Barcelona: a beach walk

Written by Editorial Team - 26th Mar 2016

The Beach of Barcelona is the ideal place for a walk, to take in some fresh sea air and take a break from the city. In summertime the beaches in Barcelona are full of tourists and swimmers. As summer ends the crowds disappear and the beach becomes a wonderful public open space in the city, all throughout autumn, winter and spring.

There are 4.2 km of golden sandy beaches only 10 minutes from the city centre. Barceloneta is the first of the Barcelona beaches and can therefore get quite busy during the summer months. There are plenty of things to do on the beach besides swim. In Barcelona you are never far away from some interesting architecture, not even on the beach!

Barceloneta

Our walking tour of the beach in Barcelona begins at Barceloneta metro. On exiting the metro we start along Passeig de Joan de Borbo and we meet the Museum of the History of Catalunya, housed in some former wharf buildings. As we continue along Joan de Borbo we see the Old Port, full of luxury yachts and the Mare Magnum shopping centre and Aquarium in the centre of the port. Behind these is the World Trade Centre. On our left side is the historical fishing district of Barceloneta that is built in the 18th century.

A popular congregation point is a tall abstract sculpture on the beach. Close to this we will find the magnificent Peix D’Or statue by Frank Gehry. Made of a bronze exoskeleton suspended on a steel structure, this catches the light and glitters in the sun just like the scales of a fish, and exhibits the classic fish form loved by Gehry. Behind the Pex D’Or rise the impressive Hotel Arts and Torre Mapfre, dominating the skyline on the shore.

It is worth exploring the Barceloneta to taste traditional Catalan and Andaluz tapas dishes and Pellas in one of the restaurants we will find.

The beach of Barcelona

The route now takes us around the Olypmpic Port. Built for the 1992 Olympic’s water sports, it is now a popular yacht harbour and centre of water sports, and is lined with bars and cafes. This area is popular with joggers, roller bladers and cyclists.

After the port we return to the sandy beach. By this stage in the walk, we may be ready for a swim if it is summer and the weather is fine. The beach here is wide and full of bars and restaurants, an ideal stop for a drink and some refreshment at this stage in the walk.

This brings us more-or-less to the end of our walk. From here we can take a left turn onto Carrer de badajoz, and then left again onto Avinguda Icària towards Ciutadella metro and the yellow line.

Walking in Barcelona never ends. It is a perfect place for walking around, smell and taste the beauty and the culture of this amazing city!