Wild Beaches vs Town Beaches vs nudist Beaches in Catalonia

Catalonia has 580 kilometres (360 miles) of coastline which can be characterised as town and city or wild natural with very different types of beaches to cater for all preferences.

City and town beaches are typically closely regulated beaches (no smoking on the beach, no nudity, no motorised watercraft, no dogs) but have services such as public toilets, showers, lifeguards and sometimes locker facilities. Behind the beach you will often see high-rise cityscape and you will find plenty of seafood restaurants along the beach front as well as chiringuito beach bars serving overpriced drinks and tapas.

City or town beaches may have a designated nudist beach as well as beaches that are more favoured by families, couples and teenagers.

Wild beaches are unstaffed beaches between towns and cities and are usually backed by natural views of mountains and pine forests.

 

Barcelona City

Barcelona´s beaches from the Olympic Marina to Hotel W are more rowdy beaches favoured by teenagers and younger people because of the easy access from La Barceloneta neighbourhood and the abundance of cheap bars and restaurants in this neighbourhood. This is also the favoured beach of tourists.

Barceloneta Beaches:

• San Sebastian is a former nudist beach but since the construction of the Hotel W the beach has become somewhat gentrified and there is now only the occasional nudist here.
• Sant Miquel & Barceloneta are beaches directly in front of Barceloneta and are very touristy with little space to place a towel in the summer.
• Somorrostro is the nightclubs beach with Carpe diem, Opium, Icebar and more having direct openings onto the beach.

1. Barceloneta Beaches Services: Toilets in the chiringuito beach bars, lifeguards
2. Barceloneta Beaches Restrictions: No smoking, no dogs, no motorised watercraft

On the other side of the Olympic Marina the beaches extend to port Forum Marina. These beaches are favoured by locals with families in Barcelona and are more relaxed than those of Barceloneta. Behind these beaches is the El Poblenou neighbourhood and a park area that sits over the submerged B20 motorway. There are fewer restaurants directly behind the beach but Rambla Poblenou (10 minute walk) is a pedestrianised boulevard with some great restaurants.

Poblenou Beaches:

• Nova Icaria is famed for the many beachball courts.
• Bogatell is a chilled beach with the main first aid/emergency services point on a breakwater. This beach is great for families with children.
• Mar Bella contains a (mostly gay) nudist section shielded behind a high earth bank.
• Nova Mar Bella has a gay chiringuito and is the beach favoured by many of Barcelona’s teenagers and young couples.
• Llevant is a beach that has a parking area directly behind and is near to Diagonal Mar high rise area. This beach also has a fenced area for dogs with access to the sea. Your dog can now go swimming from a Barcelona beach all year round.

1. Poblenou Beaches Services: Toilets in the chiringuito beach bars, lifeguards
2. Poblenou Beaches Restrictions: No smoking (but not enforced), no dogs (except Llevant), no motorised watercraft

Unfortunately, the beaches in Barcelona suffer from bag theft and pickpocketing. Under no circumstances can you fall asleep or leave personal belongings unattended on any of the beaches in Barcelona.

 

Beaches near to Barcelona

I personally hate the beaches in Barcelona because of overcrowding, bag theft, smoking restrictions and general noise levels. The beaches in Barcelona are not natural and have coarse sand that Barcelona council deposit at the start of every summer which always means that I need sandals.

However, there are some beaches near to Barcelona that are easily accessible and do not suffer from these problems.

El prat beach is the beach behind Barcelona airport. The beach is reachable by bus from El prat de Llobregat (town served by the metro) and has a nudist section at the far end Platja del Remolar. I like to go here on a weekday because the beach is almost empty. Most people say that the noise of overflying aircraft is distracting but with a good book I do not even notice it. Even if you are not a nudist, I recommend swimming in the Mediterranean naked at least once in your life. It is very liberating and if you sunbathe on a nudist beach then you have no tan lines!

Castelldefels Platja is a town that can be reached by a 20-minute train ride from Barcelona. This beach has all the benefits of Barcelona beaches without any of the negatives like bag theft, pickpocketing, smoking bans, rowdy people. The beaches are completely natural with nice soft sand. Behind the beach is a long street with many restaurants.

 

 

Sitges is a town that can be reached by a 40-minute train ride from Barcelona. This town is the jewel of the Mediterranean coastline south of Barcelona and has it all. The historic centre of Sitges is all whitewashed buildings where you will find the Cau Ferrat museum, Palau de Maricel and Stämpfli art Gallery. From here you will have fantastic views along the Passeig de la Ribera sea front boulevard where there are plenty of quality restaurants and bars.

