Where to live · UB
Where to live for Universitat de Barcelona students
Universitat de Barcelona is not one place. It teaches across five sites, and they are far enough apart that a room chosen for one of them can be the worst option on this page for another. Find your faculty first, then read only that table.
- 5 campuses
- 10.3 km apart at the widest
- All on the city network
The short answer
Start with your campus, not with the university.
Two picks per campus, on rules you can check against the tables further down: the shortest modelled journey by metro and bus, and the cheapest room within 10 minutes of it. Room prices are for one person in a shared flat.
UB - Plaça Universitat
Barcelona · Universitat (L1/L2)
- Shortest modelled commute
- El Raval
11 min by metro and bus, rooms around €550.
- Cheapest room within 10 minutes of it
- Hostafrancs
13 min, rooms around €500. That is €50 a month against El Raval, for 2 minutes more each way.
ModelledcommuteEstimatedrent
UB - Diagonal / Zona Universitària
Barcelona · Palau Reial / Zona Universitària (L3)
- Shortest modelled commute
- Maternitat i Sant Ramon
10 min by metro and bus, rooms around €570.
- Cheapest room within 10 minutes of it
Also Maternitat i Sant Ramon. Nothing within 10 minutes of this campus is cheaper, which is unusual and worth knowing.
ModelledcommuteEstimatedrent
UB - Mundet
Barcelona · Mundet (L3)
- Shortest modelled commute
- Horta
17 min by metro and bus, rooms around €480.
- Cheapest room within 10 minutes of it
Also Horta. Nothing within 10 minutes of this campus is cheaper, which is unusual and worth knowing.
ModelledcommuteEstimatedrent
UB - Medicina Clínic
Barcelona · Hospital Clínic (L5)
- Shortest modelled commute
- Eixample Esquerra
9 min by metro and bus, rooms around €620.
- Cheapest room within 10 minutes of it
- Hostafrancs
19 min, rooms around €500. That is €120 a month against Eixample Esquerra, for 10 minutes more each way.
ModelledcommuteEstimatedrent
UB - Bellvitge
L'Hospitalet de Llobregat · Hospital de Bellvitge (L1)
- Shortest modelled commute
- Santa Eulàlia (l'Hospitalet)
26 min by metro and bus, rooms around €480.
- Cheapest room within 10 minutes of it
Also Santa Eulàlia (l'Hospitalet). Nothing within 10 minutes of this campus is cheaper, which is unusual and worth knowing.
ModelledcommuteEstimatedrent
The campuses
Where they actually are.
Faculty decides your campus, and UB spreads faculties across the city rather than grouping them. The programme note on each campus below is from UB's own faculty pages.
UB - Plaça Universitat
Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes 585, 08007 Barcelona
- Station
- Universitat (L1/L2)
- Taught here
- Philology, mathematics, central faculties.
- Modelled as
- Inside the city transport network, so the ordinary metro, bus and bike model applies.
Address and coordinates: crai.ub.edu (UB's own library service publishes address + transit) Checked 2026-08-07.
UB - Diagonal / Zona Universitària
Av. Diagonal 643-690, 08028 Barcelona
- Station
- Palau Reial / Zona Universitària (L3)
- Taught here
- Biology, physics, chemistry, law, economics, pharmacy, fine arts.
- Modelled as
- Inside the city transport network, so the ordinary metro, bus and bike model applies.
Address and coordinates: crai.ub.edu; ub.edu/portal faculty pages Checked 2026-08-07.
UB - Mundet
Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron 171, 08035 Barcelona
- Station
- Mundet (L3)
- Taught here
- Education, psychology.
- Modelled as
- Inside the city transport network, so the ordinary metro, bus and bike model applies.
Address and coordinates: crai.ub.edu (address). UB's own campus transit page is Cloudflare-gated; station from the metro network. Checked 2026-08-07.
UB - Medicina Clínic
Carrer de Casanova 143, 08036 Barcelona
- Station
- Hospital Clínic (L5)
- Taught here
- Medicine.
