VIP Barcelona

Now, if you can stop thinking about food for just a minute (a challenge in the Catalan capital), you might get some shopping in. The trendiest stores are in El Born, wedged in between the labyrinthine streets of the El Barri Gòthic (the Gothic quarter) and Barceloneta. Its offerings may be a little too self-consciously chic (and the vibe a bit touristy) for some. In that case, check out the eclectic offerings of stores like Musgo on Rambla de Catalunya (no. 37) or any of the hip little fashion boutiques in the Eixample district (Zona Eleven has cool clothes for men and women; it’s at Muntaner 61).

Of course, you can unite a quest for fine food and shopping by investigating any or all of Barcelona’s magnificent chocolate shops. There's the innovative Cacao Sampaka, the extremely innovative Enric Rovira and the generally irresistible Chocolat Factory — to name just three. For a sweet selection of saltier treats, check out offerings at delishop, one of the locations of which is in the airy L’Illa Diagonal shopping center, and where you can stock up on delicious Catalonian dried strawberries and other gourmet comestibles.

Barcelona can also lay claim to some of the coolest hotels in Europe. If you're talking about a prime location, breezy modern design and a restaurant called Moo, you must be referring to the Hotel Omm. Move past the large, swanky lobby and up to the intentionally dark hallways, then open the door to a large guestroom where natural materials predominate and smooth hardwood floors are a comforting counterpart to the asphalt tangle outside. Up above, from the rooftop pool and chill-out deck there is a direct view over the Paseo de Gracia to Gaudí's Casa Mila, familiarly known as La Pedrera ("the quarry"), with its rooftop "scare-witch" chimney stacks. You can contemplate the architect's vision afterward as you indulge in a spa treatment in the Omm’s fantastic, fragrant spa.

Another design-conscious hotel, off the radar but worth checking into is chic&basic, located in a former townhouse in the Born district. All of the rooms are white, and there’s a hip, all-white bar and contemporary Catalan restaurant on the ground floor called — you guessed it — The White Bar. It's a swish place for a cocktail before hitting glamorous nightclubs like the seaside CDLC Barcelona, Souvenir (where things don’t get going until 6:30 a.m.) and the ballroom-fabulous Luz de Gaz.

From the Joan Miró Foundation to the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, designed by Richard Meier, Barcelona’s cultural composition adds up to a series of surprises that demand only a bit of time and an inquisitive mind to savor fully. It won’t take long to see that looking good — or at least different — is one of the things that elevates Barcelona’s star, which is still very much dolled up and on the rise.

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