Souvenirs without shame
Quality souvenirs exist and Barcelona makes them: protected foods, craft with trade in it and books with the city inside. The rule is simple: it should be something a local could buy too.
Serious edibles
Olive oil, vinegar, artisan turron, cava and conservas from gourmet shops and markets: the edible souvenir people thank you for and finish. Buy in neighborhood shops, not at the museum door.
Craft and paper
Signed ceramics, workshop fans, beautiful stationery and city prints illustrated by locals: objects with an author against the souvenir mass. El Born and Gràcia are the terrain.
Books and music
Novels and illustrated city guides, plus the Raval's record shops and their bargain crates: the souvenir still in use years after the suitcase fell apart.