- Modelled as
- Inside the city transport network, so the ordinary metro, bus and bike model applies.
Address and coordinates: ICGC address portal, CP verified; corroborated by ub.edu/entornsweb/mapes/mapa_medicina_clinic.html Checked 2026-08-07.
UB - Bellvitge
Carrer de la Feixa Llarga s/n, 08907 L'Hospitalet de Llobregat
- Station
- Hospital de Bellvitge (L1)
- Taught here
- Medicine, nursing, dentistry, podiatry, biomedical sciences.
- Modelled as
- Inside the city transport network, so the ordinary metro, bus and bike model applies.Outside Barcelona municipality but inside the metro network (L1 terminus), so the standard in-city model applies.
Address and coordinates: ICGC named POI; corroborated by ub.edu/entornsweb/mapes/mapa_medicina_bellvitge.html Checked 2026-08-07.
The commute
Every neighbourhood we profile, ranked, by mode.
Door to door, measured from the centre of each neighbourhood. Modelled from published average speeds, not routed: there is no timetable in this and no live disruption, so treat it as a way of comparing neighbourhoods rather than as a departure board.
To UB - Plaça Universitat
ModelledRanked by metro and bus, fastest first.
| Neighbourhood | Metro and bus | On foot | Bike | Bicing | Car | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Raval | 11 | 14 | 8 | 13 | 16 | €550 |
| Eixample Esquerra | 12 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 17 | €620 |
| Hostafrancs | 13 | 35 | 15 | 21 | 22 | €500 |
| Sant Antoni | 15 | 15 | 8 | 14 | 16 | €620 |
| Fort Pienc | 16 | 29 | 13 | 19 | 20 | €580 |
| Sagrada Família | 17 | 34 | 15 | 21 | 22 | €580 |
| Sants | 18 | 46 | 19 | 26 | 25 | €520 |
| El Clot | 19 | 51 | 21 | 27 | 27 | €520 |
| 30 more neighbourhoods between these and the slowest three. | ||||||
| Horta | 37 | n/a | 32 | 39 | 35 | €480 |
| Sant Cugat | 55 | n/a | 70 | n/a | 66 | €600 |
| Bellaterra (UAB) | 56 | n/a | 81 | n/a | 76 | €420 |
Scroll sideways for the other modes and the room price.
n/a means the model does not treat that mode as a real option for that journey: over 75 minutes on foot, or over an hour on a Bicing.
To UB - Diagonal / Zona Universitària
ModelledRanked by metro and bus, fastest first.
| Neighbourhood | Metro and bus | On foot | Bike | Bicing | Car | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maternitat i Sant Ramon | 10 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 14 | €570 |
| Pedralbes | 11 | 14 | 8 | 13 | 16 | €700 |
| Les Corts | 14 | 17 | 9 | 15 | 17 | €650 |
| Eixample Nova Esquerra | 16 | 34 | 15 | 21 | 22 | €600 |
| Sants | 21 | 27 | 13 | 18 | 20 | €520 |
| Hostafrancs | 21 | 38 | 17 | 23 | 23 | €500 |
| Poble-sec | 21 | 62 | 25 | 32 | 30 | €550 |
| Eixample Esquerra | 23 | 47 | 20 | 26 | 26 | €620 |
| 30 more neighbourhoods between these and the slowest three. | ||||||
| Provençals del Poblenou | 52 | n/a | 48 | 57 | 48 | €620 |
| Sant Cugat | 71 | n/a | 62 | n/a | 60 | €600 |
| Bellaterra (UAB) | 72 | n/a | 78 | n/a | 73 | €420 |
Scroll sideways for the other modes and the room price.
n/a means the model does not treat that mode as a real option for that journey: over 75 minutes on foot, or over an hour on a Bicing.
