BabaMap guide · Barcelona
The Sant Martí neighbourhood guide for families: shaded parks or covered play structures, an urban farm, an experimentation space for babies, a children's library, an open-air weekend play space, a covered ball-pit park and a free tourist trail game around El Besòs. From El Clot to El Besòs, via Poblenou and La Verneda, these are our 11 favourite plans in the district, available all year round.
A farm with a vegetable garden and animals right in the district, in Sant Martí de Provençals. Early morning is cooler and the animals are more active.
Two areas in one: the famous circular slides for older kids and a calm earth-and-wood area for 0-3s. Tree shade and covered areas make it easy to cope with both heat and rain.
ℹ️ Toilets and a drinking fountain next to the slides.
A sensory experimentation space for babies and little ones aged 0 to 6 inside the Museu de Ciències Naturals: touch, smell and listen to nature up close, in 30-minute sessions.
ℹ️ Closed on Mondays. Book in person on the day, limited spots.
The park that Poblenou locals call "la platgeta" (the little beach). Swings, slides and a climbing net, with a pergola and trees that give shade for much of the day.
ℹ️ Benches for accompanying adults.
An outdoor library and play space with free games and book lending. Open on weekend evenings — the perfect after-dinner plan.
A covered climbing structure with a zip line, climbing net and maze. Being covered, it works both in full sun and on a rainy day.
ℹ️ Right next door there's another play area for younger kids.
One of Barcelona's best children's libraries, and air-conditioned: the perfect shelter for the hottest hours or a rainy day.
ℹ️ On Plaça de Carmen Balcells.
The raised slide-and-climbing structure at Diagonal Mar park, built for older kids. It's covered, so it copes well with the midday heat.
ℹ️ Toilets and cafés nearby. You can finish off with a walk to the sea.
A covered ball-pit and slide park in la Pau. The option for days when the heat — or the cold, or the rain — doesn't let up.
ℹ️ Has a café and lockers. Its top-up pass is flexible and never expires.
A free tourist gymkhana in online-route format: follow the clues around Besòs i el Maresme from your phone, no booking or fixed hours needed, to uncover the legend of the Camí dels Gegants.
ℹ️ Played from your phone's browser, available in four languages.
🗺️ More Gymkana Turística routes ↗The shopping centre's play area is spacious, free and air-conditioned. Combine it with an errand and everyone's happy.
Sant Martí is one of Barcelona's most family-friendly districts: El Clot, Camp de l'Arpa, Poblenou, Vila Olímpica, Diagonal Mar, El Besòs i el Maresme, La Verneda i la Pau and Sant Martí de Provençals. There's no need to cross the city to find something to do: in this guide we've picked the district's 11 fixed plans, walkable from home, almost all free and open all twelve months of the year.
A trick that works: in the morning, a park or the farm (Can Cadena opens weekends from 10:00 to 14:00). At midday, shade or shelter: Parque de las Glorias and Platgeta del Poblenou have real shade, and the Gabriel García Márquez library or the Westfield Glòries play area save the hottest or rainiest hours. And on weekend evenings, La Gran Clariana in Glòries opens its outdoor play space from 18:00 to 22:00.
Mother to mother: the early morning and late afternoon are the best times for the parks, especially in summer. And if a plan falls through, BabaMap's map has over a hundred entries for the district with photos, opening hours and comments from other families.
Almost everything in this guide: the parks, the Can Cadena farm, the Gran Clariana play space, the Gabriel García Márquez library and the Westfield Glòries play area are all free. The only paid option is Amazing Park Sant Martí.
The La Palmera climbing area in la Pau and La Medusa in Diagonal Mar are both covered, so they work in full sun or on a rainy day. Parque de las Glorias also has areas with real tree shade.
Yes: the Gabriel García Márquez library, the Westfield Glòries play area and Amazing Park Sant Martí are all indoors and air-conditioned, and open all year round.
Yes: the Niu de Ciència at the Museu de Ciències Naturals, designed for ages 0-6, the 0-3 earth-and-wood play area at Parque de las Glorias, the children's room at the Gabriel García Márquez library and the Gran Clariana play space, designed for ages 0-12.
Morning at a park or the farm, midday shelter if it's hot or raining (the library or Westfield Glòries), and on weekends, an evening at the Gran Clariana outdoor play space.
Want to see these plans (and many more in the neighbourhood) on the map?
See Sant Martí on the Map
