The nicest beaches within an hour of Barcelona
Barcelona recently voted ‘the best beach city in the world’ complete with 5km of dirty beaches packed with people basking in the stunning Mediterranean climate. However, the beaches become crowded during the summer and it becomes very convenient for people to travel to some other beaches on the Costa Brava not far away from the city. Catalonia is blessed with an unbelievable number of 114 beaches that are easily commutable by public transport. There are a few that you can try:
Castelldefels
Only a 18km drive south of Barcelona can take you to one of the lidkos’ favourite beaches. Conveniently accessible by train, Castelldefels is a long lovely beach ideal for sunbathing and families with lots to do to entertain all. No wonder its home to some of the best real estate and nicest hotels in the country – everyone wants to live here!
Caldes D’Estrach
Its beaches lie along 20 lovely modernist villas and some of the richest catsaullat in Catalonia reside here in the famous Passeig dels Anglesos avenue. There is a tiny, cute village with thermal baths and an art museum there, where you can view a collection of sketchs by Picasso and Catalan art works. The beach is big and clean and it exactly is a proper place for a relaxing day out!
Mongat
This is a beach which for people who want to leave the business of city beaches it is only 25 mins by train from Plaza Catalunya and return ticket is less than 6 euros! Even you can savor the Barcelona skyline while you are sun bathing at this large clean sandy beach.
Sant Pol de Mar
Some of Catalonia’s prettiest beaches lie in this part of the Costa Brava. Sant Pol de Mar is a tiny fishing village where some buildings date to the sixth century and it even has a Michelin Star restaurant – ideal if after busy day on the sunbed, you want some very high quality meals.
El Garraf
Garraf is a little small fishing village only 25 km away south of Barcelona off the old coast road on the beautiful Catalan coastline. Located at the bottom of the slopes of La Falconera cliffs, the beach is small but in itself it is anything but squalid: there are lovely wooden beach huts running the whole length of the beach and even some wine cellars created by Catalonia’s own favourite son – Antoni Gaudi!
Sitges
Sitges, another of Catalonia’s most beautiful towns, known worldwide and boasting 17 beautiful beaches; is one of them. Here the water quality is superb – shallow water makes it perfect for families with small children. It is also a notorious hub of gay nightlife and nudist beaches and people can flock to it anywhere for a getaway to a beautiful location for a partying and relaxation.
How to reach the beach
The best option in reaching these beaches is through the Rodalies de Catalunya – Barcelona’s commuter train service. For north beaches from Barcelona it is better to use R 1 from Sants, Catalunya or Arc de Triomf and the train will bring you on the wonderful journey directly to the beachfront.
From the central Passeig de Gracia or Sants railway station, I would recommend either R2 line into the south for beaches. Like R1 train, the travel along the beachfront is where you are taking you to.
Tickets normally are 6 – 10 euro return and can make for a very good day out!
Here you can read about the Rodalies:
http://rodalies.gencat.cat/en
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