Llavaneres is the Maresme town that has most of what the others argue about: a marina at Port Balís, a golf course on the hill, a beach, its own train station and a reputation for old Catalan money behind the hedges. It is also roughly 45 minutes from Barcelona by train, and it is priced like it.
Sant Andreu de Llavaneres is on the coast between Mataró and Sant Vicenç de Montalt, roughly 36 km north-east of Barcelona and about 11.9 km² in size, with around 11,900 residents. The town runs from the marina and the seafront up into wooded hills, and the larger houses sit above the centre where the sea views are.
The R1 stops in the town. The station to Port Balís is about a 13-minute walk, trains run every 20 minutes or so, and Barcelona is roughly 45 to 50 minutes away depending on where you board. By car the C-32 is quick outside rush hour. This is one of the few premium Maresme towns where you genuinely do not have to drive every day.
Port Balís is the anchor of the town: a marina of around 760 berths, a sailing school, a handful of waterfront restaurants and a promenade that locals use all year rather than only in August. It is not a tourist showpiece like some marinas further up the coast; it is quietly busy with local owners.
The town beach, Platja de Llavaneres, is small and calm, more of a local swim than a resort beach. For a long stretch of sand you drive a few minutes north to Caldes d'Estrac or south to Mataró.
Golf is part of the identity here. Club de Golf Llavaneras was founded in 1945 and is one of the oldest private clubs in Catalonia; its 18-hole, par-70 course sits on the hill above the town with classic Mediterranean views. Add tennis and padel clubs and the sailing programme at the port, and you have a town where people choose where to live by their weekend.
This is one of the pricier markets in the Maresme, but it is not only villas. Large houses have been asking anywhere from €4,900 to €5,800 a month, with the exceptional properties going well past €19,000. Two examples from our own portfolio show the other end: a 256 m² duplex penthouse with four bedrooms and port views at €3,500 a month, and a 70 m² beachfront ground-floor flat with a large terrace and a communal pool at €3,900.
The centre is low-rise and discreet, and the serious money hides behind hedges on the wooded streets above the port. Good long-term rentals are limited and the best ones move quietly, often before they reach a portal.
The town covers public primary and secondary provision locally, and there is no shortage of families with children. For international schools, the BSB Maresme campus in Cabrera de Mar is about fifteen minutes by car, the International School Maresme in Canet de Mar is around twenty, and the large Barcelona schools are a train ride or a motorway run away. Pharmacies, shops and a health centre are in town, and the hospital in Mataró is ten minutes south.
Llavaneres suits families who want a genuine seaside life — sailing, swimming, golf, cycling — without giving up a workable commute. It suits people who value privacy and a certain discretion, and renters who are not chasing value per square metre.
It suits you less if you want the cheapest Maresme postcode or a busy town-centre buzz. Llavaneres is quiet and likes it that way. Look at Mataró for the city, or El Masnou if you want the closest beach town to Barcelona.