Mataro travel guide

Mataro, Spain

By the Travel Wiki editorial team

Mataro

Introduction

Mataró is the capital and largest town of the Maresme county in Catalonia, Spain, sitting on the Maresme coast south of the Costa Brava, between Cabrera de Mar and Sant Andreu de Llavaneres. It lies roughly 30 kilometres northeast of Barcelona, which makes it an easy coastal stop on the way up or down that stretch of shoreline.

Before you go

Mataró rewards a little preparation. Its story runs from Roman Iluro, a port and administrative centre, through a medieval market town that broke feudal ties, to a textile powerhouse whose fortunes were built on maritime trade and the return of emigrants from the Americas. That industrial past left a distinctive Modernisme legacy, including Gaudí's experimental brick Nau Gaudí, Puig i Cadafalch's Rengle market and La Confianza shop, and Enric Sagnier's neoclassical work. Knowing this context will make the town's architecture and street layout far more legible. Expect a bilingual Catalan-Spanish culture and a year-round rhythm of markets, fireworks and maritime festivals, set on the Maresme plain with a mild Mediterranean climate and fertile orchards nearby. The town works as a commuter base tied to Barcelona's orbit, so plan around that ease of access. For orientation and local detail, the Oficina de Turisme de Mataró on Carrer de la Riera is your first stop.

Getting there

Mataró sits on the R1 Rodalies-RENFE line that runs from Molins de Rei through Barcelona to Maçanet/Massanes, so the train is the most straightforward way in from the city. The Barcelona–Mataró stretch has a bit of history behind it: it was the first railway line on the Iberian peninsula. The station, Estación de tren de Mataró on Av. del Maresme, is a short taxi ride from accommodation in the centre.

If you fly into Barcelona El Prat, the airport is roughly an hour away by car, though traffic between the airport and Mataró can stretch that considerably at rush hour since you pass through Barcelona itself. By train the journey takes about an hour and a half, with a change at Sants from the R2NORD line onto the R1 toward Mataró-Maçanet/Massanes. Girona/Costa Brava airport is also about an hour by car; by public transport it is usually simpler to route through Barcelona first. By road, the free C-32 motorway links Barcelona to the south with Blanes and the Costa Brava to the north, the C-60 connects from Granollers and the AP-7, and the N-2 runs parallel along the coast through the villages. Moventis–Casas buses cover the Barcelona route and nearby towns, including a night bus between the two cities, and the town has a sports port with a marina for those arriving by boat.

Getting around

Mataró's compact centre is easiest to cover on foot, with the town hall, the old city wall and the main shopping streets all close together. For anything further out, the local Mataró Bus network runs eight lines, each stop posting a clearly laid-out route map. The lines link the railway station with residential districts and the hospital: Line 1 runs from the station via Cerdanyola to Mataró Hospital, Line 5 from the station via Via Europa to the hospital, Line 7 connects Pl. Tereses with Cerdanyola, and Line 8 links Rodalies with Galícia. The station itself is the main transport hub, and the R1 train line is the simplest way to reach Barcelona and the coastal villages to the north and south.

Taxis are easy to find, with twelve taxi stations distributed around the city and several companies you can call directly, including Radio Taxi Mataró, Mataro Taxi, Eco taxi mataró and Servi taxi mataro. Fares are metered, with a higher rate at night, on weekends and on public holidays. Cycling is an option thanks to a growing network of bike lanes, but be aware that lanes sometimes end abruptly and leave you in the middle of a street, and that the city is not flat — the further you get from the beaches, the steeper the streets become. Cycling south of Camí del Mig and Camí de la Geganta is generally fine, and a bike lane map is available on the city hall website. If you arrive by car, several central car parks offer EV charging, including Parking Plaça de les Tereses, Parking Saba Plaça Santa Anna, Parking Saba Casc Antic and Parking Saba La Riera, while Parking Miquel Biada is free with a time disk for a maximum stay. Blue-zone street parking is paid at the parkimeter with a maximum stay of an hour and a half, and evenings and weekends are usually free.

Where to stay

Mataró's accommodation is spread between the centre, the port and the outskirts, so your choice depends on whether you want to be near the beach and station or close to the shopping centres on the edge of town. For budget stays, Alberg Can Soleret is a youth hostel on Carrer Torrent de les Piques with a set number of places; it sits at some distance from the city centre but close to the Soleret and Mataró Parc shopping centres.

Mid-range options cluster around the port and the main roads. Hotel Atenea Port on Passeig Marítim, right at the port, has a bar, restaurant, wellness centre, air conditioning and parking. URH Ciutat de Mataró on Camí Ral also has a spa and wellness centre. Near Technocampus, B&B Hotel on Carrer de Tordera is a modern option, while Hotel Castell de Mata sits out on the N-II highway at Km 649, convenient if you are arriving by car.

