Guide to Barcelona

For the September 2026 issue of GQ, we shot Tony star Dominic Sessa all over Barcelona. We also hit up Daniel Borrás, GQ Spain’s head of editorial content—who calls the city the sort of freewheeling place where you can “wear whatever you want, be whatever you want, and do whatever you want.” Here are his exceptionally stylish picks for where to shop, eat, drink, and stay for the next time you find yourself over there.

“The best bookstore in Spain,” according to Borrás, is housed in a former 19th-century shoe shop. Come for the veritable gold mine of art and fashion books—Borrás recently grabbed a photo collection of 600 bar napkins from all across Spain. Then stay for the store’s offbeat zines and volumes turned out by its in-house publisher.

Celine Van Heel

This bar cofounded by Nacho Alegre—the taste guru behind the arty interiors mag Apartamento—is, Borrás says, “something very real, from people that are doing creative things.” Some of those creative things? A best-in-class natural-wine list and inspired tapas, like a pork rib with rhubarb chutne

Celine Van Heel

Yes, it’s a half-hour drive from Barcelona’s center, but this lavishly updated 1925 property is worth the minor schlep. In exchange you get an expansive indoor-outdoor pool, a historic vermouth bar, and that view.

Courtesy of METT Barcelona

“One thing we have in Spain is respect for the produce,” Borrás says. That ethos comes to life at this three-Michelin-star spiritual successor to El Bulli, where every meal is “like a roller coaster.” (Also promising: The name literally means “to enjoy.”)

Courtesy of Joan Valera

One Perfect Shopping Day

Five can’t-miss stores in Barcelona.

There are newer, buzzier boutiques in Barcelona, Borrás acknowledges, but none of them have the “peculiar, avant-garde” vision of Doshaburi, which opened in 2004 and stocks a mix of surging designers like Lu’u Dan and Juntae Kim alongside established weirdos like Rick Owens and Ann Demeulemeester.

Courtesy of Doshaburi

On the hunt for archival menswear? You’re going to want to make an appointment at their private showroom, which specializes in early-aughts grails from the likes of Valentino, Roberto Cavalli, and Jean Paul Gaultier.

Courtesy of Yabang

Borrás has been digging for vinyl gold at this grungy shop since his youth. “The manager is always angry and doesn’t help you at all,” he says. “But that’s okay, because the selection is crazy.”

Courtesy of Wah Wah Supersonic

When he needs to nurture his inner child, Borrás swings by this teeny vintage-toy store that’s crammed wall-to-wall with rare action figures and other collectibles from across decades and continents.

Courtesy of Tannhauser

The interior-decor concept store Matèria is led by four women, each possessing what Borrás says is their own totally distinct “sense of taste and amazing vision.” It’s the sort of place that’ll leave you wondering, Could I fit that midcentury stool in my checked luggage?

Celine Van Hee