Budget · 6-hour walk · Barcelona
The seafront to Poblenou in six hours
The old fishermen's quarter, the city's beaches, the Olympic marina under Gehry's fish and the old factory district now full of design studios.
Barcelona turned to face the sea only for the 1992 Olympics, when the railway and the warehouses along the shore came down and the beaches were made. This route walks the length of them, from the grid of fishermen's streets in Barceloneta to Poblenou, the 19th-century factory district once called the Catalan Manchester, now home to design studios and start-ups. Bring a swimsuit in summer.
The route, stop by stop
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Port Vell
The old harbour, crossed by the Rambla de Mar, a wooden footbridge that swings open for the boats.
15 min here Walk here → -
Barceloneta
The 18th-century grid of narrow streets built for the fishermen, with its market and tapas bars. La Cova Fumada claims to have invented the bomba, a fried potato ball with a spicy sauce.
45 min here Walk here → -
Barceloneta Beach
The city's busiest beach. Rebecca Horn's tower of rusty stacked cubes, L'Estel Ferit, remembers the beach shacks that were cleared away.
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Port Olímpic
The marina built for the 1992 sailing events, under Frank Gehry's giant copper fish.
20 min here Walk here → -
Bogatell Beach
Quieter than Barceloneta, with more locals and fewer hawkers.
40 min here Walk here → -
Rambla del Poblenou
Poblenou's own rambla, a local high street of cafés and ice-cream parlours running inland from the sea. El Tío Che has served orxata here since 1912.
40 min here Walk here → -
Torre Glòries
Jean Nouvel's bullet-shaped tower of 2005, lit at night by thousands of coloured lights. The viewpoint at the top holds Tomás Saraceno's climbable cloud of nets.
30 min here Walk here →
More walks in Barcelona
Font de Canaletes · La Boqueria · Palau Güell · MACBA · Sant Pau del Camp
Plaça d'Espanya · Magic Fountain · MNAC · Fundació Joan Miró
Casa Lleó Morera · Casa Amatller · Fundació Antoni Tàpies · Palau del Baró de Quadras · Casa de les Punxes
Plaça de Catalunya · Catedral de Barcelona · Plaça del Rei · Santa Maria del Mar · El Born Centre de Cultura · Barceloneta Beach
Casa Batlló · Casa Milà (La Pedrera) · Sagrada Família · Park Güell · Casa Vicens
Palau de la Música Catalana · Hospital de Sant Pau · Plaça del Sol · Plaça de la Virreina · Bunkers del Carmel
Park Güell · Sagrada Família · Casa Milà (La Pedrera) · Casa Batlló · La Boqueria · Catedral de Barcelona · Picasso Museum · Santa Maria del Mar · Barceloneta Beach
More in Barcelona
Every walking route in Barcelona, the full Barcelona guide for where to stay and what a day costs, or walks in other cities.