strictly, you'd think the bar/restaurant owners would be worried about loosing their license, in fact the very first night we arrived I had a small 1998 Partagas cigar after our meal in one of the restaurants by the water.

[Ramon]

Bars and restaurants under 100? (and all work places, for that matter) must decide whether they want to permit smoking and must clearly display if smoking is allowed or not.
Bars and restaurants over 100? must have separate areas for both smokers and non-smokers.

[Stevieboy]

Doesn't sound like a ban at all - more like the system we used to have in the UK where you had designated areas inside the building. A summer holiday in Spain beckons....:smoke::smoke::smoke::rock:

[Robusto]

And how! A sense of proportion still appears to exist over there, it seems!

[daverave999]

Well I'm back and I have sunburn. Definitely T-shirt weather when I was there!

I'm impressed at the attitude toward cigars there. The vast majority of tobacconists sell cubans and nobody batted an eyelid that I was walking round with a fat stick. It was commented by one of the waiters in a restaurant that I looked like a Spaniard sitting there smelling my cigar before I lit it! Ramon appears to be spot on (as usual ;)) with regards to the smoking laws. It did feel odd to be smoking indoors again.

I also learnt that it is almost impossible to light a cigar outside with a Bic lighter; I should have taken my torch lighter.

The savings were not enough for me to decide to splash the cash on a box, so I took the opportunity to sample a few singles. Not as many as I'd liked due to time constraints with our activities. Gimeno has a spectacular range-I'd recommend a visit. If you struggle to find it, as I did, it's opposite the entrance to La Boqueria market on La Rambla.

A few things we visited were Montserrat, the Olympic stadium, the beach, the Gaudi cathedral, Parc Gu?ll, Montju?c park and palace, and Port Vell. Was a bit disappointed in the cathedral as it seemed quite expensive for what you could see, but I suppose it is helping to finance building it. I'd highly recommend Montserrat for those who like stomping around mountains-I loved it.

[Robusto]

Glad you had a great time, Dave. Definitely on the to-visit list for me - and a bonus if a man can stogie-smoke throughout.

May plan a solo visit as my missus has been with her mates, and I do like being all alone and away. :smoke:

[Mr Moore]

sounds like you had a good time dave

[Stevieboy]

Glad you enjoyed yourself Dave. Would love to go again soon:cowboyic9:

[daverave999]

It's pretty laid back there. As long as the weather is good, I reckon you'd have an enjoyable time on your own.