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Sant Martí · 69

Diagonal Mar i el Front Marítim del Poblenou

A neighbourhood of two ages: houses from the late 1960s on former fields and, since the early 2000s, a park by Miralles and Tagliabue, a convention centre and residential towers by the sea.[1][2][3][4][5]

Enter the park from Carrer de Llull and follow the central path: a large metal pergola with trencadís-style pots opens the way to the lake and the five hills. The spaces next to the towers are for their residents' exclusive use.[2][3]

Diagonal Mar i el Front Marítim del Poblenou is where Avinguda Diagonal reaches the sea. It is bounded by the Diagonal, Rambla de Prim and Carrer de Pallars, Puigcerdà, Bac de Roda, Taulat and Lope de Vega, with the Mar Bella and Nova Mar Bella beaches.[1]

It has two parts: the old Diagonal Mar, between Pallars, Puigcerdà and Llull, and the new one, between Carrer de Llull, the sea and the Fòrum site. The neighbourhood began in the late 1960s and changed its face in 2004, with the Universal Forum of Cultures.[1]

Diagonal Mar i el Front Marítim del Poblenou (neighbourhood 69) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Sant Martí: el Camp de l'Arpa del Clot, el Clot, el Parc i la Llacuna del Poblenou, la Vila Olímpica del Poblenou, el Poblenou, el Besòs i el Maresme.

Before the neighbourhood

Before the first houses of the 1960s and 1970s, the place was farmland and farmhouses. Later part of the ground belonged to MACOSA, or Can Girona, over which the new neighbourhood spread.[1]

How the streets were made

Parc Diagonal Mar, of 14 hectares, is the work of Miralles and Tagliabue and was built on a former industrial site. Residential towers designed in the same process surround it, and a bridge carries it across the Ronda Litoral towards the sea.[2][3]

The convention centre (CCIB) stands beside the Diagonal Mar shopping centre, opened in 2001; the CCIB's facade is perforated steel and its entrance has a large red pergola.[4][5][6][7]

Dates that changed it

  1. 1960s–1970s The first homes of the old Diagonal Mar appear, where there had been farmland and farmhouses.[1]
  2. 2001 The Diagonal Mar shopping centre opens.[6][7]
  3. 2002–2004 The Centre de Convencions Internacional is built for the 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures.[4][5]
  4. 2004 The Fòrum transforms the neighbourhood with a shopping centre, a large park and skyscrapers on the MACOSA grounds.[1]
  5. 2021 Parc Diagonal Mar is declared a biodiversity refuge, the sixth in Barcelona.[8]
  6. 2024 The park's wooden boardwalks are remodelled (May) and the cuc de llum structure is rehabilitated (finished late July).[8]
  7. July 2025 Works begin on the central stretch of Passeig de la Mar Bella.[9]
  8. 9 February 2026 'Delta Prim' is presented as the winning project for the Fòrum marine platform.[9]

People and collective life

Enric Miralles i Benedetta Tagliabue (EMBT)

They designed the 14-hectare Parc Diagonal Mar, with a network of paths, a metal pergola, a lake and five green hills.[2][3]

Josep Lluís Mateo

He designed the Centre de Convencions Internacional in 2000-01 for the Universal Forum of Cultures.[4][5]

Institutions

Centre de Convencions Internacional

At Plaça de Willy Brandt 11-14; built in 2002-04, it has a 4,000 m2 hall and a column-free convention hall of more than 13,500 m2.[4][5]

Centre Comercial Diagonal Mar

A private centre at Avinguda Diagonal 3-35, opened in 2001.[6][7]

What can still be seen

Parc Diagonal Mar

Listed in the Inventari del Patrimoni Arquitectònic de Catalunya.[2][3]

Centre de Convencions Internacional de Barcelona

Listed in the Inventari del Patrimoni Arquitectònic de Catalunya.[4][5]

What disappeared

Farmland and farmhouses

Farmland and farmhouses disappeared under the first housing at the end of the 1960s.[1]

The neighbourhood today

In 2026 it had 13,771 residents, 112.2 residents per hectare, a mean census-section income of €28,985 in 2023, 122.7 hectares, and 26.3% of residents held non-Spanish nationality.

