Malgrat de Mar: Over 4.5 km of Beach, Tordera Delta and Trains

Malgrat de Mar is a beach town of about 19,600 people, the last coastal town of the Maresme before the Tordera river. It suits a straightforward beach holiday in a hotel or on a campsite, with a railway station for day trips. It is a tourist town with a large hotel area and lively summer evenings, not a quiet fishing village, and its sights are small. It is part of our Costa de Barcelona guide.

Quick facts

• Where: Malgrat de Mar, comarca of the Maresme, province of Barcelona, Catalonia. The town hall is in Carrer del Carme and the tourist office in Carrer Mar 61.
• Residents: 19,630 on the 2025 figure in Idescat, on 8.82 km².
• Beaches: yes, in town. The tourism site lists four (L’Astillero, Malgrat Centre, La Conca and Punta de la Tordera) and says there are more than 4.5 km of beach in all.
• Airports: the town tourism site gives about 80 km to Barcelona-El Prat and about 35 km to Girona-Costa Brava.
• Trains: the station is in front of Malgrat Centre beach, with trains towards Barcelona and Girona on Rodalies line R1.
• Language: Catalan and Spanish.
• Market: weekly market on Thursday mornings.
• Big week: the Festa Major de Sant Roc, held in August.

Where to base yourself

The town is flat and fairly small, so the choice is between the hotel strip, the centre and the campsite end beside the Tordera.

The seafront hotel area

L’Astillero beach lies in the heart of the hotel area, according to the Costa del Maresme tourist board, with beach bars and picnic areas behind the sand. This is the easiest base for a week built around a hotel pool, beach bars and the sea on the doorstep. The town’s own nightlife page says most hotels put on music, dance shows and parties, and that the clubs stay open until 6 in the morning, so ask for a room away from the entertainment area if you sleep lightly.

The town centre

The centre is around the town hall, the municipal market and the railway station. It suits people who want shops and cafés, a Thursday market and trains to Barcelona without a car. Malgrat Centre beach is in front of it and, according to the tourism site, is the one most used by local residents, with a calmer atmosphere and families.

The Tordera end

Campsites sit near La Conca and Punta de la Tordera beaches and the river mouth. The tourism site pitches this end as the one for nature lovers, so expect less of the hotel-strip bustle, but it is a walk or a summer shuttle bus from the town centre. The town says free parking is available on Camí de la Pomereda for the camping area and these two beaches.

Things to do

Malgrat de Mar has a few small sights and a lot of beach. Most visitors fit the sights into one or two easy mornings.

La Pilona and the mining past

La Pilona is a platform standing in the sea about 450 m from the beach, and the town calls it a symbol of Malgrat. It was the loading station of an iron mine: ore came out on an aerial transport line of about 1.5 km and was dropped into the holds of ships. A French company set up the venture in 1909, the first cargo was loaded on 12 November 1911, and the mines closed in 1914 at the start of the First World War, after 21 cargoes in total, according to the town tourism site.

Castell Park and the Torre del Castell

On a small hill in the middle of town, Castell Park holds the remains of a defensive tower known locally as the torreta. The tourism site says it gives views over the town, the Pla de Grau farmland, the Tordera delta and the castles of Palafolls and Sant Joan de Blanes. You can reach the park from the station area by a free lift. The park also keeps a half-buried shelter doorway from the Spanish Civil War.

Church of Sant Nicolau

The present parish church was built between 1761 and 1783, burned during the Civil War and restored in the 1940s. The tourism site describes the design as functional, sleek and austere, with a neoclassical façade and an octagonal bell tower that was never finished. Its nickname is the Cathedral of the Coast, linked to the size of the nave.

Francesc Macià Park

This is a flat green area of more than 40,000 m² beside the Palafolls stream. It has giant sculptures aimed at children, a skatepark, play areas by age group, courts for pétanque, volleyball and basketball, an amphitheatre and a botanic garden. The park is the venue for summer events, so check the town’s events calendar. Bikes and pets are not allowed inside.

Walking and cycling

The Costa del Maresme tourist board lists hiking, cycling, road and mountain-bike routes from the town, among them a stage of the hiking route from Tordera to Malgrat de Mar and a leisure cycling route along the Maresme coast axis. Bike rental shops operate in town. A summer-only tourist train called Tricu-Tricu runs along the seafront.

Skip Malgrat if you want an atmospheric old quarter or a long list of monuments. It is a place for sand, family facilities and easy travel.

Beaches and places nearby

The town tourism site describes four beaches and gives each a one-line character.

L’Astillero

The beach of the hotel area, with beach bars, picnic areas, a children’s installation, hammock and umbrella rental, and an adapted chair and walkway. It is described as having a good tourist and fun atmosphere. Blue Flag status changes every season, so check the current flag with the tourist office rather than rely on an old listing.

Malgrat Centre

Next to the station and the town centre, and listed with showers, lifeguard-assisted bathing on request, a beach bar and a restaurant. Locals use it most.

