District 10 of Barcelona - Sant Martí   

The district of Sant Marti includes 10 neighbourhoods or "Barris, Most popular with foreigners relocating to Barcelona are the neighbourhoods of Vila Olímpica, Poblenou and Diagonal Mar, but many are also looking at buying flats and apartments in up and coming areas like El Clot.

Full list of the 10 barrios in Sant Marti
• El Camp de l'Arpa
• El Clot
• El Parc i la Llacuna del Poblenou -
• La Vila Olímpica del Poblenou - Pictures of Vila Olimpica area
• El Poblenou Pictures of Poblenou area
• Diagonal Mar i el Front Marítim del Poblenou  - See pictures of Diaganal Mar area
• El Besòs i el Maresme
• Provençals del Poblenou
• Sant Martí de Provençals
• La Verneda i la Pau

Click here for an up-to-date map of the location of the barrios in Sant Marti, Barcelona

Sant Martí  - Brief history and profile  

• Until very recently Sant Marti was the industrial centre of Barcelona and was known as the "Catalan Manchester".   At the beginning of the 20th century the industrial revolution was in full swing in Barcelona and the Sant Marti district had the greatest concentration of factories in Catalonia especially in the areas of Poblenou.

• This industrial era lasted right up until the end of the 20th century, when like many other aspects of Barcelona, the  1992 Olympic games provided the incentive to make changes. The first area to change was the Vila Olímpica, the Olympic Village, which were built to house the Olympic athletes. 

•  The Olympic  games in Barcelona were outstanding in many ways. Because of the collapse of old Soviet union 12 new countries, the former Soviet republics competed. It was the first time all countries of the world were in the games in modern history. It was also the first Olympiad since 1972 that was not boycotted by any country.  Germany participated as a unified country for the first time since 1964 following the collapse of the Berlin Wall. South Africa was welcomed back into the Olympic parade for the first time in 32 years after the end of apartheid and Nelson Mandela was in Barcelona to see the first South African multiracial team take their place at the games.  For 2 weeks in the summer of 1992 you could not find a more united world

• Other memorable moments were the U.S. basketball team winning the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in ... the first U.S. Olympic team to include NBA stars! Other big names that stayed here were Oscar De La Hoya

• Opera stars at the Olympic Stadium at Montjuic included Placido Domingo and Jose Carerras and perhaps the best remembered performance was by Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballe singing the anthem “Barcelona”

• For Barcelona the games were an amazing success and pointed the way to international fame and impressive economic growth.

• For the Sant Marti district it started the transformation of an area of Barcelona that had been in decline for decades. The entire beach front was built and since the Olympics many of the old factories have been remodeled or replaced with modern residential areas like Diagonal Mar, shopping centres, parks and high-tech business areas.

• To create the link between the industrial past and technological future many old chimneys have been preserved and some of the old factories have been restored and converted into civic centres and universities.

• Today the Sant Marti area of Barcelona is still transforming itself. The biggest catalyst for change is the Pla 22@ which is the plan for a new “Silicon Valley” of Barcelona.

• Right now you will find many streets under a layer of  dust and scaffolding -  as one resident put it  “When you go away for more than a week a lot has changed when you come home.”

• The basic concept of Pla 22@ is to provide room for new-technology firms. When it is all in place there will be  around 130.000 new jobs in the Poblenou and Sant Marti area.

• New council housing, new facilities and green zones under shooting up every where in this area of Barcelona.

• As always some old-timers miss the good old days, but let’s face it -  the good old days weren’t that great here. The old Sant Marti district was a mess of Victorian style factories and change was long overdue. The spirit of the old Sant Marti is still intact - It was a industrious area based on a strong spirit of innovation during the industrial revolution.  Now the spirit of innovation is just as strong and again, but the business is high technology and instead of housing for factory workers, modern housing blocks  for communications industry workers are spring up everywhere.
Sant Marti is thriving!
  
     
Sant Martí - Highlights and tourist attractions

• The beaches of Barcelona - a large part of the the 4.5 km of beaches are here
• Rambla del Poblenou  
• Avenida Diagonal - tree lined with large pedestrian area
• Torre Agbar - a new addition to Barcelona's skyline
• Glòries shopping centre
• Diagonal mar shopping centre
• Trams - The new Trams of Barcelona keep this area of Barcelona well connected
• Diagonal Mar - new development of high rise housings and business centres
• Parc del Forum - Convention and concert venue with bathing area

  
     
     
Sant Martí - Personal opinions from people who live there
 
This section is being written and will be online soon!   

Sant Martí - Real estate perspective of buying flats in Vila Olimpica, Poblenou or Diagonal Mar
 

This section is being written and will be online soon!