Attractions and leisure

The Parc de Sant Martí is set out around the original centre of the Clot neighbourhood, which comprises the church of Sant Martí de Provençals and a series of old farmhouses. The park offers six hectares of green space where you can walk, do some sport or meet up with friends and neighbours.

Just a few decades ago there were orchards and allotments on the site where the Parc de Sant Martí stands today. This was one of the last bastions of Barcelona’s agricultural past, which witnessed the building of the neighbourhood of La Verneda around it, with its blocks of flats constructed to house the people who came to Catalonia from other parts of Spain in the 1960s and 1970s in search of employment.

It was these new residents and their descendents who now enjoy this wonderful green area, a type of community garden which is a place where everyone can meet, stroll and relax. The Parc de Sant Martí was designed in the shape of an irregular triangle and is filled with trees, with examples of rosewoods, cypresses and the great Siberian elm which is reflected in the waters of the lake where ducks splash about and swim. Nearby a row of European alders reminds us of the species from which the neighbourhood takes its name (vern is the Catalan for alder and verneda means alder grove)

The church of Sant Martí is reached from the side of the park leading into the Carrer Agricultura, after passing a square planted with orange trees. The church dates from the 16th century and bears witness to the Clot’s past as do the three farmhouses that still survive: Ca l’Arnó, Can Planes and Can Cadena. The latter is owned by the council and includes a city allotment which is used for educational activities related to the environment.