Where to live · UPC
Where to live for Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya students
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya has the most scattered estate in this set: two campuses on Diagonal, one at Besòs on the far eastern edge, one in Castelldefels and one in Terrassa. Two of the five need a train, and the sensible neighbourhood for each is a different part of the city.
- 5 campuses
- 32.2 km apart at the widest
- 2 off 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.
UPC - Campus Nord
Barcelona · Palau Reial (L3)
- Shortest modelled commute
- Pedralbes
9 min by metro and bus, rooms around €700.
- Cheapest room within 10 minutes of it
- Maternitat i Sant Ramon
12 min, rooms around €570. That is €130 a month against Pedralbes, for 3 minutes more each way.
ModelledcommuteEstimatedrent
UPC - Campus Sud
Barcelona · Palau Reial (L3)
- Shortest modelled commute
- Maternitat i Sant Ramon
11 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
UPC - Diagonal-Besòs
Barcelona / Sant Adrià de Besòs (boundary) · Maresme | Fòrum (L4)
- Shortest modelled commute
- Diagonal Mar
12 min by metro and bus, rooms around €800.
- Cheapest room within 10 minutes of it
- Provençals del Poblenou
22 min, rooms around €620. That is €180 a month against Diagonal Mar, for 10 minutes more each way.
ModelledcommuteEstimatedrent
UPC - Castelldefels
Castelldefels · Castelldefels (Rodalies R2 Sud)
- Shortest modelled commute
- Eixample Nova Esquerra
41 min door to door, train included, rooms around €600.
- Cheapest room within 10 minutes of it
- Santa Eulàlia (l'Hospitalet)
44 min, rooms around €480. That is €120 a month against Eixample Nova Esquerra, for 3 minutes more each way.
ModelledcommuteEstimatedrent
UPC - Terrassa
Terrassa · Vallparadís Universitat (FGC S1)
- Shortest modelled commute
- Sarrià
50 min door to door, train included, rooms around €650.
- Cheapest room within 10 minutes of it
- Vallcarca
57 min, rooms around €480. That is €170 a month against Sarrià, for 7 minutes more each way.
ModelledcommuteEstimatedrent
The campuses
Where they actually are.
Your school decides your campus, and at UPC the schools are the unit that matters: FIB and ETSETB at Nord, ETSAB and ETSEIB at Sud, EEBE at Besòs, EETAC at Castelldefels, ESEIAAT at Terrassa.
UPC - Campus Nord
Jordi Girona 1-3, 08034 Barcelona
- Station
- Palau Reial (L3)
- Taught here
- Informatics (FIB), telecoms (ETSETB), civil engineering.
- Modelled as
- Inside the city transport network, so the ordinary metro, bus and bike model applies.
Address and coordinates: upc.edu/campusnord/en (address); coords OSM university POI 'UPC Campus Nord' Checked 2026-08-07.
UPC - Campus Sud
Av. Diagonal 647-649, 08028 Barcelona
- Station
- Palau Reial (L3)
- Taught here
- Architecture (ETSAB), industrial engineering (ETSEIB), maths (FME), building (EPSEB).
- Modelled as
- Inside the city transport network, so the ordinary metro, bus and bike model applies.
Address and coordinates: etsab.upc.edu / etseib.upc.edu (addresses); coords OSM university POI 'UPC Campus Sud'. UPC publishes no official transit statement for Campus Sud. Checked 2026-08-07.
UPC - Diagonal-Besòs
Av. Eduard Maristany 16, 08019 Barcelona
- Station
- Maresme | Fòrum (L4)
- Taught here
- Engineering school EEBE.
- Modelled as
- Inside the city transport network, so the ordinary metro, bus and bike model applies.Campus straddles the Barcelona / Sant Adrià boundary; inside the metro network, so the in-city model applies.
Address and coordinates: eebe.upc.edu/ca/lescola/com-arribar (address + transit); coords ICGC named POI 'EEBE', corroborated by Wikidata Q56401362 Checked 2026-08-07.
UPC - Castelldefels
C/ Esteve Terradas 7, 08860 Castelldefels
- Station
- Castelldefels (Rodalies R2 Sud)
- Taught here
- Telecom + aerospace (EETAC), agri-food engineering.
- Modelled as
- Outside the city transport network. Your journey is three legs: get to a railhead, take the Castelldefels train, walk 10 min at the far end.
Address and coordinates: ICGC address portal; corroborated by UPC's own building GPS table at cbl.upc.edu/ca/el-campus/trobans and Wikidata Q4893579 Checked 2026-08-07.
UPC - Terrassa
C/ Colom 1, 08222 Terrassa
- Station
- Vallparadís Universitat (FGC S1)
- Taught here
- Industrial, aerospace and audiovisual engineering (ESEIAAT).
- Modelled as
- Outside the city transport network. Your journey is three legs: get to a railhead, take the Vallparadís Universitat train, walk 5 min at the far end.
