Sant Martí is somewhat of Barcelona’s tourist Cinderella. It can’t boast the city’s most famous attractions and is a district where only a few tourists venture in search of an alternative to the crowded beaches of Barceloneta or because they’ve scouted out some very affordable accommodation.
Although the neighbourhood itself does not offer much in the way of attractions (it is mainly a residential area), don’t dismiss it out of hand: it can be a great base for a holiday in Barcelona. Thanks to the efficient public transport network, you can reach all the city’s most famous attractions in just 15 minutes.
It is perfect for those who want a quiet holiday with accommodation away from the hustle and bustle of the city centre. Plus, we said, there are the beaches. Tell the truth, are you thinking about it?
Sant Martí is located north-east of the centre of Barcelona. It is a very extensive neighbourhood: on one side it marks the end of Barcelona’s municipal territory, bordering the town of Sant Adrià de Besò, while on the other side it borders the Barceloneta, Barrio Gotico, Eixample, Horta-Guinardó and Sant Andreu districts.
The area is served by the yellow (L4) and purple (L2) metro lines, with which one can travel quickly in all directions. Another convenient means of getting around is the tram, which serves the district with lines T4, T5 and T6.
Finding your way around the district is quite easy because almost all the streets are perpendicular and parallel.
The top attractions in the Sant Martí district are the Museo de Design and the Torre Glòries, as well as its golden sandy beaches and some important buildings including the casino and the Olympic harbour.
The Glòries Tower, also known in the city by its previous name Torre Agbar, is a recent addition to the Barcelona skyline, but despite its young age it has already become a symbol. It is a tower whose long, tapered shape closely resembles London’s Gherkin, and is located on Placa de les Glories Catalanes. You can visit it comfortably as the Glories stop of the metro line L1 is also in the square, but once you get there, what is there to do?
You tend to have two options: the first is to admire it from the outside, especially in the evening when it is illuminated with beautiful light effects thanks to the 4500 LEDs installed on its outer surface. The second is to go inside and climb up to the panoramic terrace, from where you can admire a beautiful panorama of Barcelona and the Mediterranean coast. However, it is not possible to go up to the intermediate floors, as they house offices of private companies.
Just behind the Glòries Tower is the Museu del Disseny de Barcelona, the Design Museum. Already from the outside, one realises that we are in front of something special: the building’s angular and futuristic shapes are truly unique and interesting. It is a museum-laboratory, run by theBarcelona Institute of Culture, and focuses on the design of spaces, products, information and fashion.
Today, the museum is the amalgamation of four previously existing museums in Barcelona, which are the decorative arts museum, the textile and garment museum, the graphic arts cabinet and the Casa Bloc flat, perhaps the most curious of the four, consisting of a flat that showcases the original appearance of a typical Catalan 1930s building.
Every February, Barcelona is lit up by day thanks to Llum BCN, a festival of lights that has been held in the city since 2012. Its venue is Poblenou, the Sant Martì neighbourhood bordering Barceloneta, and in addition to thousands of tourists, it also attracts internationally renowned creators and local talent with a passion for art and design to the city.
The festival consists of a series of immersive light installations that mix art, science and technology. The installations extend over different areas of Poblenou, always starting at the Design Museum, and are visible from dusk until midnight. Many historical buildings, but also old factories, industries and the Glories Tower itself are transformed into works of art thanks to large-scale visual projections in a unique combination of light and imagination.
A really nice area of the Sant Martí district for a stroll is the Olympic Port, built for the 1992 games. It is a large marina with over 700 berths arranged in a rectangular structure with three breakwaters.
The pedestrian avenue behind it, the Passeig del Port Olímpic, is one of the most popular leisure areas for Barcelonans, who come here to shop, play water sports or dine in one of the many restaurants.
There is also a beautiful park, extending east and west of the Olympic Volunteers’ Square, where some relics of the 1992 Games still remain: the bronze statue of the Cobi mascot and the flag poles of the participating countries.
The two most famous buildings in the area are theHotel Arts and the Torre Mapfre, two skyscrapers located a short distance apart that look a bit like twin towers and are now part of the Barcelona skyline.
