Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, has an infinite range of leisure, culture and history that will leave you open-mouthed. The extensive beaches of Barcelona are bathed by the Mediterranean Sea, which runs along and outlines its entire coastline, providing it with a wonderful climate all year round.
If you are thinking of visiting Barcelona, we suggest that you do not miss its beaches, especially Barceloneta beach, the busiest and most famous of the city, which you can visit in summer, but also in autumn and winter, when you will have the opportunity to stroll along its golden sand, in a quiet and pleasant atmosphere.
Moreover, with Shuttle2Sun‘s private transfer services, low-cost and sustainable, you can move to Barcelona, comfortably and without worries, from Barcelona airport, Barcelona port and Camp de Tarragona AVE train station.
Barceloneta beach
Barcelona has a total of 8 beaches along its coast: Llevant beach, Nova Mar Bella beach, Bogatell beach, Nova Icària beach, Somorrostro beach, Barceloneta beach, Sant Miquel beach and Sant Sebastià beach. There are also the Forum baths, where you can enjoy the sea in a different way.
The oldest beach of all is Barceloneta beach. Its origins date back to 1477, when it was decided to build a breakwater in the port, causing the land to silt up. It was on this land that the neighbourhood of the same name, La Barceloneta, was built.
Barceloneta beach, as we know it today, is a beach that was artificially created as part of the project to transform the entire Barcelona coastline for the 1992 Olympic Games. It is currently 422 metres long, bounded by Espigó del Gas and Carrer Almirall Cervera, and has an average width of 79 metres.
The sculpture of ‘The Wounded Shooting Star’, by Rebecca Horn
If you stroll through Barceloneta you will come across an original sculpture by the German visual artist Rebecca Horn, ‘The Wounded Shooting Star’. It was built when the coast was remodelled in 1992, with the aim of opening up the city of Barcelona to the sea and make better the appearance of the most run-down neighbourhoods.
This sculpture consists of four large steel blocks, in the shape of cubes, placed one on top of the other in an irregular shape, reaching a total height of 10 metres. Each of the blocks has glass windows.
The author’s aim was to pay homage to the fishing district of La Barceloneta, referring to the beach bars that were located on the seafront, which originated at the end of the 19th century and were consolidated in the post-war period. These were located next to the beach, with their terraces on the sandy area, and disappeared with the remodelling of the city.
Although the author called the sculpture ‘The Wounded Shooting Star’, it is popularly known as ‘The Cubes’, due to the shape of its steel blocks. There are also people who relate this monument to the small 30 m² flats that appeared in La Barceloneta at the end of the 19th century.
Shuttle2Sun offers its private transfer services, low-cost and sustainable, to get to Barcelona, from Barcelona airport, Barcelona port and Camp de Tarragona AVE train station.
Espigó del Gas and Mirador de les Pedres
If you want to see Barceloneta beach in all its splendour, we recommend that you go to Mirador de les Pedres viewpoint, which is located on Espigó del Gas, which juts out into the Mediterranean Sea, making it a privileged place to enjoy the calm waters and the beautiful views of the beach. From this spot, you can see the entire seafront and photograph the great magnitude of the Barcelona coastline, especially at sunset and at nightfall, when all the buildings are lit up.
Facilities and services
Barceloneta beach has a wide variety of facilities to guarantee you quality services, complementary to bathing. For example, it has a lifeguard service, an Urban Guard and an information point. There are also adapted showers and public toilets to facilitate access for people with reduced mobility.
It also includes a children’s play area; sun loungers, parasols and bicycle hire; stalls selling drinks and ice creams and restaurants to liven up your stay; and wifi service.
You can also enjoy its sports areas, such as the volleyball courts. And, in summer months, the ‘biblio-playas‘ are set up, where you can borrow books, comics and newspapers, among other materials.
Espai de Mar
One of the services par excellence found on Barceloneta beach is the IEM Espai de Mar, a facility that offers a wide range of sports activities for families and groups.
Some of the sports you can do are: surfing, with one-off classes or courses every week so you can learn to surf; skateboarding, to discover this sport; open water swimming; tai chi; Nordic walking; and yoga sessions, among many other options.
So that you can enjoy all these activities to the fullest on Barceloneta beach, we recommend you the low-cost and sustainable private transfer services offered by Shuttle2Sun, so that you can travel to Barcelona from Barcelona airport, Barcelona port and Camp de Tarragona AVE train station.
