The Municipal Institute of Parks and Gardens of Barcelona (IMPJ) is the authority responsible for issuing permits for the occupation of public spaces for filming or photography sessions in the city's green areas (parks and gardens), breakwaters, seafront promenades, and beaches.

In this case, there is no "general permit for Parks and Gardens" as there is for public roads. A separate permit must be requested for each occupation (location/date), regardless of its complexity.

CHARACTERISTICS:

This permit is required to authorize filming and photo shootings in public parks or gardens, beaches, breakwaters, and seafront promenades (except for the Barceloneta Promenade, which is considered public road, and the Mare Nostrum Promenade and Plaça del Mar, which belongs to Port Vell) within the municipality of Barcelona.

• Requests must be for a specific date.
• Filming permits for breakwaters do not authorize access to restricted areas.
• During the mid-season (mid-April, May, and mid-September) and high bathing season (from June to mid-September), filming on beaches and breakwaters is restricted (check here the 2025 calendar, only in Catalan).
• The request must indicate the square meters to be occupied, and the exact filming area must be marked on a map to calculate the fees.
• Advice:
  • Some parks in the city have special conditions, such as Park Güell, Ciutadella Park, or the Labyrinth Park of Horta. Please check the specific conditions on their location profiles, which can be found in the Locations Directory.
  • There are also locations managed by the IMPJ, even though they may not seem like parks, such as Gaudí Square, Sagrada Família Square, Destillers Street, Forum Beach Area, Seafront Promenades, or Camp de la Bota Park.
  • Conversely, there are some parks in the city not managed by the IMPJ (or only partially), and thus, they do not follow the same guidelines. A list of the most notable parks and their respective managers can be found in the Locations Directory. For example:
    • Jardins Universitat Central (Pl. Universitat): Managed by the University of Barcelona (UB)
    • Jardins Palau Robert: Managed by the Generalitat of Catalonia
    • Jardins Palau de Les Heures: Managed by the University of Barcelona (UB)
    • Jardins Maternitat: Managed by the Diputació de Barcelona
    • Jardí Botànic (Botanic Institute): Managed by the Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona
    • Jardins del Palau de Pedralbes: Managed by the Generalitat's Protocol

COST:

This permit requires the payment of the Public Space Occupation Fee, and for beaches and breakwaters, an additional fee from the Ministry:

• Public Space Occupation Fee:
  • 600€ per day and location, or 480€ per day and location if there are 9 or fewer vehicles (on public roads). For requests requiring partial or total closure of the park, the fee will also be charged per m² occupied. Check here for prices and park classifications (only in Catalan).
  • This fee is paid in advance of the occupation. Once the permit is in process, the Parks and Gardens department will send an email with the payment method and the deadline.
  • In case of cancellation of already paid permits, no refund will be issued. The amount will be kept for future requests.
  • If more than one permit is requested for the same location on different dates due to potential weather-related reasons, all permits must be paid, and no refund will be issued in case of cancellation.
  • If filming is canceled on the day due to weather conditions, the permit can be rescheduled for a new date, with a minimum of 3 working days' notice. In this case, the original payment can be reused.
     
• Ministry Fee:
  • For beaches (sand) and breakwaters, the Ministry's maritime-terrestrial space occupation fee is added to the Public space occupation fee. This applies to all types of productions (except for productions requested with the NIF of a public institution).
  • You can contact the Ministry to get a preliminary estimate via email at bzn.costasbarcelona@miteco.es or by phone at +34 93.221.02.48.
     
• Deposit:
  • Exceptionally, for special occupations (due to volume, complexity, or location), the IMPJ may request the payment of a deposit. The price will vary based on the impact, park, and duration.

EXEMPTIONS AND REDUCTIONS:

• Check here for cases exempt from paying Parks and Gardens fees (not including the Ministry's fee).
• Check here for instructions on how to apply for a 90% reduction of the Parks and Gardens occupation fee (not including the Ministry's fee).

DEADLINES:

• A minimum of 15 calendar days in advance is required to process these requests.
• The timeline starts from the first working day after the request is received.

HOW TO APPLY:

• Advertising Production:
  • This must be processed directly with the Parks and Gardens Permits Department through the City Hall's Procedures Portal. (Only in Catalan or Spanish)
  • If you have questions, you can contact permisos_parcs@bcn.cat.
     
• Non-advertising Production:
  • If it is a non-commercial production (unrelated to any commercial brand or service), the Barcelona Film Commission will manage the permit.
  • To do so, you must complete the following forms on this website: Production Registration (only once per project) and Location Request (for each location and day you wish to request). You can find the forms here.

DOCUMENTATION:

• To obtain permits for filming in parks and gardens, you will need to provide proof of liability insurance.
• To obtain a permit, you will need to submit a map indicating the exact area of occupation and the square meters involved.