Beaches in and around Barcelona
Costa Brava – Costa Maresme – Costa Dorada

Barcelona Central Beaches

beachesbarcelona

San Sebastian

A traditional and popular beach among locals,

San Sebastian can get quite crowded, noisy and lively.

It is on San Sebastian you find the big luxury hotel, W Barcelona, looking like a big silver sail overlooking the Barcelona beaches. It’s just pure luxury and a wonderful pool with lovely view.

Just behind you find another “one of the best” five star Eurostars Grand Marina Hotel GL.

Barceloneta

Barceloneta is a very wide and long beach.

There are some restaurants with mostly pizza and Tex-Mex menus.

Very crowdy and lively and sometimes named as a problem for Barcelona city.

Nova Icaria

Closest to the Olympic Marina, and therefore often quite full, is Nova Icaria.

There are some nice beach bars and two popular restaurants on the promenade,

Plus a variety of bars and restaurants are a short walk outside the Olympic Port.

A popular hotel is H10 Marina just ten minutes walk from Nova Icaria beach, and the Olympic Marina. Lovely pool with a great view, a relaxing spa area and good reviews from visitors.

Bogatell

Bogatell Beach is twice as long as Mar Bella.

The elevated boardwalk helps to reduce some of the noise from the city, so noise-wise it can be a little quieter.

There are no beach bars here, but three great restaurants on the beach promenade.

Nova Mar Bella

Beach with younger crowd who are mostly locals.

Mar Bella

Separated from Bogatell by a breakwater is Mar Bella.

This is the epicenter for windsurfing so you’ll find many places to hire equipment, and even a windsurfing school.

Barcelona’s only naturist and nude beach lies here, tucked away behind a long hill.

Nearby is a park which makes a great place for a picnic or siesta.

Best beaches north of Barcelona – Costa Maresme and Costa Brava

It is advisable to go a bit outside of Barcelona and do excursions to the many beautiful sites with cleaner and much nicer beaches.

Costa Brava

Sant Feliu de Guíxols

In Sant Feliu de Guíxols you find the beach “Platja de Sant Pol”.

The water is crystal clear and the village itself is surrounded by beautiful green hills.

For the more adventure-seeking there is a beautiful small bay to be found just after the train tunnel where nudist bathing is permitted.

A great hotel is Hotel and Restaurant Sant Pol situated near the beach

Sa Consa Beach

SA CONCA, ONE OF THE BEST BEACHES IN SPAIN

Between the fishing village of Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Platja d’Aro, is one of the best beaches in Spain.

Sa Conca features a wonderful bay with pine trees and rocky slopes down to the fine sandy beach.

beach and spa luxury hotel north of barcelona

HOTELS NEAR THE BEAUTIFUL SA CONCA

The four stars hotels S’Agaró Hotel Spa & Wellness and Hostal de la Gavina

More places on Costa Brava

Tossa de Mar

A charming town with a medieval old city center

You can read more at the Tossa de Mar page

Blanes

Blanes is the port to Costa Brava and has a lovely 2 kilometers long beach.

You can read more at our Blanes page.

Costa del Maresme / Costa Barcelona

Ocata Beach

Get off at Ocata, shortly after Masnou, where it is beautiful clean water.

No matter when you visit the beaches, you’ll have plenty of room.

Another plus is that the municipality, in an attempt to lure people away from the more famous resorts, organizes many activities for children.

Places to stay by Ocata Beach and Masnou

There are a few hotels to chose from, so look at the overview to see which one suits you best.

It’s also a Camping by the beach as well, but we don’t recommend it. Anyway an inexpensive alternative if you’re not too fastidious.

More from Costa del Maresme

You can take the train from village to village or have a nice walk between the beautiful beaches.

We walked from Sant Pol de Mar to Calella.

Best beaches south of Barcelona – Costa Dorada

The beaches south of Barcelona are broader and feature shallower water, while those north of Barcelona are often more beautiful and are deeper with larger waves.

castelldefels_castle

CASTELLDEFELS

The first beach south of Barcelona is in Castelldefels which has a long five-kilometre beach and is situated 15 minutes by train from town. You get off at the Platja de Castelldefels station.

There are good facilities here as well as bars and restaurants, though the compromise is that it’s often quite full in high season.

An other attraction is Castillo de Castelldefels. To get here you get of at the station Castelldefels and walk about one kilometer.

From top of the castle you get a fantastic panoramic view.

It’s over 30 hotels and apartment-hotels in town and some nice places to stay along the beach.

VILANOVA WITH A LUXURY CAMPING AND CHEAP FAMILY BUNGALOWS.

A bit further along the coast lies the little-known Vilanova.

This is a family beach with mostly locals who already know that the facilities for children are excellent, especially the large Vilanova Park where you can hire bungalows for a cheap price!

Great area with several swimming pools and lots of whole family activities.

From here it’s 4 kilometers to the beach, but buses goes right outside the campingarea.

Just 50 meters from the beach you find Atenea Park Suites & Apartments. A good alternative if you love to live right at the beach.

PLAYA DE SAN SALVADOR

20 kilometres south from Vilanova you find the beach Playa de San Salvador, belonging to the village El Vendrell but closest center and train station is Calafell.

Here you have one of the best luxury spa hotels along the northern Spanish coast. Le Meridien Ra Beach Hotel & Spa

Check it out here

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SITGES

Even better beaches are a bit further south around Sitges, a beautiful seaside town located half an hour away from Barcelona. The town has a very relaxed atmosphere, and furthest east, beyond the church, you find a couple of nudist beaches – Platja d’Aiguadolç and Platja dels Balmains.

The trendiest beaches of Fragata and Ribera are high society zones. Here people stroll to see and be seen.

Fortunately, there is a quieter beach just behind the pink church in a bay. It is less hectic and also better protected from the wind.

There is a fair distance to walk from the train station to the beaches of Sitges, but if you’re driving a car it’s a nice drive. Parking in Sitges (in high season) may be difficult if you arrive late, so be out early if you drive.

It should be mentioned that Sitges is a popular destination for the gay culture, and several bars and nightclubs are adapted to their joyful nightlife.

Picture from the beach resort hotel Mediterráneo Sitges