Barcelona Beaches
The beaches in Barcelona start from the W Hotel and stretch as far as the Forum site. They are scattered with chiringuito beach bars, playing electronic or chill-out music
and offering drinks, snacks, or even top quality meals on the seafront. The most obvious choice of beach for any newcomer is Barceloneta, as this is the closest beach to
Barcelona city.
However, it is a fairly small stretch of sand and in the summer months it can become fairly overcrowded! You can walk to Barceloneta by continuing from La
Rambla down past the port and down Joan de Borbo or, you can take the Yellow Line metro to Barceloneta.
When you reach Barceloneta beach,
if you take a right towards the W hotel which you will no doubt spot in the distance you will stumble across one of the Barcelona nudist beaches.
If that’s not your thing then its best to take a left when you reach the beach and keep walking. You can follow the Passeig Maritim or seafront promenade almost all the way to
Port Olimpic. Once you get past beach of Port Olimpic you will reach Bogatell beach which has a less frenetic vibe to it, and for many is the best beach. Continuing along
the shoreline you´ll reach MarBella, and Nova MarBella, which is another nudist beach and a gay beach.
Sunbathing and swimming are not the only things you can do on the beach in Barcelona;
there are volley ball nets on nearly every beach, where you can join in with a volley ball game, as well as many
water sports.
Surfing, windsurfing, kite surfing, water skiing, sailing and other aquatic sports
are also popular. However, you´ll find much better water sports conditions outside the city, going North towards the
Costa Brava, or South towards
Sitges beaches and the
Costa Dorada.
Another way to cool off in the summer is a day trip to one of the nearby water parks,
such as Aqualeon, or the
Aquabrava fun park.
No need to worry about dodging jellyfish or plastic bags here, your main inconvenience will simply be queuing for the rides and slides.
Holiday accommodation and
Barcelona apartments
are plentiful by the beach, and there are also several Barcelona hostels
conveniently located near to the beaches. Before the sun goes down you´ll be accosted by several flyer crews and promoters offering
suggestions and discounts for making the most of the renowned Barcelona nightlife.
Barcelona´s bars and clubs take on another flavour in the summer, as tourists and residents alike make the most of those hot and balmy nights.