The Perfect Beach near Barcelona: Sant Pol de Mar

Barcelona beach

Among many other things, they say that Barcelona is famous for it's architecture, artsy vibe and beach.  I have never really understood the last point. It's of course nice to have the beach here, don't get me wrong; but how much do I actually enjoy swimming in the middle of the condoms, pee, beer cans and god knows what else? Not that much. Especially in August, when the towels and sun chairs are so close to each other that it's difficult to see the sand between them, I warmly recommend to get up an hour earlier and head upper to the North of Costa Brava: Sant Pol de Mar.

Sant Pol de Mar beach

Sant Pol de Mar is one of the many nice little towns along the coast. By taking the "beach train" from Plaza Catalunia and travelling from 30 mins up to one hour, you will see numerous absolutely stunning beaches with turquoise, transparent waters, natural sand and far less sun seekers than on Barcelona's crowded beaches. The journey to Sant Pol de Mar takes approximately one hour and costs 7 euros return.

When you arrive to the train station at Sant Pol de Mar, you need to walk further to the North in order to access the nicest little coves. After passing by the port on the right side, there's a wide beach ahead and by looking towards the end of it, you'll see big rocks coming out of the sea. That's where the picture above is taken. You can either decide to settle down on that beach or walk even further - the coves just get more beautiful.

Although, bear in mind that when Barcelona's beaches might be over crowded and artificial, they offer the full services package: toilets, restaurants, showers; even massage, sushi and mojitos if you wish. In Sant Pol de Mar, the restaurants are located mainly around the train station and there are no services on the beaches.

Anyhow, I consider them one of the must-see places around Barcelona. Now it's getting a bit too chilly for sunbathing, but bear this blog post in mind for 2012!

My favorite places in Barcelona pt.1: The Montjüic pool

I have had a hundred potential blog post topics in my head now for about a week. I have been fantasizing about this moment when we finally open the blog and I can just let my fingers fly on the keyboard. Now, when the moment is at hand, I don't not know what to write about!

Everyone who has visited Barcelona knows that there is never enough time to see everything. There are simply too many cool things around. I still discover new wonderful places every week! That's why, I thought it would be actually cool to share some of my all time favorite places here.

As the past week has been melting hot, I was really waiting for the weekend and total relaxation by the sea or a pool. In my opinion, one of the most wonderful places to sunbathe and chill is the Olympic outdoor pool up in Montjuic. It offers outstanding panoramic views over the city, and it's never too full. For some reason, most of the crowd heads to the packed beaches instead and ignores this amazing, unique oasis. It's far from being fancy or elegant, and has maybe seen its best days, but it sure has got a very special charm which makes me return over and over again.

The pool is open from June till September and costs 5-6 euros to enter. They don't offer any chairs for sunbathing, so bring a towel to lie on. In case of empty stomach, there's a small cafe on the spot where they sell tapas and drinks. The dressing rooms are equipped with showers, but there are no lockers so you need to take all the stuff to the pool area.

The easiest way to arrive is to take the green metro line to Paral-lel and continue with funicular up to the hill. When you come out from the funicular, cross the street and walk 15 meters to the right - and voilá, there you are!

BTW: Also Kylie Minogue is a fan of this pool; it offered a fantastic setting for her video "Slow" in 2003: