modern hotel building against streetlamps and unrecognizable citizens on pavement

Cruisin Barcelona: a [Cruiser] Skate spot Guide


Barcelona – a skateboard paradise in many ways.

A quick Google search of “Barcelona skate spots” will yield you numerous pages of spot guides and discussions about all the amazing spots the city has to offer.

However, for many Cruisin City fans who skate cruisers and old school boards, the well-known BCN ledge spots often aren’t really their style. This guide is made for the sidewalk surfers, slappy-lovers, and those who like to enjoy the ride with bigger boards and softer wheels!

This guide is written based on three months of experience living and skating Barcelona in early 2020. I’ll try to give the most honest and current advice on the condition of each spot during this time.

All spots featured here are found near the beach between Port Fòrum and Hotel W Barcelona. While there are great places to skate across the city, I’ve found this area to be the most “cruiser-friendly” with many cool things to discover and skate. The spots on the list are ordered in a route from one spot to the next.

Port Fòrum Waves

Starting with the northernmost spot along the water, the Port Fòrum tile waves are found along a pathway called “Moll de la Vela”.

This spot, like many places in Barcelona, will definitely make you think “The architect of this must have been a skateboarder”. There’s actually many of these huge quarter pipes in this area. As you can imagine, this spot is a cruiser-lover’s dream. But, you have to be careful…

While the waves may look simple to skate in photos, in reality, many of the tiles have pretty big gaps between them. Some sections even have grass growing between the tiles.

Therefore, it can be hard and even dangerous to skate the waves with normal street wheels around 52mm-54mm. Because of this, it’s actually common to see BMX bikes riding here.

If you show up with soft wheels, 56mm+, this spot may not only be one of the most fun places to cruise in Barcelona, but arguably the world! Some of the waves are massive in person and very cool just to see, let alone skate. This spot is “concrete surfing” at its best.

Skatepark Mar Bella

By skating directly south from Port Fòrum along the beach, you’ll run right into Skatepark Mar Bella.

This all-concrete park is made for transition lovers, featuring unique “wave bumps” on one end that open up to a split snake-run style layout.

On the other end, you’ll find multiple bowls with different-sized transition. Along the north side of the park, there’s even a tight-transition “ditch” that’s like a real drainage ditch you might find in California or Arizona.

Google Maps Image © Olga Palma 2016

During the weekends, you may find many little kids on scooters here, especially on the waves and snake run sections. The key is to go in the evening when the lights come on over the park.

There’s a good chance you’ll find a cool session of men and women shredding old school boards in the bowls.

Playa de la Barceloneta/Hotel W Barcelona

From Skatepark Mar Bella, it’s possible to skate to the big Hotel W Barcelona that’s south down the coast. It may take about 30 minutes, but simply follow the beach (where you’ll most likely see many other skaters on cruisers).

Along this route, you’ll skate past Port Olímpic, down a long boardwalk with smooth bike paths, and eventually to Sant Sebastià beach near the Hotel W.

Skate up to behind the Hotel W to find the famous white banks/ledges skate spot shown below. Here, you’ll also find a really long pier that you can skate out on (highly recommended at sunset). 

Google Maps Image © Tiago Oliver Pinheiro Freitas 2014

When skating back towards Sant Sebastià beach from the W, look to the Desigual store on the left.

Out front is a super long granite slappy curb. On the north end, huge sections of the curb are fully waxed and a blast to skate. It’s very common to find other skaters here.

Google Maps Desigual Image © Isaac Quesada 2019

Barceloneta Bank

If you’re skating “towards the city” from the W Hotel, you’ll probably want to stop at the Barceloneta Bank just outside the Museu d’Historia de Catalunya.

The bank gets progressively bigger from left to right and is usually waxed across most of the top.

Like many BCN spots, it’s made out of granite that grinds and slides beautifully with a little wax. It’s no coincidence that there’s someone skating the spot in the Google Maps screenshot below…

Google Maps Streetview Passeig de Joan de Borbó © 2020 Google

Plaça de l’Odissea Volcanoes/Curbs

Head left towards the Aquarium from the Barceloneta bank to find these brick volcanoes and curbs outside the Maremagnum shopping center.

Like the Port Fòrum Waves, this is another spot that you may have more fun on with larger/softer wheels. The bricks here are pretty smooth, but there are occasionally some bigger cracks to watch out for.

This is also a good spot to go to in the evening/at night. The open space here gets quite crowded with shoppers during the day and the restaurants there probably won’t be too happy with you skating it during open hours. 

Google Maps Image © Gabriel Guillén 2014

Arc de Triomf Banks

This is the most “inner city” spot on our list, just northwest of Parc de la Ciutadella by the Arc de Triomf.

Leading up to the Arc, there’s a long pathway in the center and two wide bike lane areas on each side. The bike lane areas are lined with concrete banks leading all the way to the Arc. There are about 12 banks on each side, all the same height, but with different lengths and obstacles along the way. 

The photo below shows the most southeast bank from the Arc. This is generally the most skated (and waxed) bank in the area. Most of the other banks are not regularly waxed and won’t grind without some work. Just to the left of this photo, there’s also a big “dip” in the center pathway with two large flat banks. The locals also usually have a barrier or cone on top of these banks for other skaters to skate over. 

Google Maps Streetview Arco de Triunfo de Barcelona © 2020 Google

Cruisin City wishes you happy skateboarding in Barcelona!

Text by Skatetexter.

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