La Conca

Billed on the tourism site as the beach for nature lovers, towards the campsite end of town.

Punta de la Tordera

This beach faces the campsites and reaches the mouth of the Tordera river, a protected area with dunes. The tourist board lists only basic services here (sand cleaning, bins and an information panel), so bring water and shade. A bird observatory on the plain lets you watch the delta from a distance, without disturbing the recovery of the area.

Next door, the tourism board names Tordera along the river, with Palafolls and Santa Susanna as the neighbouring villages. Blanes lies north along the coast, Lloret de Mar beyond it, and Pineda de Mar and Calella to the south.

Other town guides nearby: Tossa de Mar (about 18 km in a straight line), Premià de Mar (about 36 km in a straight line), Salt (about 37 km in a straight line).

On CostaMap near Malgrat de Mar: Calella Lighthouse (8.9 km) · Water World Lloret (9.9 km).

Food and drink

The town sits between the sea and the Pla de Grau farmland, which is still worked. The tourism site picks out escarole (endive) and the mongeta del ganxet, a local bean, as stars of local farming, alongside seafood and vegetables from the Maresme, and describes the cooking as traditional and innovative Mediterranean. The municipal market stands next to the town hall in Carrer Bellaire, in a building opened in 1991 with stalls for fish and seafood, fruit and vegetables. The tourism site lists its opening hours. On Thursday the open-air weekly market sells fresh food in the car park by Plaça Catalunya and clothes between Carrer Joan Maragall and Carrer Roger de Flor. We do not name restaurants we could not verify; the tourism site lists them by area.

Where to stay

The tourism site groups accommodation into hotels, apartment hotels, campsites and guest houses (pensions). Hotels sit in the hotel area around L’Astillero, while campsites are at the Tordera end. The site gives no prices, so compare dates on the booking sites you use before you decide. Many hotels run entertainment programmes, which suits families who want an all-in base but not travellers after silence. If you plan to see Barcelona, choose somewhere within walking distance of the station.

Getting there and around

The town tourism site gives about 80 km to Barcelona-El Prat and about 35 km to Girona-Costa Brava airport. From El Prat it lists the C-32 by car, a bus, or a train on the R1 line; from Girona it lists the AP-7 or N-II by car, or a bus and train change in Girona. Check journey times with the operators for your date.

By train, the station is in front of Malgrat Centre beach, with services to Barcelona, the Girona area and the French border. Timetables are on the Rodalies de Catalunya website. Several bus lines link Malgrat with the Maresme, La Selva, Barcelona and Girona, with stops on Avinguda Costa Brava, and a separate local bus runs to Santa Susanna and Palafolls. In summer a bus links the hotel area to the centre and another links the camping area.

By car, the C-32 exit is number 132 for Malgrat de Mar, and the AP-7 has exits 9 and 10 nearby. Free unsupervised parking is next to the station on Avinguda Verge de Montserrat; time-limited car parks are at Plaça Catalunya and Can Rierola. Once in town you can walk or cycle, as the town is described as flat.

Best time to visit

Summer is the season in Malgrat. The tourist train runs only in summer, more nightlife venues open in the tourist area, and the Festa Major de Sant Roc is held in August (the town hall publishes the programme each year). The tourism site calls the weather mild for most of the year, and the Thursday market and the municipal market run all year. Outside summer, expect fewer of those extras and check the forecast on AEMET before a day by the river or a walk in the delta.

FAQ

Is Malgrat de Mar worth visiting?

Yes, for a beach holiday with good rail links and family facilities. It has four beaches, a delta nature area and a few small sights. It is less interesting for a city-style break or for old streets.

Is Malgrat de Mar a tourist resort?

Yes. Tourism arrived in the 1960s, according to the Costa del Maresme tourist board, and the town has a hotel area, campsites and evening entertainment. Its farmland and daily market show it still has local life too.

How far is Malgrat de Mar from the airports?

The town tourism site gives about 80 km to Barcelona-El Prat and about 35 km to Girona-Costa Brava airport.

Can I go to Barcelona by train from Malgrat de Mar?

Yes. The station is in front of Malgrat Centre beach and the tourism site lists trains to Barcelona, the Girona area and the French border. Check the current Rodalies timetable for times.

Which day is the market?

The weekly open-air market is on Thursday mornings. The covered municipal market is open Monday to Saturday.

Sources and freshness

Last checked: October 2026. Sources: Malgrat de Mar tourism (getting there, beaches, parks, heritage, markets, nightlife, gastronomy); Malgrat tourism, getting to Malgrat; Malgrat tourism, La Pilona; Malgrat tourism, Church of Sant Nicolau; Costa del Maresme tourist board, Malgrat de Mar; Costa del Maresme tourist board, L’Astillero; Idescat, municipal figures; Malgrat town hall, Sant Roc programme; AEMET.