At their feet is the Golden Fish, a bronze-coloured steel statue depicting an enormous fish. Seeing it up close is impressive for its size, but seen from afar, with the steel reflecting the sun’s rays creating illusory scales, it is quite a different effect. To admire the overall effect of these three constructions, we recommend a trip to Barceloneta beach.
Forget dusty showcases and the smell of mothballs: Barcelona’s Museum of Natural Sciences (Museu de Ciències Naturals in Catalan) is a state-of-the-art interactive museum that houses the permanent exhibition Planet Life.
The exhibition, divided into three sections, traces the history of the evolution of life on our planet, from its origins to the present day and focuses on the relationship between nature and man. Fossils and other pieces or documents from the museum’s zoology, geology and botany collections are on display.
Other areas of the museum are used for temporary exhibitions, almost always on topics related to the environment and ecology, and educational activities. There is also a media library, a book and souvenir shop and a restaurant.
It is certainly not one of the most famous and frequented ramblas in Barcelona, but the pedestrian boulevard Rambla Prim in Sant Martí is nevertheless a pleasant place to take a walk or a jog in the shade of the palm trees, or to rest on one of the many benches installed.
The avenue starts near the sea, at the Barcelona Science Museum to be precise, and continues straight inland, cutting the neighbourhood of El Besòs i El Maresme in two, until it reaches the neighbourhood of La Verneda i la Pau, the northernmost part of Sant Martí. Along the street there are numerous small and price-competitive local shops, as well as bars, restaurants and supermarkets.
In the Sant Martí area, almost on the border with Barceloneta, is the Casino de Barcelona, a must-see destination for those who enjoy gambling and more.
In addition to the gaming rooms, the Casino houses a cocktail bar with an outdoor terrace, a theatre for cabaret shows and live concerts, two restaurants and a wine tavern.
For shopaholics, Sant Martí is a happy island: in the area you will find Diagonal Mar8, while moving a little further on you will find Westfield Glòries9. Both are two mega shopping centres with the most popular Spanish shops and numerous international chains where you can shop more leisurely than in the crowded shops in the centre.
Another interesting area for shoppers is the Olympic Port, with its long line of boutiques and small shops.
If you want to experience the neighbourhood atmosphere, you can buy fruit, vegetables, meat and other food specialities at the covered local market in Carrer de Puigcerdà.
In the following map you can see the location of the main places of interest mentioned in this article.
Being a purely residential neighbourhood, Sant Martí is not the best place to eat in Barcelona, both in terms of the number of places to eat and the variety of culinary offerings. However, this does not mean that there are no good options, and Sant Martí’s restaurants are frequented by locals and therefore much cheaper than those in the centre.
The harbour area is the one with the most bars and restaurants, including some good seafood restaurants with a sea view: a little more chic, and more expensive, than the small restaurants within the neighbourhood, but it allows you to combine a tasty dinner with a nice nighttime stroll along the seafront.
Sant Martí is a very large district, so choosing where to stay depends on many factors. First of all, it is a district that overlooks the sea, so if you are on holiday in Barcelona and want to combine city life and beach life, you should definitely look for a hotel near the beaches of Nova Icaria, Bogatel, Mar Bella and Levant, the ones that make up the Barcelona coastline.
Alternatively, you can also choose Sant Martì to have the centre on your doorstep while staying in a less touristy and cheaper area. In fact, the district on its eastern side borders La Ribera and Barceloneta, and is close to the Sagrada Familia. Nothing better then than sleeping in this area and making a few stops on public transport to get to the heart of tourist Barcelona.
Finally, you can choose to sleep in the more remote neighbourhoods of Sant Martì, such as El Besos i El Meresme, La Verneda i La Pau or Sant Martì de Provencals. There is nothing touristy to see in these areas, but for some this is their strong point: you can experience Barcelona like the locals. Of course, you will have to rely heavily on public transport to visit the tourist areas of the city, unless you have a rental car. In this case, finding parking is not difficult.
Sant Martì is a district of Barcelona located north-east of the historical centre. It is bordered on one side by the sea and on the other byAvinguda Diagonal and Placa de les Glories Catalanes.
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