Best towns near Barcelona for families
Towns ordered by how close the nearest primary school is, with the minutes to Plaça Catalunya and what renting or buying costs.
Near Barcelona
With children and a limit of €1,200 a month in rent, these are the 8 towns with the nearest primary school, out of the 31 within 45 minutes of Plaça Catalunya by public transport; the first is Badalona, with the school 1 min on foot, 29 min to Plaça Catalunya and €965/month in rent.
| Town | Primary school min on foot | To Plaça Catalunya min by public transport | Rent €/month | International school km as the crow flies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badalona metro L2 | 1 min | 29 min | €965/month | 3.7 km |
| Cerdanyola del Vallès Rodalies R4 | 1 min | 35 min | €906/month | In the town |
| Gavà Rodalies R2S | 1 min | 37 min | €1,088/month | In the town |
| Sant Vicenç dels Horts FGC R5 and metro L1 | 1 min | 42 min | €827/month | 5.4 km |
| Vilassar de Dalt bus | 1 min | 42 min | €1,104/month | 3.1 km |
| L'Hospitalet de Llobregat Rodalies R1 | 2 min | 20 min | €840/month | 2.3 km |
| Montcada i Reixac Rodalies R4 | 2 min | 24 min | €731/month | 5.3 km |
| Cornellà de Llobregat metro L5 | 2 min | 24 min | €793/month | 1.5 km |
Order: nearest primary school first; ties go to fewer minutes to Plaça Catalunya, then to the cheaper town. No weights, no formula.
Left out: 4 above your limit; 3 in the whole area with no public transport time we can calculate.
Sources and dates
- Primary school, minutes on foot: Departament d'Educació, school directory (2025/2026; counts every school with a primary stage, whether public, state-funded or private). Walking minutes from the town's official centre (ICGC) to the quickest of the 4 nearest schools in a straight line; OSRM over OpenStreetMap. Read on 11 Oct 2026. Licence: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
- Minutes to Plaça Catalunya: Generalitat de Catalunya / ATM — horarios del transporte público de Cataluña y de los autobuses interurbanos (GTFS); Renfe Cercanías (GTFS, CC BY 4.0); FGC (GTFS). Door to door, leaving between 7 and 9am on a weekday (13 Oct 2026), waits and changes included; calculated by Verithic. Read on 11 Oct 2026. Licence: ATM vía el Punto de Acceso Nacional: licencia de datos del NAP, «Powered by MITRAMS», datos procesados; FGC: CC BY 4.0 (dadesobertes.fgc.cat, comprobado el 09/10/2026); autobuses interurbanos: datos abiertos de la Generalitat de Catalunya; Renfe: CC BY 4.0.
- Rent, €/month: Secretaria d'Habitatge, Generalitat de Catalunya — lloguer mitjà contractat (qww9-bvhh). Average monthly rent of registered contracts, 2025 anual. Read on 11 Oct 2026. Licence: Dades obertes de la Generalitat de Catalunya.
- Purchase, €/m²: Generalitat de Catalunya, Secretaria d'Habitatge — compravendes registrades. Average price per built m² of resale homes sold, Jul 2025–Jun 2026. Only with 30 sales or more. Read on 11 Oct 2026. Licence: Reutilización citando la fuente.
- International school, km: Straight-line km from the town centre to the nearest international school Verithic covers (foreign studies in the Educació directory, or International Baccalaureate). Read on 11 Oct 2026. Licence: Dades obertes; cuotas citadas de la web de cada colegio.
And if you are looking near Madrid
With children and a limit of €1,000 a month in rent, these are the 8 towns with the nearest primary school, out of the 11 within 45 minutes of Sol by public transport; the first is Getafe, with the school 0.1 km as the crow flies, 32 min to Sol and €700/month in rent.
| Town | Primary school km as the crow flies | To Sol min by public transport | Rent €/month | Foreign school km as the crow flies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Getafe Cercanías C4b | 0.1 km 29 public primary schools in the town | 32 min | €700/month | 2 km |
| Alcorcón Cercanías | 0.1 km 23 public primary schools in the town | 36 min | €740/month | 4 km |
| San Fernando de Henares metro and Cercanías | 0.2 km 7 public primary schools in the town | 39 min | €700/month | 7 km |
| Leganés Cercanías | 0.3 km 33 public primary schools in the town | 36 min | €690/month | 3.6 km |
| Coslada Cercanías | 0.3 km 15 public primary schools in the town | 37 min | €730/month | 5.4 km |
| Fuenlabrada Cercanías | 0.3 km 37 public primary schools in the town | 41 min | €683/month | 3.7 km |
| San Sebastián de los Reyes Cercanías C4a | 0.3 km 15 public primary schools in the town | 43 min | €825/month | 1.9 km |
| Alcobendas Cercanías C4a | 0.3 km 14 public primary schools in the town | 43 min | €834/month | 1 km |
Order: nearest primary school first; ties go to fewer minutes to Sol, then to the cheaper town. No weights, no formula.
Left out: 2 above your limit; 35 in the whole area with no public transport time we can calculate.
Sources and dates
- Primary school, km: Comunidad de Madrid, Centros educativos de la Comunidad de Madrid (directorio, centros en situación ALTA). Straight-line km between the town centre (OpenStreetMap) and the school: not a walking time. Public primary schools in the town: count from the same directory. Read on 18 Oct 2026. Licence: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0).
- Minutes to Sol: Consorcio Regional de Transportes de Madrid and Renfe Cercanías, planned timetables (GTFS); Metro with the 26/05/2026 timetable, the latest the Consortium publishes; time calculated by Verithic, martes laborable, salidas de 7:00 a 8:50. Read on 17 Oct 2026. Licence: CRTM Licencia de datos abiertos (LDA); Renfe: CC BY 4.0.
- Rent, €/month: Ministerio de Vivienda y Agenda Urbana, SERPAVI. Median monthly rent of flat tenancies declared to the tax office in 2024: these are declared contracts and the figure arrives about two years late. Read on 12 Oct 2026. Licence: Reutilización de información del sector público (Ley 37/2007).
- Purchase, €/m²: Datos procedentes del Portal Estadístico del Notariado (https://penotariado.com/inmobiliario/), titularidad del Consejo General del Notariado y gestionado por el Centro Tecnológico del Notariado. Resale homes, latest 12 months available, published on 24 Sept 2026. Only with 20 sales with a price or more. Read on 12 Oct 2026. Licence: Uso autorizado por el Notariado, con cita literal de la fuente.
- Foreign school, km: Comunidad de Madrid, Centros educativos de la Comunidad de Madrid (directorio; tipo «Centro docente extranjero en España», situación ALTA). Straight-line km, not a driving time. Read on 12 Oct 2026. Licence: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0).