To UB - Mundet
ModelledRanked by metro and bus, fastest first.
| Neighbourhood | Metro and bus | On foot | Bike | Bicing | Car | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horta | 17 | 17 | 9 | 14 | 17 | €480 |
| Vallcarca | 19 | 33 | 15 | 21 | 22 | €480 |
| Gràcia | 23 | 54 | 22 | 29 | 27 | €700 |
| El Putxet i el Farró | 23 | 48 | 20 | 26 | 26 | €620 |
| La Salut | 28 | 41 | 17 | 24 | 24 | €550 |
| Eixample Esquerra | 29 | n/a | 31 | 38 | 35 | €620 |
| Eixample Dreta | 29 | 74 | 29 | 36 | 33 | €750 |
| El Raval | 30 | n/a | 38 | 46 | 41 | €550 |
| 30 more neighbourhoods between these and the slowest three. | ||||||
| Provençals del Poblenou | 52 | n/a | 33 | 41 | 37 | €620 |
| Sant Cugat | 64 | n/a | 43 | 51 | 44 | €600 |
| Bellaterra (UAB) | 65 | n/a | 51 | n/a | 51 | €420 |
Scroll sideways for the other modes and the room price.
n/a means the model does not treat that mode as a real option for that journey: over 75 minutes on foot, or over an hour on a Bicing.
To UB - Medicina Clínic
ModelledRanked by metro and bus, fastest first.
| Neighbourhood | Metro and bus | On foot | Bike | Bicing | Car | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eixample Esquerra | 9 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 12 | €620 |
| Eixample Nova Esquerra | 12 | 19 | 10 | 15 | 18 | €600 |
| Sant Gervasi | 12 | 19 | 10 | 15 | 18 | €700 |
| Sant Antoni | 13 | 22 | 10 | 16 | 18 | €620 |
| Sants | 14 | 37 | 16 | 22 | 23 | €520 |
| Sagrada Família | 17 | 39 | 17 | 23 | 23 | €580 |
| Hostafrancs | 19 | 29 | 13 | 19 | 20 | €500 |
| Eixample Dreta | 19 | 24 | 12 | 17 | 19 | €750 |
| 30 more neighbourhoods between these and the slowest three. | ||||||
| Diagonal Mar | 41 | n/a | 35 | 42 | 38 | €800 |
| Sant Cugat | 53 | n/a | 66 | n/a | 63 | €600 |
| Bellaterra (UAB) | 54 | n/a | 78 | n/a | 73 | €420 |
Scroll sideways for the other modes and the room price.
n/a means the model does not treat that mode as a real option for that journey: over 75 minutes on foot, or over an hour on a Bicing.
To UB - Bellvitge
ModelledRanked by metro and bus, fastest first.
| Neighbourhood | Metro and bus | On foot | Bike | Bicing | Car | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Eulàlia (l'Hospitalet) | 26 | 51 | 21 | 28 | 27 | €480 |
| Sant Antoni | 31 | n/a | 36 | 44 | 39 | €620 |
| Eixample Esquerra | 33 | n/a | 39 | 47 | 41 | €620 |
| Eixample Nova Esquerra | 33 | n/a | 32 | 40 | 36 | €600 |
| Hostafrancs | 33 | 74 | 29 | 36 | 33 | €500 |
| Poble-sec | 35 | n/a | 35 | 43 | 38 | €550 |
| Sants | 36 | 66 | 26 | 33 | 31 | €520 |
| Fort Pienc | 38 | n/a | 51 | n/a | 51 | €580 |
| 30 more neighbourhoods between these and the slowest three. | ||||||
| Provençals del Poblenou | 57 | n/a | 66 | n/a | 63 | €620 |
| Sant Cugat | 79 | n/a | 86 | n/a | 79 | €600 |
| Bellaterra (UAB) | 80 | n/a | 102 | n/a | 93 | €420 |
Scroll sideways for the other modes and the room price.
n/a means the model does not treat that mode as a real option for that journey: over 75 minutes on foot, or over an hour on a Bicing.
The honest part
What the numbers say not to do.
