
Blanes
Blanes is the first town of the Costa Brava coming from the south, with around forty-three thousand residents. The shore changes here — instead of the flat sand of the Maresme, cliffs and coves begin. The Sa Palomera rock stands above the harbour, and the town itself has two botanical gardens on the cliff above the sea, both open to visitors all year.
For anyone moving, Blanes is easier than neighbouring Lloret: an ordinary town with a life of its own rather than a resort that closes for the winter. Its winter score is above Lloret's and the square metre cheaper. It works all year, with a hospital and schools. Trains reach Barcelona in an hour and a half. There is a summer influx, but a smaller one than along the coast from here.
- Lloret de Mar · 8 km — the resort next door that empties in winter
- Tossa de Mar · 20 km — the fortress above the bay and the cliff road
- Barcelona · 70 km — the country's second city, an hour and a half by train
Blanes sits in Costa Brava, Girona, right on the water. Summers are packed: tourist load hits 5 out of 5 at the peak against 1 in winter. Fast internet at a median of 400 Mbps: remote work is not a problem here.
Hospital, terrain, getting around
Where from: the Ministry of Health hospital catalogue, road time · elevations from the Copernicus terrain model · OpenStreetMap · ratings for car-free and hospital minutes are ours.
Blanes sea temperature by month
5 months above 20 °CsourceAverage sea surface temperature, °C, for 2015–2024 — NOAA OISST satellite series, grid cell 8.9 km from the centre.
Tourist load
Blanes beaches and water quality
sourceBlanes has 3 beaches tested under EU bathing water rules, at 4 sampling points. In the 2025 season, all 3 were graded excellent. No beach here has been graded “poor” since testing began in 1990.
The grade is bacteria in water samples over the last four seasons — not sand, views or crowds. “Poor” means bathing there is advised against.
| Beach | From the centre | Grade 2025 | “Excellent” in a row | Last “poor” |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playa de Blanes | 0.2 km | excellent | 33 seasons | none since 1990 |
| Playa de s’Abanell | 0.6 km | excellent | 33 seasons | none since 1990 |
| Playa Cala de Sant Francesc | 1.5 km | excellent | 33 seasons | none since 1990 |
Where from: European Environment Agency, bathing water register, seasons 1990–2025, licence CC BY 4.0. Distance is from the centre in a straight line. Every place in one table
On the map
What tenants actually pay
sourcedThis is the median rent on active leases — tax records for 2024, a sample of 3 122 leases. It includes long-standing contracts at unchanged rents, so it sits below what is asked today: our estimate of asking rent is 850 € for a two-bedroom.
The point of the 75th percentile: it is closer to what is being signed now than the median. The gap between them shows how much a new tenant overpays relative to long-standing ones.
Where from: SERPAVI, Ministerio de Vivienda · municipality: Blanes
Rent by number of bedrooms
asking price, estimate| 1 bedroom | 650 €/mo | |
| 2 bedrooms | 850 €/mo | |
| 3 bedrooms | ≈ 1 110 €/mo | model: two-bed × 1.3, no measurement yet |
| Median of active leases, 2024 | 547 €/mo | SERPAVI · 71 m² |
Asking prices are what long lets are advertised at today; the registry is what tenants pay on signed leases, including old ones. The gap between them is your negotiating argument.
Schools nearby
estimateInternational schools counted in the base: 0. Names and curricula for this place are not verified yet — the school registry covers the thirty most-requested places so far.
Renting without a Spanish contract
How realistic a long lease is without a nómina — on foreign income, savings or prepayment.
- —Nothing notable either way: an ordinary market where the individual landlord decides
This is our model, not a measurement: demanding a nómina is an individual landlord's practice and nobody publishes it. The rating is derived from the share of foreign residents, the presence of a community with services, price growth, seasonality of the stock and the size of the town.
Who lives here
INE 2025- Morocco1 350
- GM583
- Ukraine564
- Colombia512
- Russia463
- Italy442
- Senegal387
- Romania370
- arArabic~2 500
Where from: INE, Censo Anual de Población · the register-based census counts padrón registrations by citizenship on 1 January, not everyone living here: seasonal owners and the unregistered are outside it, and naturalised residents count as Spanish.
Winter direct flights from BCN
January 2026/2755 min to the airport- other countries76
- Italy16
- United Kingdom14
- France11
- Germany9
- Poland6
- Netherlands3
- Switzerland3
- Portugal3
- Ireland2
- Belgium2
- Denmark2
- Austria2
- Sweden1
- Norway1
- Finland1
- Czechia1
Destinations served at least weekly in January; checked 2026-09-17.
Paperwork and practicalities
From OpenStreetMap — an open map filled in by volunteers. Something missing there may still exist: read this as «we found this many», not «there are no more».
Where to look next
- Lloret de Mar2 393 €/m²
- Girona2 295 €/m²
- Roses3 489 €/m²
- Punta Umbría2 226 €/m²
- Chiclana de la Frontera2 219 €/m²
- Salobreña2 235 €/m²