Address and coordinates: ICGC address portal (4 m agreement with es.wikipedia infobox) 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 UPC - Campus Nord
ModelledRanked by metro and bus, fastest first.
| Neighbourhood | Metro and bus | On foot | Bike | Bicing | Car | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pedralbes | 9 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 13 | €700 |
| Maternitat i Sant Ramon | 12 | 19 | 9 | 15 | 17 | €570 |
| Sarrià | 13 | 24 | 10 | 16 | 18 | €650 |
| Sant Gervasi - la Bonanova | 16 | 44 | 18 | 24 | 24 | €680 |
| Les Corts | 19 | 23 | 11 | 17 | 19 | €650 |
| Eixample Nova Esquerra | 22 | 42 | 18 | 24 | 24 | €600 |
| Sants | 26 | 37 | 16 | 22 | 23 | €520 |
| Hostafrancs | 26 | 48 | 20 | 26 | 26 | €500 |
| 30 more neighbourhoods between these and the slowest three. | ||||||
| Provençals del Poblenou | 57 | n/a | 49 | 58 | 49 | €620 |
| Sant Cugat | 62 | n/a | 59 | n/a | 57 | €600 |
| Bellaterra (UAB) | 63 | n/a | 74 | n/a | 70 | €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 UPC - Campus Sud
ModelledRanked by metro and bus, fastest first.
| Neighbourhood | Metro and bus | On foot | Bike | Bicing | Car | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maternitat i Sant Ramon | 11 | 12 | 7 | 12 | 15 | €570 |
| Pedralbes | 11 | 15 | 7 | 13 | 15 | €700 |
| Les Corts | 16 | 21 | 11 | 16 | 18 | €650 |
| Eixample Nova Esquerra | 18 | 38 | 17 | 23 | 23 | €600 |
| Sants | 23 | 30 | 14 | 20 | 21 | €520 |
| Hostafrancs | 23 | 42 | 18 | 24 | 24 | €500 |
| Poble-sec | 23 | 66 | 26 | 33 | 31 | €550 |
| Eixample Esquerra | 25 | 52 | 21 | 28 | 27 | €620 |
| 30 more neighbourhoods between these and the slowest three. | ||||||
| Provençals del Poblenou | 54 | n/a | 49 | 58 | 50 | €620 |
| Sant Cugat | 73 | n/a | 62 | n/a | 60 | €600 |
| Bellaterra (UAB) | 74 | 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 UPC - Diagonal-Besòs
ModelledRanked by metro and bus, fastest first.
| Neighbourhood | Metro and bus | On foot | Bike | Bicing | Car | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diagonal Mar | 12 | 17 | 8 | 14 | 16 | €800 |
| Poblenou | 20 | 37 | 16 | 22 | 22 | €750 |
| Provençals del Poblenou | 22 | 25 | 12 | 18 | 19 | €620 |
| Poblenou (Llacuna) | 22 | 47 | 20 | 26 | 26 | €700 |
| The Gothic Quarter | 27 | n/a | 33 | 40 | 36 | €650 |
| Vila Olímpica | 28 | 55 | 23 | 29 | 28 | €750 |
| El Clot | 28 | 49 | 20 | 27 | 26 | €520 |
| El Born | 29 | n/a | 30 | 37 | 34 | €680 |
| 30 more neighbourhoods between these and the slowest three. | ||||||
| Pedralbes | 60 | n/a | 57 | n/a | 56 | €700 |
| Sant Cugat | 82 | n/a | 79 | n/a | 74 | €600 |
| Bellaterra (UAB) | 83 | n/a | 82 | n/a | 77 | €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 UPC - Castelldefels
ModelledThree legs: to the railhead, the published train time, then a 10 minute walk.
| Neighbourhood | Total | Via | To the train | On the train | Bike | Car | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eixample Nova Esquerra | 41 | Barcelona Sants | 10 | 21 | 36 | 95 | €600 |
| Hostafrancs | 41 | Barcelona Sants | 10 | 21 | 37 | 93 | €500 |
| Sants | 42 | Barcelona Sants | 11 | 21 | 38 | 90 | €520 |
| Les Corts | 43 | Barcelona Sants | 12 | 21 | 41 | 93 | €650 |
| Sant Antoni | 44 | Barcelona Sants | 13 | 21 | 43 | 98 | €620 |
| Eixample Esquerra | 44 | Barcelona Sants | 13 | 21 | 43 | 100 | €620 |
| Maternitat i Sant Ramon | 44 | Barcelona Sants | 13 | 21 | 43 | 89 | €570 |
| Santa Eulàlia (l'Hospitalet) | 44 | Barcelona Sants | 13 | 21 | 43 | 86 | €480 |
| 30 more neighbourhoods between these and the slowest three. | |||||||
| Sant Andreu | 66 | Barcelona Sants | 35 | 21 | 77 | 127 | €500 |
| Sant Cugat | 77 | Barcelona Sants | 46 | 21 | 100 | 122 | €600 |
| Bellaterra (UAB) | 83 | Barcelona Sants | 52 | 21 | 113 | 138 | €420 |
Scroll sideways for the other modes and the room price.
