The highest rooftop in Barcelona is in a surprising place

With the city of Barcelona continuing to bring in some of the highest visitor numbers in Europe, many who come to the city known for its Art Nouveau architecture and Catalan culture are increasingly also looking to experience neighborhoods outside of its most popular areas.

And for those who come in by train rather than air, the Barcelona story most often begins at the Estació Sants train station after which the recently trendy Sants neighborhood is named. As the main hub for both Spanish and international rail networks into the city, the train station saw over 48 million people pass through it in 2024.

And a few steps across from the train station sits the Nobu Barcelona hotel that is also known for having the highest rooftop in the city. With city regulations restricting construction to protect the skyline for national monuments like Montjuïc Castle and the Sagrada Familia, the rooftop terrace on the 25th floor of the luxury hotel can brag about holding the title of Barcelona's most head-spinning views with both the highest pool and rooftop bar in the city.

A hotel rooftop with panoramic views

While the pool is only accessible to guests staying at the hotel, anyone looking to take pictures of terracotta rooftops against a facade of Barcelona's most famous monuments and the Mediterranean ocean from above can also come for a cocktail either during the day or before 12 a.m. at night.

The rooftop bar also hosts regular parties and DJ nights while the menu is a mix of Nobu's signature Japan-inspired cocktails and local classics like Vermut alongside trendy small bites. After the United States, Spain is the country with the biggest number of Nobu hotels with three other locations in San Sebastián, Marbella and Ibiza.

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Amid the hotel chain's efforts to expand its reach in Europe with more locations (the Barcelona hotel opened in 2019 while the one in San Sebastián has become the most recent Spanish addition in August 2023), Nobu Barcelona has earned its fame in the city for the rooftop in particular and the way it attracts a hipper crowd to a traditionally more quiet and residential neighborhood.

The Sants neighborhood of Barcelona is an often overlooked part of town

At an approximately 40-minute walk from Plaça de Catalunya, the Nobu property is often what brings in visitors from other parts of town to a neighborhood that has a more local feel due to its industrial history of fabric mils and slightly farther distance away from the major tourist destinations (the distance and elevation are also what allow for the panoramic view of the city, the Mediterranean sea and the Montjuïc hill).

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While Sants has always attracted visitors through the train station, most rarely stayed around long enough to explore it as they quickly caught a taxi or the metro on the way deeper into Barcelona.

But with the hotel and rooftop bar helping bring in both locals from other parts of town and tourists staying overnight, it has over the last five years become an increasingly trendy area to experience — in particular for markets like the Mercat de Sants and the Mercat d'Hostafrancs as well as the Parc de la España Industrial green space that give visitors a look at Catalan life in a more natural environment.

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