In the town centre that is composed of whitewashed two or three storey buildings you will find a vibrant town centre full of small boutique shops for those individual one of clothing items. Sitges is a must visit town that is great all year round for its combination of culture, historic preservation and beaches. Note that Sitges is the only town that has a nudist beach Platja dels Balmins within the town being located behind Port Aiguadolç.

Costa Dorada by train

 

The Costa Dorada from Coma-ruga to Torredembarra has a combination of town beaches and some wild beaches outside of the towns. My favourite part of this section of coastline is El Roc de Sant Gaietà, a small town that has been built in the style of a Mediterranean fishing village circa 1900 with whitewashed buildings and small beaches with great views onto the town. This small town has an abundance of great restaurants.

 

Between Tamarit-Altafulla and Tarragona is a section of natural coastline not spoilt by hotel complexes or ugly towns. Here you will find a 13^th century castle in Tamarit then pure wild beaches and rocky coves before reaching playa Larga on the outskirts of Tarragona. My recommendation along this section is Waikiki beach, a 500 m long beach in an arcing cove. The beach is so shallow here that you can walk out into the perfect blue water and only be up to your waste after 50 metres. As you look back at the shore you see the sandstone cliffs of the cove backed by a pine forest. The view is not spoilt by any made made constructions and is one of my top tips for a wild beach.

 

Tarragona is the second largest city in Catalonia and has the largest ensemble of Roman ruins in Catalonia. The city has beaches directly in front of the train station. I recommend Tarragona as an alternative holiday destination to Barcelona because of the cultural heritage, beaches and wild beaches within easy walking distance outside of the city.

Tarragona is only 70-minutes from Barcelona by train.

Further south of Tarragona is a stretch of coastline between Ametlla de Mar and L’Ampolla. Along this 18-kilometre stretch of coastline are small coves and beaches, all of them wild and natural with no ugly backdrops. Near the towns are small beaches with beach bars. My recommendation for fully wild beaches are Cala Santes Creus, Platja de l’Estany Podrit and Platja de l’Aliga.

 

 

L’Hospitalet de l’Infant is another beach town worth a visit because it has two large beaches, Platja de l’Arenal and Platja de l’Hospitalet that are popular with families. Walking about a kilometre south of the town is a vast long wild beach, Platja del Torn, backed by a pine forest and mountain views. This beach is the largest naturalist beach in Catalonia and even has a naturist hotel and camping resort, El Templo Del Sol. A short walk from Torn beach is a sea cave called Cova Del Llop Marí that can be accessed by swimming from a small cove.

Costa Brava by bus

Tossa de Mar is a town with a 12^th century castle overlooking two fantastic beaches of Platja Gran and Cala es Codolar cove beach (pirate bay!). The castle is open to the public and free to walk around inside where you will find several restaurants. Tossa de Mar has a good combination of modern mas tourism hotels on the north side of town with small boutique hotels on the south side of town around the castle. The town also has an abundance of restaurants for all tastes and budgets from pizza and hamburgers to five star seafood and steak restaurants.

Walking south or north of the town are wild beaches such as Cala Llevadó, Cala de l’Ull de Vidre, Cala Pola and Cala Giverola. Tossa de Mar offers scuba diving lessons, a glass bottomed cruse along the coast and sea kayak activities. You can also rent bicycles and cycle up into the mountains to visit Sant Grau hermitage.

 

Cadaqués is a town made famous by artists that have gone here to paint the landscape and find inspiration. The most famous being Salvador Dalí who’s house in Port Lligat is now a museum. This town is like Tossa de Mar but smaller and much quieter. Although there is no castle the scenic coastal walk through the lunar like rocky landscape to Cap de Crus lighthouse is worth the effort. You can even get a boat cruse to this headland from the town.

 

 

Calella de Palafrugell & Llafranc are postcard fishing towns on the costa Brava with whitewashed buildings. The fishing boats in these towns catch fresh produce for the restaurants in the towns so you know your dinner is very fresh and delicious. The water here on the beaches in town and the small coves outside of town is the bluest purest sea water I have ever seen and you can see your toes at the bottom when standing in chest deep water. Views from the sea are of low-rise whitewashed houses, pine forests and mountains. These two towns are along a section of coastline called the Cami de la Ronda which is a stunning beautiful rugged coastal hiking trail.

Cami de la Ronda

From Palamós to Begur is a section of coastline that has the famous Camí de la Ronda hiking trail with some of the most unspoilt natural coastline of rocky coves and cliffs. You will find many small coves and beaches here and if your visiting in May and early June you may well find your own private beach. I recommend doing this as a three-day walking activity, overnighting at callella de Palafrugell and Aigua Blava.

 

 

To explore the wild and town beaches of Catalonia I recommend checking out my Beaches page where you can find individual blogs for each beach which include maps, train maps, extensive photo galleries, top tips, restaurant guides and weather info.