Somorrostro Beach, located between Barceloneta and Poblenou, is today one of Barcelona’s most iconic beaches. Yet beneath its sand lies a unique story: this was once the site of the Somorrostro neighborhood, a vast shantytown that housed up to 15,000 people in precarious conditions between the 19th and 20th centuries. A place of hardship but also of culture, Somorrostro was the birthplace of flamenco dancer Carmen Amaya, and its name remains etched in collective memory. The neighborhood was demolished in 1966 under Franco, and in 2011 the beach officially regained the name Somorrostro in tribute to that past. Today, it is a place for relaxation, swimming, and leisure, while preserving the memory of a forgotten chapter of Barcelona’s history.
Activity added by the Oxploria team