The mistake specific to UB is optimising for the name rather than the site. A second-year who moves for the Edifici Històric and then takes options at Mundet has bought a different commute from the one they costed.
The default shortlist
The names on every student housing list cost 0 to 14 extra minutes to UB - Plaça Universitat.
These six have the highest share of international residents of the 41 we profile, which is why they dominate every list of where to live in Barcelona. Measured against El Raval, the fastest neighbourhood to UB - Plaça Universitat at 11 minutes:
- El Raval11 min (the fastest)€550 a room
- Fort Pienc16 min (+5)€580 a room
- The Gothic Quarter20 min (+9)€650 a room
- Poble-sec20 min (+9)€550 a room
- El Born22 min (+11)€680 a room
- Barceloneta25 min (+14)€620 a room
At the far end of that list it is 14 minutes each way, which is 140 minutes a week if you go in five days. That is the real price of the postcard, and it is worth paying only if you know you are paying it.
The cheap end
The cheapest rooms we hold are also the shortest commute to UB - Mundet.
The three cheapest neighbourhoods in the dataset, measured against Horta at 17 minutes and €480:
- Horta17 min€480 a room, -20% against that median
- Vallcarca19 min€480 a room, -20% against that median
- Bellaterra (UAB)65 min€420 a room, -30% against that median
That is the rarest result on this site: the saving and the commute point the same way. What you trade instead is distance from the centre, which the neighbourhood pages describe in full.
One room, two campuses
A room chosen for UB - Mundet is number 38 of 41 for UB - Bellvitge.
Horta is 17 minutes from UB - Mundet and 57 minutes from UB - Bellvitge, a difference of 40 minutes each way from the same front door.
If your degree puts you at both sites, or if you might transfer, pick for the harder one. An average of two campuses describes a commute nobody actually makes.
The rent
What the recommended neighbourhoods cost.
Room prices are in the picks above. A whole flat goes for €899 in El Raval, €949 in Hostafrancs, €1,176 in Maternitat i Sant Ramon, €929 in Horta, €1,320 in Eixample Esquerra and €825 in Santa Eulàlia (l'Hospitalet). The median room across the 41 places we profile is €600.
Estimatedrent
Whole-flat rent and average surface: INCASÒL fiança registry, 2026-Q1, published quarterly as "Lloguers Barcelona per districtes i barris" on habitatge.gencat.cat and re-keyed per barri. Room prices are triangulated from district medians, platform snapshots and press (no public series exists below district level), and are indicative, not measured. Whole-flat rent: the municipal figure from the INCASÒL fiança registry via habitatge.gencat.cat and the Dades Obertes Catalunya municipal series, 2026-Q1. There is no barri-level row outside Barcelona, so no €/m² or average surface is published and none is estimated here. Room prices are triangulated from operator and platform listings, and are indicative, not measured. Figures are for 2026-Q1. Every competitor page we checked states neighbourhood rents without a source or a date; this is ours, and the label above says how far to trust it.
What this page does not know
- These minutes are modelled, not routed. They come from published average speeds: metro at about 27 km/h commercial speed including station dwell, buses at 11.8 km/h across the lines analysed in 2024. No timetable, no service frequency, no live disruption, no interchange modelled inside a rail leg.
- They start from the centre of a neighbourhood. A flat at the far edge is worth about five minutes either way, in both directions.
- Neighbourhood rent is indicative. City-level rent comes from the deposit registry. The neighbourhood figures do not: they are re-keyed by hand from a quarterly publication, which is why they carry an estimated label wherever they appear.
- We profile 41 neighbourhoods, not all of Barcelona. A place that is not in the table is not being judged. It is not in the dataset yet.
- Campus coordinates carry the date we checked them. Every campus here was verified on 2026-08-07. Each campus card above names the source. Universities move buildings, and a stale coordinate is a wrong commute.
That is the commute answered. If you want it narrowed by budget, by how quiet you need it and by what you cannot live without, the quiz does that in 6 questions and shows its working.