Accessibility at beaches | Barcelona | Barcelona City Council

Accessibility Model

Accessible beaches make it easier for all beachgoers to reach and enjoy them, especially for those that have physical handicaps of some kind. These specific beachgoers have special reserved parking spaces with easy access routes to the sand as well as signs and both visual and tactile information points, toilets that have been adapted for the handicapped along with wooden boardwalks that reach all the way to the water line and showers that come equipped with stationary chairs.

During the summer bathing season, all the beaches in the city provide assistance services for bathers and others who spend their free time on the city’s beaches.The goal is to guarantee the safety and quality of public spaces and facilitate the coming together of all those who use Barcelona’s waterfront.

Accessibility Model for Barcelona's beaches

We understand accessibility to be an integral part of the design and configuration of any public space in the city. Therefore, making the beaches more accessible not only includes creating specific access points that are designated for those who have certain physical handicaps but also becomes a defining characteristic in the planning of all the beaches, integrated into the global nature of the setting and its interactions.

It is on the basis of this general accessibility that a specific swimmer assistance service has been developed for those people who have a handicap and need help entering and exiting the water.

Two modalities have been established::

Accessible beaches facilitate the ability of all users to access and enjoy them and, especially, those who have some kind of handicap. There are designated parking spaces with access routes that lead to the dry sand, both visual and tactile signs and information points, handicapped restrooms, adapted showers with chairs and wooden footbridges that reach the water as close as possible, although, under no circumstances will they ever touch the water, as its currents could detach the module. There is also public transportation that has been adapted for the handicapped that facilitates access to the beach. This option is available for all of the city’s beaches.
Accessible beaches with assisted bathing services are intended for people with reduced mobility who need personal and technical help to access the water.

What services are available?

There are currently four amphibious wheelchairs and a, hydraulic chair lift at the Fòrum bathing area,sets of crutches, an electric hoist, and wheelchairs. All the beaches have pergolas or shaded areas that provide protection from the sun in the waiting area. There are parking areas reserved for users with reduced mobility with easy access to the sand, wooden walkways leading down to the water, signage and visual and tactile information, adapted toilets and showers with wheelchairs, and an adapted public transport service. The beaches of Nova Icària (mid May) and Sant Miquel (mid June) will have an inclusive changing facility.

Agents involved

Those participating in the design and development of the assisted bathing service are:

The department for Environment and Urban Services. Beaches Department, Barcelona Cicle de l’Aigua, who is responsible for the management and co-ordination of the beaches.
The Municipal Institute for People with Disabilities, which provides technical and specialised support for the different agents involved, and coordinates the work group for this project.
The Barcelona Metropolitan Area, who is responsible for the installation and maintenance of walkways, and for providing the necessary equipment.

A bathing officer will be assigned to each bathing assistance point, and there will be a team of staff on hand to give users the help and support they need.

Leisure area

The management service for the rest area accessible for people with disabilities on Nova Icària beach starts on the weekend of 29 April — Monday, 1 May, included —, and is open from 10.30 am to 6.30 pm.

As from 2 May on, however, it will be open from Wednesdays to Sundays, from 10.30 am to 6.30 pm.

There will be two support officers with experience in assisting people with disabilities. They will help to accommodate and mobilise service users in this area and facilitate priority access to the various elements in the infrastructure, including chairs and deckchairs.

Assisted bathing areas

Fòrum bathing area

The particular characteristics of this area mean that the assisted bathing service here is rather different from those provided on the other beaches. Access to the water is achieved by means of two hydraulic chair lifts. The infrastructure and facilities available are:

Free sun loungers for users. The entire space around the bathing area is concreted. The sun loungers facilitate more comfortable sunbathing.
A pergola provides shade in the waiting area
Various adapted features: Changing rooms, toilets and showers.

Nova Icària Beach:

On this beach the double walkway and the ramp for accessing the water, will be maintained, as will the inclusive changing facility from mid May, additional parking, an extra walkway to facilitate access to the showers, extra locker space, canopies, platforms and benches, and reserved parking on the seafront promenade

Sant Miquel Beach (the former La Barceloneta assistance point)

The lack of sand on the La Barceloneta beach has meant that the assistance point that had been located there for a long time has had to be moved to Sant Miquel beach. This new assistance point will be equipped with more extensive facilities and a double walkway that will enable bathing both on the La Barceloneta and Sant Miquel beaches. This year there will be a pergola, an inclusive changing facility from mid-June, and reserved parking spaces.

Accessibility Model

More information

Accessible Barcelona website (ES)