Barcelona, the Paris of Spain, is a wonderful city and well worth a visit. Great train connections from France and an easy drive.

The store is no longer located in the Barri Gothic area of Barcelona, but rather in the commercial district, on Provença Street (between passeig de Gracia and Rambla Catalunya streets).

You'll be greeted with a entrance way with display windows on both side. Packed with all the great pen lines. Once inside there are a number of display cases, and more displays along the walls of pens. I found the staff are very friendly and willing to show you any pen you may desire.

I have been to the store twice, on my most recent visit (June 2002) David helped me out with an Omas pen. Again I found the staff to be very helpful. The friends that were travelling with us all agreed, this is a Great Pen Store.

Right: Great service. David helping me buy a great OMAS Pen.

On our 2015 visit to Madrid we had a very good visit with Louis Sanzeta at this good pen store in Madrid and when in Madrid, hop on the Metro, and take the short ride up to calle Carranza to stop by the store. It is on Line 1, if you get on at the Peurto del Sol, the Bilbao stop is a couple of stops down the line.  The store is about a half block from the stop.

Louis talked about the store and the various lines of pens they carry. I found a good selection of pens, with all the major lines, a good selection of inks and of course, since their roots were in the paper business, a selection of papers and notebooks.

The store was founded in 1988 by Maria E. Ruiz Married. It first operated as an art supply store, then expanded their lines into papers and then the natural transition to pens.

Carranza has a strong clientele, with a fairly even split if purchases for personal or gift purposes.

We talked about the various lines they carry - they range from everyday pens to the limited edition and most of the european lines were represented. There are pen show cases along the walls of the front section of the store.  The store extends back with a area that stocks papers and note books, and at the rear of the store there are art papers and supplies.

I always enjoy picking up ink on my visits to stores and they had a good selection. I left with a bottle of Stipula Calamo Sepia. The Stipula ink is hard to find. Even in Italy, it is not a line of ink I have found in the majority of stores. I like the 70 cl bottle, it is a good size and tall in design so easy to use to fill a pen with a large nib.

The store is open Monday to Friday, 10:00 to 20:00 (8 pm) and on Saturday from 10:00 to 14:00 (2 pm). This will be a store you will enjoy visiting. The full range of pens in terms of price points creates a solid selection. If you are going to Madrid, here is a pen store that takes just minutes to get to and offers a lot.

I have been told about Scristan from others, and on our 2015 visit to Madrid I made a point of heading over to the store.

The store is centrally located, on the calle Mayor, just out side the Plaza Mayor in Madrid. I certain agree with the comments that I have previously received, this is an elegant store with a good stock of the major linesof pens.

You do have to ask as there are only a few opens in the show cases. The stock that can be display is limited by the size of the store. This is a store that has been in operation for over 100 years.

We met Patrizia Zambrano who told us agout the store and the pens they carry. While there are the Limited Edition lines that you would expect, the store sells very affordable pens such as Lamy and Kaweco - both very popular lines.

For my preference of broad nibs, while I am pretty much out of luck in Spain and Medium and Fine nibs are the most requested and stocked.

Easy to find, go the Plaza Mayor, and then walk out to the street that runs parallel to the plaza.

I was out on a morning walk and came across this great pen store in Seville. When the store opened Karen and I headed back and we had a great visit with Lucia Ferrer, 5th generation family member that operate this long standing store in Seville.

The store has been in business since 1856 and run by the family. As you walk into the store there are counters on the right, left and in front. But do ask for what you are considerating as they is plenty of stock to be brought out.

Lucia explained they carry a full range of price points. Pens from 5 Euros to 500 Euros. These is something to match the needs of their long, well established client base.

I was really impressed with Lucia and this store. Not only did she encourage me to try different pens and inks, but she brought a different pen for each colour of ink I tried! In terms of ink, Lucia explained at that one time the family actually made their own ink. They will have the recipies, but now, they carry the major lines of inks produced by the various manufacturers.

Not only does Ferrer stock new pens, but they have a collection of refurbished vintage pens. The pens have been refurbished and fitted with new nibs.

I am not a vintage pen person, but not only did I buy one for my collection, but my wife went back to the store the next day and purchased a pen for a friend in Vancouver.

The store is easy to find and it is located right in the heart of the retail area of Seville. At the Plaza del Duque de la Victoria will find the main El Corte Ingles Department store. The street changles into Calle Campana and Calla Sierpenes runs right into Campana. It is a very pleasant pedestrian street and the Ferrer is just a few blocks in.

The store is open from 9:30 to 2:00 pm, and then from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. On Saturdays it is open from 9:30 to 2:00 pm.