Train time is Renfe’s own published figure, not ours. Walking does not appear because there is no walking route to this campus, and the model says so rather than printing a number.
To UPC - Terrassa
ModelledThree legs: to the railhead, the published train time, then a 5 minute walk.
| Neighbourhood | Total | Via | To the train | On the train | Bike | Car | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarrià | 50 | Sarrià | 9 | 36 | 44 | 106 | €650 |
| Les Tres Torres | 52 | Sarrià | 11 | 36 | 48 | 108 | €700 |
| Pedralbes | 53 | Sarrià | 12 | 36 | 51 | 109 | €700 |
| Les Corts | 54 | Sarrià | 13 | 36 | 53 | 114 | €650 |
| Sant Gervasi - la Bonanova | 54 | Sarrià | 13 | 36 | 52 | 106 | €680 |
| Maternitat i Sant Ramon | 55 | Sarrià | 14 | 36 | 55 | 115 | €570 |
| Sant Gervasi | 55 | Sarrià | 14 | 36 | 54 | 111 | €700 |
| El Putxet i el Farró | 56 | Sarrià | 15 | 36 | 56 | 107 | €620 |
| 30 more neighbourhoods between these and the slowest three. | |||||||
| Diagonal Mar | 77 | Sarrià | 36 | 36 | 82 | 123 | €800 |
| Sant Cugat | 79 | Sarrià | 38 | 36 | 69 | 65 | €600 |
| Bellaterra (UAB) | 86 | Sarrià | 45 | 36 | 60 | 58 | €420 |
Scroll sideways for the other modes and the room price.
Train time is FGC’s own published figure, not ours. Walking does not appear because there is no walking route to this campus, and the model says so rather than printing a number.
The honest part
What the numbers say not to do.
The UPC mistake is treating the university as one location. The gap between the best and the worst neighbourhood for a single campus is smaller than the gap between two UPC campuses from the same room.
The default shortlist
The names on every student housing list cost 17 to 38 extra minutes to UPC - Campus Nord.
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 Pedralbes, the fastest neighbourhood to UPC - Campus Nord at 9 minutes:
- Poble-sec26 min (+17)€550 a room
- The Gothic Quarter32 min (+23)€650 a room
- El Raval33 min (+24)€550 a room
- Fort Pienc38 min (+29)€580 a room
- El Born41 min (+32)€680 a room
- Barceloneta47 min (+38)€620 a room
At the far end of that list it is 38 minutes each way, which is 380 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
Going cheap costs you real minutes at UPC - Campus Nord.
The three cheapest neighbourhoods in the dataset, measured against Pedralbes at 9 minutes and €700:
- Vallcarca34 min€480 a room, -20% against that median
- Santa Eulàlia (l'Hospitalet)38 min€480 a room, -20% against that median
- Bellaterra (UAB)63 min€420 a room, -30% against that median
Vallcarca saves you €220 a month and costs you 25 minutes each way. Whether that is a good trade is yours to make, but make it with both numbers in front of you.
One room, two campuses
A room chosen for UPC - Diagonal-Besòs is number 39 of 41 for UPC - Terrassa.
Diagonal Mar is 12 minutes from UPC - Diagonal-Besòs and 77 minutes from UPC - Terrassa, a difference of 65 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 train to Baix Llobregat (Castelldefels)
From Barcelona Sants it is 21 minutes on the train. Everything else is how you reach Barcelona Sants.
Every neighbourhood pays the train, and then a 10 minute walk from Castelldefels. What varies is the first leg, which is why the totals in the table above run from 41 minutes in Eixample Nova Esquerra to 83 in Bellaterra (UAB): a spread of 42 minutes created almost entirely by how long it takes to reach the railhead.
It also means the usual instinct is wrong here. Moving further out to save rent only helps if the further-out neighbourhood is closer to the line, and mostly it is not.
The train to Terrassa (ESEIAAT)
From Sarrià it is 36 minutes on the train. Everything else is how you reach Sarrià.
There is another way in, 49 min from Plaça Catalunya. Every neighbourhood pays the train, and then a 5 minute walk from Vallparadís Universitat. What varies is the first leg, which is why the totals in the table above run from 50 minutes in Sarrià to 86 in Bellaterra (UAB): a spread of 36 minutes created almost entirely by how long it takes to reach the railhead.
The rent
What the recommended neighbourhoods cost.
Room prices are in the picks above. A whole flat goes for €2,210 in Pedralbes, €1,176 in Maternitat i Sant Ramon, €1,539 in Diagonal Mar, €1,176 in Provençals del Poblenou, €1,168 in Eixample Nova Esquerra, €825 in Santa Eulàlia (l'Hospitalet), €1,638 in Sarrià and €1,062 in Vallcarca. 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.