Food & drink

Mataró eats well across the price range, with seafood and rice dishes the clear local draw. Along the seafront, Restaurant la marina on Passeig del Callao serves fish, shellfish and paella right in front of the beach, while further along the same promenade Restaurant Can Dimas pairs seafood and paella with a beach setting. For grilled meats and typical Catalan products, head to Restaurant Can Bruguera, set in the middle of nature with a large parking lot and breakfasts on offer. Other mid-range options include Balú by Plaça Santa Maria for a daily menu on its terrace, Japanese sushi at Katsumi on Plaça d'Espanya, and Sesam Negre on La Rambla for a Japanese meal. Budget choices range from tapas at Champanillo Mataró on Camí Ral and regional cuisine at La Morera on Avinguda del Maresme to pizza and burgers at Restaurant Venezia on Avinguda del Port, plus Cafè del Mar on Carrer de Santa Rita, which doubles as a cultural events venue.

For coffee and breakfast, Xurreria Rosita on Plaça de Santa Anna is a traditional spot specialising in churros with chocolate, while Petits Délices on Carrer Nou focuses on cakes and pastries, including vegan options. Natural Café Mataró and Omnia Cafe Bar cover sweet breakfasts and coffee, and El Jardí Vegan Bar on Camí Ral caters to plant-based tastes. In the evening, The Drunk Monk on Via Europa is a beer bar pouring brews from many countries, and La Lola Mataró on Baixada de les Espenyes combines bar, tapas, vermouth, music and events. Beach bars along the Passeig Marítim, including Callao Club and Xiringuito Sarandonga, plus Xiringuito Bonic on Sant Simó beach, keep you close to the sand. Later, the clubs cluster around Carrer Francesc Layret, where Cocoa Mataró offers laser lights, DJs and house and pop music, alongside Classic and Sala Privat.

What to see and do

Mataró's centre is Plaça Santa Anna, where you'll find shops, bars, restaurants and terraces. The city's modernist and industrial heritage is the main draw for sightseeing: the Nau Gaudí, the industrial building of the textile cooperative "La Obrera Mataronense", is the only surviving witness to a project of homes, a social building, an assembly hall and a factory commissioned to a recently graduated Antoni Gaudí and only partially executed. Casa Coll i Regàs on Carrer d'Argentona is a modernist building designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch in 1898 for the textile manufacturer Joaquim Coll i Regas, and guided tours run on Saturdays. Ca l'Arenas, the art museum of Mataró, grew from the legacy of the artist Jordi Arenas i Clavell and focuses on the city's artistic activity, hosting exhibitions, workshops, conferences, talks and audiovisual screenings. Can Serra, a Renaissance building from 1565, is the section of the Mataró Museum devoted to the city's history, with a permanent exhibition covering the Roman period and the Middle Ages up to the present day. The Can Marfà Knitwear Museum occupies one of the warehouses of the former Marfà factory and is devoted to the knitting and hosiery industry. La Presó, a prison opened in 1863 and built by the architect Elies Rogent, is today a contemporary art museum. The Basilica of Santa María de Mataró is declared a Cultural Property of National Interest, and there is a guided visit to the Dolors Chapel. Elsewhere you can see the fifteenth-century Museum of Santa María, the Genovese city wall built between 1569 and 1600, the Monument to Arquera Layetana, and the seaside Hermitage of St. Simon, dating to 1611, with its single nave in keeping with ancient seafaring tradition. The Roman villa of Can Llauder, built in the first imperial period and remodelled at the beginning of the 3rd century AD, had a rich decor of marble and mosaics and offers guided tours in English every Saturday.

When to go

Mataró has a borderline humid subtropical and hot-summer Mediterranean climate, with warm to hot summers and mild winters. Summer brings the strongest heat of the year, so plan your outdoor sightseeing and beach time around it rather than in the middle of the day. Winter is mild rather than cold, making it a gentler season for walking around town.

Three days in Mataro

Day one: Start in Mataró itself, in the Maresme comarca of Catalonia, and get your bearings along the Mediterranean coast. Begin with the city's Roman origins as Iluro, then turn to the Modernisme that shapes the centre, including the Nau Gaudí by Puig i Cadafalch and works by Enric Sagnier such as La Confianza. Stop by the Oficina de Turisme on Carrer de la Riera for orientation, and expect Catalan and Spanish to be the languages you hear around you.

Day two: Follow the coast north through the Maresme towards the Costa Brava, with the sea at Cabrera and Sant Andreu de Llavaneres within reach. Use the Rodalies RENFE line to move between towns, and plan around the warm, humid Mediterranean climate rather than against it. Keep Barcelona in mind as an easy counterpoint if you want a change of scale.

Day three: Slow down and take in the everyday city, from the Rengle area to the streets around Molins and Rei, before heading back to the station. If you are continuing along the line towards Maçanet-Massanes, leave time for a last walk by the sea. Knowing how compact Mataró is, you can fit in a final look at its Modernisme before you go.

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