Barefoot

Barefoot has been Colombo’s most loved shop for over sixty years, a rambling old house on Galle Road filled with rainbow-bright handwoven cloth, a bookshop, an art gallery, and a shady garden courtyard cafe. Why it matters: founded in 1964 by artist Barbara Sansoni, who began designing cloth for rural weaving centres, Barefoot has provided steady work to generations of Sri Lankan women hand-weavers. Pick up a sarong, handloom toys, or fabric by the length, and browse one of the best bookshops in the city. Tip: it stays open every day, including Sundays and Poya days, and the courtyard cafe is the calmest lunch spot on this stretch of Galle Road.