Where to rent near Barcelona's international schools

Where are Barcelona's international schools?

Mostly in four places: the upper part of the city, Esplugues de Llobregat, Sant Cugat del Vallès and the coast at Castelldefels and Gavà, with a few more in the Garraf and the Maresme. Education Department data analysed by Catalan News counted 25 schools teaching a foreign curriculum in Catalonia in 2023-24. Nineteen were in the Barcelona metropolitan area and nearly half were inside the city. Wider counts that include bilingual and IB schools come out higher: ISC Research put Barcelona at 31 international schools in 2024, up from about 16 in 2014.

Some of these schools are big. The Lycée Français de Barcelone had 2,874 pupils in 2022-23, the German School in Esplugues 1,682 in 2021-22 and the British School of Barcelona's Castelldefels site 1,372 in 2023-24, according to the same Catalan News analysis. A school that size means a lot of families hunting for three-bedroom flats in the same few streets.

How much does it cost to rent near an international school?

In most clusters, more than the city average. Incasòl, the Catalan land institute, records the rent on every lease whose deposit is lodged with it, and its figures put the average new Barcelona lease at €1,135 a month in 2025. By district, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi averaged €1,604, the highest in the city, and the Pedralbes neighbourhood €1,948. Outside the city, Sant Cugat averaged €1,427 and Esplugues €1,390. Castelldefels, at €1,139, was level with Barcelona, and Viladecans, one stop along the R2 Sud line, came in at €898.

Two caveats. These are averages across every lease signed, from studios to houses, so a family flat with three bedrooms will usually cost more than the figure for its area. And they're signed rents, not asking prices on the portals. Many of these towns are also in Catalonia's stressed housing market zone, where rent caps apply to a lot of new leases; our guide to rent control in Barcelona explains how to check whether a flat is covered.

Should you live near the school or near work?

Near the school, in most cases. You make the school run twice a day for years, often with tired children, while many parents work from home some days. A short school run also makes after-school clubs and friends' birthday parties much easier, and those happen near the school too.

The exceptions are commutes that work well on a train. The FGC Vallès line links Sant Cugat with Plaça Catalunya in roughly half an hour, and direct R2 Sud trains from Castelldefels reach Passeig de Gràcia in around the same time. So a family can live by the school in Sant Cugat or Castelldefels and one parent can still get to a city-centre office without a car. Do the trip at the hour you'd really make it before you sign, and check for planned works on Rodalies lines.

Going the other way can also work. The American School and the German School in Esplugues are a short drive from Pedralbes and upper Sant Gervasi, so families who want city life often rent there and drive out against the main flow of traffic.

Do international schools run school buses?

Many of the larger ones do, with private routes that stop across Barcelona and the nearby towns and are paid for on top of the fees. That changes the map. A flat two minutes from a bus stop can suit you better than one a kilometre from the school gate. Ask each school for its route map, stop times and bus fee before you start viewing, and check whether the route covers the stage your child is in, since some routes only serve older pupils or particular campuses.

Does your address affect getting a school place?

Not at a private international school. These schools run their own admissions, so there's no catchment area and your registered address (the padró) doesn't give you priority. Places are a matter of availability in your child's year group, the school's own criteria and the fees.

Your address matters if you might move to the public or state-funded (concertada) system later, which many families do once their children pick up Catalan and Spanish. In that system, the yearly pre-registration gives points for living close to the school, so the flat you rent now can shape your options in a year or two. Our guide to school pre-registration and your address explains how it works.

Should you sign a lease before you have a school place?

Try not to, especially if the flat is in Sant Cugat or Castelldefels, where living there only makes sense with a place at a school nearby. Get the offer in writing first.

If you have to sign first, you're not trapped. A standard Spanish residential lease lets the tenant stay for up to five years (seven if the landlord is a company), but under article 11 of the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos you can leave once six months have passed, giving at least 30 days' written notice. The contract can require compensation of one month's rent for each year left on the lease, prorated for part years. Read that clause before you sign. Our guide to ending a rental contract early covers the details, and if you need somewhere while you wait for a decision, see where to stay while flat-hunting.

When should you start looking?

Earlier than you think if you're aiming for September. International schools set their own calendars, and families arriving for the new school year end up competing in July and August for the same family flats near the same schools. Set up your search in spring, so you know what a fair price looks like in your cluster, and plan your viewing trip for early summer. Our guide to the best time of year to rent in Barcelona goes through the seasons.

What should families check on a viewing?

On top of the usual checks, a few things matter more with children:

• The walk to the school bus stop or the school, timed at 8am, not on a Saturday afternoon.
• A lift, if you have a pushchair or a younger child. Plenty of older buildings don't have one, so check, and ask how often it breaks down.
• Bedroom sizes. Listings often quote built square metres, which include the walls; our guide to useful vs built square metres explains the gap.
• Whether you can register at the address. You'll need the padró for the health card and much else, so ask before you sign.
• Parks and play space. A flat by Collserola or the beach can make up for a smaller living room.

For the full list, use our viewing checklist, and our guide to renting in Barcelona with children covers the rest of family life.

How Llavai helps

Family flats near the schools are the ones every relocating family wants, and the good ones go fast in summer. Llavai watches the main Barcelona rental portals, scores every new agency listing against your brief (budget, towns or neighbourhoods, bedrooms) and puts the best ones first, with the agent's number one tap away, so you can call before the queue forms. You can set up a search for Sant Gervasi, Esplugues and Sant Cugat at once and see which cluster gives you more for your money. Set up your search in a couple of minutes. If you'd rather not make the call yourself, Julia can make it in Spanish on the Pro plan.