Non-Spanish nationality (2026): 26.3%

What is changing

On Passeig de la Mar Bella, works on the central stretch, from Bac de Roda to the Fòrum marine platform, began in July 2025 and are due to end in spring 2027. On 21 September 2026 the city announced that the plan is a finalist for the 2026 Earthshot Prize; the winner is due on 17 November.[9][10]

On 9 February 2026 'Delta Prim' was presented, a EUR 52 million project for the 12.7-hectare marine platform, with a timetable of about six years. In the park, the boardwalks and the cuc de llum were redone in 2024, and on 28 September 2026 a guided route on shade and heat was launched there.[9][8][11]

What the guides leave out

A park with private zones

The residential towers around the park were designed in the same process as the park, and the spaces closest to them are for their residents' exclusive use.[2][3]

Read it on foot

Start: El Maresme | Fòrum (L4) · End: Passeig Marítim de la Mar Bella[9]

Walking (excluding stop time): 28 min · 2070 m · Estimated visit (with stops): 63 min

The geometry follows the pedestrian network between the three marked points, but it has not been verified as step-free. The approach from public transport is not included in the stated distance; Passeig de la Mar Bella is undergoing renovation work until spring 2027.[9]

Diagonal Mar i el Front Marítim del Poblenou (neighbourhood 69) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Sant Martí: el Camp de l'Arpa del Clot, el Clot, el Parc i la Llacuna del Poblenou, la Vila Olímpica del Poblenou, el Poblenou, el Besòs i el Maresme.

1
Centre de Convencions Internacional de Barcelona
Plaça de Willy Brandt 11-14
Look at the huge red metal pergola over the entrance, with yellow lettering above it, and at the facade of perforated steel in sinuous lines.[4][5]
Josep Lluís Mateo designed it in 2000-01; it was built in 2002-04 for the Universal Forum of Cultures.[4][5]
Coordinates
41.40949, 2.21930 · OpenStreetMap
2
Parc de Diagonal Mar
Between Carrer de Llull, Carrer de Josep Pla and Carrer de García Faria
860 m · 11 min
Follow the central path from the Carrer de Llull entrance: the pergola with trencadís-style pots, the lake and, on the far side, the five green hills, one with slides.[2][3]
A 14-hectare park by EMBT on a former industrial site; the towers around it belong to residents, and the boardwalks and the cuc de llum were rehabilitated in 2024.[2][3]
Coordinates
41.40741, 2.21386 · OpenStreetMap
3
Passeig Marítim de la Mar Bella
From Carrer de Bac de Roda to the marine platform
1210 m · 16 min
Look along the central stretch of the promenade, between Bac de Roda and the Fòrum marine platform, where the city is rebuilding the seafront with climate adaptation in mind.[9]
Works began in July 2025 and will end in spring 2027; the plan is a finalist for the 2026 Earthshot Prize, and the adjoining marine platform is to be developed afterwards.[9]
Coordinates
41.39917, 2.21198 · OpenStreetMap

Sources for this page

Dates, figures and historical claims are linked to the records used for this page.

  1. [1] Viquipèdia (2026). Diagonal Mar i el Front Marítim del Poblenou. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  2. [2] Viquipèdia (2026). Parc Diagonal Mar. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  3. [3] Turisme de Barcelona (2026). Parc Diagonal Mar. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  4. [4] Viquipèdia (2026). Centre de Convencions Internacional de Barcelona. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  5. [5] Centre de Convencions Internacional de Barcelona (2026). CCIB: contact. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  6. [6] Ajuntament de Barcelona (2026). Centre Comercial Diagonal Mar. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  7. [7] FashionUnited (2026-03-17). Diagonal Mar refuerza su mix comercial con la apertura de TK Maxx en España. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  8. [8] Ajuntament de Barcelona, Districte de Sant Martí (2024-08-06). Es rehabilita el cuc de llum del parc de Diagonal Mar. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  9. [9] Ajuntament de Barcelona, Servei de Premsa (2026-02-09). Barcelona projecta la culminació del seu front litoral urbanitzant la plataforma marina. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  10. [10] Ajuntament de Barcelona, Districte de Sant Martí (2026-09-21). Reconeixement internacional a la transformació del passeig Marítim de la Mar Bella. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  11. [11] Ajuntament de Barcelona, Districte de Sant Martí (2026-09-28). Una nova ruta descobreix com s'adapta Diagonal Mar i el Front Marítim a la calor. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  12. [12] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2026-01-01). Padró municipal d'habitants (pad_mdbas) — població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
  13. [13] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2021). Densitat de població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
  14. [14] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2023). Renda disponible de les llars per persona. Seccions censals. Accessed: 2026-07-17.

Last reviewed: 3 October 2026 · 14 sources consulted

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