Blanes is where the Costa Brava starts, according to the tourist board and the rock in the middle of the bay. It is the last stop on the R1 from Barcelona, a town of about 42,000 in the province of Girona, and it lives two lives: a packed summer resort from June to September, and a quieter, slightly shabby working town the rest of the year. That double life is the whole story of renting here. If you want a beach on your doorstep and you can live with a long train ride, it can be very good value. If you need a short commute and year-round neighbours, look elsewhere.
The town wraps around two beaches. S'Abanell is the long, broad one to the south, backed by hotels and the mouth of the Tordera river; it is where the summer crowds go and where the sand is widest. On the other side of Sa Palomera, the rock that separates the bays, you get the smaller Platja de Blanes, the fishing port, and the cliffs running north towards Cala Sa Forcanera and Santa Anna. Above it all sits the Castell de Sant Joan, a ruin with a view that justifies the walk. Behind the seafront, the old centre is a knot of narrow streets around Passeig de Dintre and the Plaça de Catalunya, and it is more ordinary than pretty, which is part of why people still live there in winter.
Blanes is the terminus of the R1, which sounds convenient until you look at the timetable. Figure on about 1 hour 20 to 1 hour 30 to Barcelona, and that is if the train is on time and you are going to the right part of the city. The line runs along the coast through Mataró, Arenys de Mar and Calella, so the view is good and the journey is long. Driving is roughly 70 km on the C-32 and the AP-7, about an hour outside rush hour, more like 1 hour 30 when the coast is busy in August. Girona is much closer, 30 to 40 minutes by car, and its airport is a realistic alternative for European flights. This is not a commuter town for Barcelona in any normal sense; it is a coast town that happens to be connected.
Asking prices for flats have been quoted around €14.4 per square metre in 2026, with houses slightly lower per metre, but that number is misleading in a town like this. A large share of the stock is aimed at the summer market, and owners often prefer a short seasonal let at a high weekly rate to a twelve-month contract at a modest monthly one. That means the long-term market is thinner than the population suggests, and the flats that do come up are often older, darker and further from the sea than the photos imply. On the other hand, winter is when you have leverage: between October and April, a landlord with an empty flat is much more reasonable than one with a booking in July. If you can be flexible about dates, you can sometimes get a good apartment at a price that would be impossible in Barcelona.
The town is small enough to walk across, but the differences between areas are real. A quick map of how it feels:
From October the hotels close, the promenade empties and half the restaurants put up the shutters until Easter. Some people love this: you get the beach almost to yourself, the bakery knows your name, and the town feels like a town rather than a queue. Others find it depressing within a month. The practical questions are worth asking before you sign: is the flat properly heated, or was it built for July? Are the neighbours permanent or absent? Does the supermarket stay open in February? And how far do you have to go for a doctor, a school or a decent restaurant when the season is over? None of these are deal-breakers on their own. Together they decide whether Blanes is a home or a long holiday.
If you need to be in Barcelona four days a week, the R1 will grind you down; there is no way around that. If your children need an international school, you are looking at a drive to Barcelona or Girona, because there is no big campus in town. If you want a year-round social scene with new restaurants and a cinema in walking distance, this is a small town in winter and it acts like one. And if you want to buy rather than rent, be careful with anything described as a holiday flat: the tourist-let rules in Catalonia have tightened, and a property that only works as a summer rental is a different investment from a home. Come for the coast, stay for the winter, and only then decide.
We know the difference between a summer let and a home you can live in from November. Tell us how often you need Barcelona, and we will point you at the right stretch of coast — or tell you honestly that the city suits you better.
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