Girona · Cataluña
Blanes
A major Costa Brava tourist centre with two celebrated botanical gardens and a scenic seafront promenade between a castle ruin and a sandbank.
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Living in Blanes
Blanes marks the southern start of the Costa Brava — a resort town of 42,000 with a sandy beach, a seafront promenade between a castle ruin and a landmark rock, and two celebrated botanical gardens on the cliffs above. It is a year-round working town as much as a holiday one: about three-quarters Spanish-born, with substantial Moroccan, Argentine and Gambian communities and a scattering of northern-European residents. The climate is Mediterranean, summers around 30°C and cool winters near 9°C. It has its own hospital and the beach at its feet, though it sits a bit apart from the big cities — Girona airport is about forty minutes off.
Blanes's Spainability Scores — by who's moving
Not our opinion: we ran the same scoring engine behind the quiz for six settler profiles across all 8,132 municipalities. Each score is Blanes's percentile for that group — 87 means it beats 87% of the towns we could score. How scoring works.
Higher than 84% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for American retirees.
A major Costa Brava tourist centre with two celebrated botanical gardens and a scenic seafront promenade between a castle ruin and a sandbank. A strong pick for American retirees — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 8.8°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- U.S.-born residents 1.01 per 1,000
- Registered long-let rent €7.94/m²·mo
Higher than 77% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for families.
A major Costa Brava tourist centre with two celebrated botanical gardens and a scenic seafront promenade between a castle ruin and a sandbank. A strong pick for a family with school-age kids — 2 km from the sea and a settled international community.
- Schools in town 19
- PISA maths (region) 469
- Registered long-let rent €7.94/m²·mo
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
Higher than 76% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.
A major Costa Brava tourist centre with two celebrated botanical gardens and a scenic seafront promenade between a castle ruin and a sandbank. A strong pick for a retiring couple — a hospital in town and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 8.8°C
- Drive to a hospital 0 min
- Surgical wait (region) 142 days
- Registered long-let rent €7.94/m²·mo
Higher than 73% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for remote workers.
A major Costa Brava tourist centre with two celebrated botanical gardens and a scenic seafront promenade between a castle ruin and a sandbank. A strong pick for a remote-working couple — a settled international community and 2 km from the sea.
- 100 Mbps+ coverage 100%
- Drive to nearest airport 40 min
- Registered long-let rent €7.94/m²·mo
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 30.7°C
Higher than 68% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.
A major Costa Brava tourist centre with two celebrated botanical gardens and a scenic seafront promenade between a castle ruin and a sandbank. A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — 2 km from the sea and a settled international community.
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 30.7°C
- Rainy days a year 65 days
- Summer water stress (WEI+) 73
- Winter average temp 8.8°C
Higher than 64% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for budget-first coastal settlers.
A major Costa Brava tourist centre with two celebrated botanical gardens and a scenic seafront promenade between a castle ruin and a sandbank. A strong pick for coastal living on a budget — a settled international community and 2 km from the sea.
- Registered long-let rent €7.94/m²·mo
- Net income per person €14,075
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 30.7°C
What is the climate like in Blanes?
Blanes's reported winter average is 8.8°C, while July–August highs reach 30.7°C.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 8.8°C top 30% of 8,131 towns 1°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 30.7°C bottom 47% of 8,131 towns 0.5°C above the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 65 days bottom 46% of 8,088 towns 5% less than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- 6.7 h/day bottom 22% of 3,829 towns 7% less than the Spanish average (7.2 h/day)
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 73 bottom 31% of 8,033 towns 16 above the Spanish average (56)
- River-flood depth (T=100, town centre) estimated
- 0 m top 1% of 8,129 towns 0.04 m below the Spanish average (0.04 m)
- River-flood risk score estimated
- 0 top 1% of 8,129 towns about the Spanish average (0)
- Wildfire burn rate (2010–23)
- 2.04 ha/km² bottom 12% of 8,132 towns 0.27 ha/km² below the Spanish average (2.31 ha/km²)
- Forest fires (2010–23)
- 2 bottom 42% of 8,132 towns 4 below the Spanish average (6)
- High fire-weather days (province) regional estimate
- 28.4% bottom 7% of 8,130 towns 5.5% above the Spanish average (22.9%)
The year, month by month
AEMET 30-year climate normals — what a January or an August actually feels like, not the annual average.
How good is healthcare in Blanes?
Blanes's nearest health centre is 1.4 km away, and the reported hospital drive is 0 min.
Healthcare
- Drive to a hospital
- 0 min top 1% of 8,132 towns
- Nearest health centre
- 1.4 km top 7% of 8,132 towns
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 142 days #16 of 17 regions, +39 days vs national 32% more than the Spanish average (108 days)
What are schools like in Blanes?
Blanes has 19 schools in town; the nearest international school is 31 km away.
Schools
- Schools in town
- 19 top 3% of 7,042 towns
- Nearest international school
- 31 km top 35% of 8,132 towns
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 469 #12 of 17 regions, −10 vs national 12 below the Spanish average (481)
How much does it cost to live in Blanes?
Blanes's reported home price is €2,068/m², while registered long-let rent is €7.94/m²·mo.
Cost & economy
- Home price
- €2,068/m² appraisal (valor tasado) bottom 49% of 306 towns 6% less than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
- Asking price
- no local data
- Registered long-let rent
- €7.94/m²·mo
- Registered rent p25
- €6.26/m²·mo
- Registered rent p75
- €9.78/m²·mo
- Registered-rent yield
- 4.61% top 29% of 306 towns
- Net income per person
- €14,075 bottom 46% of 8,059 towns 3% less than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 21.3% bottom 23% of 6,605 towns
Which languages are used in schools in Blanes?
Catalonia has a co-official regional language, and public schools commonly use regional-language immersion or bilingual models rather than Spanish-only teaching. The exact classroom language depends on the school and programme, so confirm the current model before enrolling. See the Catalonia region guide for the wider regional context.
What is the community like in Blanes?
Blanes's reported population is 42,446.
Who lives here
- Population
- 42,446
- Born in Spain
- 74.2% 14.6% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 3.5% 0.3% below the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 1.01 per 1,000
How easy is it to get around Blanes?
Blanes is a reported 40 min drive from the nearest airport, with 95% fibre-to-home coverage.
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 40 min top 15% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 95% top 27% of 8,132 towns 16% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 100% top 12% of 8,132 towns 16% above the Spanish average (83%)
Numbers: Spainability town dataset, derived from INE, AEMET, Mitma and the Catastro. Registered long-let rent is SERPAVI declared-contract data; its p25–p75 values show the observed band. Registered-rent yield is gross, excludes costs and is never imputed. Percentile chips count only the municipalities that report the figure — the "of n" says how many. Region-ranked figures (PISA, surgical waits) compare Spain's 17 comunidades autónomas. A blank means no municipal-level figure is published — not a zero.
How does Blanes fit you?
These are the town's numbers. Whether it's your town depends on what you're optimising for — winter sun or mild summers, a city or a village, short medical waits, an easy flight home. The 3-minute quiz scores Blanes against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 33 min from Mataró, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Blanes for you →Questions to verify locally
- Ask whether current long-let rents match the registered-contract figure.
- Request recent comparable sales before relying on the appraisal figure.
- Test fibre speed at the exact address, not the town average.
- Visit local schools and confirm places for incoming families.
- Confirm health-centre registration and opening hours in person.
- Ask about summer rental crowds and parking near the coast.
Nearby towns
Other places we profile within easy reach.