Catalonia and the Pyrenees by Rail
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Catalonia and the Pyrenees by Rail Train Seats Travel On all legs of the journey you have reserved seat and carriage numbers which are shown clearly on Passports your ticket. Please ensure your 10-year British Passport is not out of date and is valid for a full six months beyond the duration of your visit. EU, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino or Switzerland Baggage valid national identification cards are also acceptable for travel to Spain. As with most trains, passengers are responsible for carrying baggage onto and off the train. Baggage can be stored on overhead shelves or at the Visas entrance to the carriages. Trollies are available at St Pancras and Lille, but bags do need to be carried on British and EU passport holders are not required to to the platform. Porters are sometimes but not have a visa. always available at St Pancras. For all other passport holders please check the visa Travel Editions recommends a luggage delivery requirements with the appropriate embassy. service called thebaggageman, where your suitcase can be picked up from your home before departure Spanish consulate: 20 Draycott Pl, Chelsea, London and delivered straight to your hotel; therefore SW3 2RZ; Tel (020) 7589 8989. Information Service: removing the worry about carrying your cases onto Tel (0891) 887 733, Fax: (020) 7581 7888. Opening and off the trains. hours: 0930-1300 Mon-Fri (except British and For further information: Spanish national holidays). http://www.thebaggageman.com Labels Tickets Please use the luggage labels provided. It is useful You will be issued with a return Eurostar ticket. The to have your home address located inside your tour manager has a group TGV ticket. suitcase should the label go astray. Please take care not to lose your tickets and please check that the details on your tickets are accurate. Your ticket is non-transferable and non-refundable. Transfers No refund can be given for non-used portions. On arrival in Figueres, transfer by coach to Hotel Pirineos (approx. 10 minutes). Standard Premier on Eurostar tickets is indicated by two asterisks in the class type section in the top right-hand corner. A light meal will be served to passengers travelling Standard Premier on Eurostar. Special Requests Standard class Eurostar tickets do not include any If you haven’t already, please notify Travel Editions food or drink on board, although there is a buffet of any special requests as soon as possible to allow sufficient time to make the necessary car serving drinks and snacks. TGV tickets do not include any food or drink on arrangements. board, although a buffet car is available. Accommodation Hotel Pirineos The four-star family run hotel in Figueres, situated Some restaurants will offer a set meal at a fixed – in the heart of Alt Emporda and is just a few menú del día – at lunchtime, generally good value minutes from the Dali Theater Museum and was for money. Usually, a discretionary service charge is recently renovated in 2016. Its 54 modern rooms, added to your bill in restaurants and bars, but it is some with balconies, and include private facilities customary to leave small change if good service is with either a bath or shower, AC, free safe, Wifi, flat provided. screen TV, telephone and a minibar with complimentary water. Generally speaking, mealtimes in Spain are much later than in the UK. Lunch is normally taken For more information please visit the hotel’s website: between 1400 and 1600; dinner is very often eaten https://www.hotelpirineospelegri.com/en any time after 2100 or even 2200. Food Drink Catalonia is known for its proud artisan food With its generous year-round sunshine and production, as well as its interesting and modern excellent mountain soils, Midi-Pyrénées is blessed interpretations of traditional dishes. Meals in the with some truly magnificent wines. The region Catalan Pyrenees often include fresh vegetables, boasts 5 AOC (Appellation d'origine controlee) legumes, pasta, pork sausages, lamb, chicken, fish, wines, with the most well-known producers being and game. Another favourite ingredient of the Saint-Mont, Pacherenc, Madiran, Gaillac, Fronton entire Province of Catalonia, and especially the and Cahors wines. forests of Lleida, are the wide range of wild mushrooms. The most popular types of mushrooms Midi-Pyrénées is also famous for its Armagnac found here are: boletus, wild mushrooms, meadow brandies, which are distilled in the region between mushrooms, chanterelles, elms and gomphidus. Auch and Condom. Local specialities include: Escudella, Putxero or Catalan sparkling wine, Cava, is produced rosé and Ollada - A thick soup, often made with vegetables, white, and comes, as champagne, from the dry brut chickpeas, pasta and meat, Confitat de porc -Pork to the sweet dulce. preserve, Trinxat - A traditional dish made from cabbage, potatoes and bacon, Coca or Coques - In elegant restaurants the wine list will be separate Savoury pastries with a pizza-like base, Cargols amb from the main menu, but in less opulent salsa,or Cargols a la llauna - Snails cooked in a sauce establishments will be printed on the back or along and spices, Esqueixada or "esgarrat" - Salted cod the side of the carte. The waiter will usually be glad salad mixed with tomato and onion, Mongetes amb to advise an appropriate choice. If in doubt, try the botifarra - Beans served with pork sausage, Pa amb house wine; this will usually be less expensive and tomàquet - Bread smeared with an olive oil, garlic will always be the owner’s pride. and tomato sauce. Meals included in the price of your holiday are: The region’s most famous sweet is the Crème Catalane (egg yolk, milk and sugar custard), enjoyed Breakfast – daily plain, with a thin layer of caramelised sugar and Dinner – on day 1 sometimes served with biscuits. Coffee is served after the meal and will be black, in small cups, unless a café au lait (or crème) is requested. Destination With its own language and unique local customs, since the Roman era. The name Besalú itself is Catalonia feels distinct from the rest of Spain, and, thought to derive from the Latin bisuldunum, beyond Barcelona, its four provinces unveil an meaning ‘fort on a mountain between two rivers’ astounding wealth of natural splendour. Pyrenean and refers to the ancient castle which is believed to peaks loom above meadows and glittering lakes, have stood on the site in the 10th century. plains are pock-marked with volcanic cones, rocky coves border sandy beaches and wind-blown capes For more information about Besalu, please visit: give way to serene seaside paths and fertile https://theculturetrip.com/europe/spain/articles/discov vineyards. The Costa Brava’s shores are its biggest er-the-medieval-town-of-besalu-in-catalonia/ lure, though travellers will also uncover medieval architecture, Jewish history and culinary wizardry in Banyoles Girona, and Dalí's gloriously surreal 'theatre- Home to Catalonia’s largest natural lake, Banyoles museum' in Figueres. Sitges, on the Costa Daurada, has plenty to offer to visitors. Located around half fizzes with summer fun and Modernista mansions. an hour’s drive from both Girona and Dalí’s Places of interest included in the tour: hometown of Figueres, although it’s best known for its wonderful lake, Banyoles is also an interesting Figueres historic and cultural town. The historic centre is Fourteen kilometres inland from Catalonia's built around the Saint Stephen (Sant Esteve) glistening Golf de Roses lies Figueres. Birthplace of monastery, and you can enjoy wandering around Surrealist Salvador Dalí, Figueres is an attractive cobbled streets and squares, while you see the town with a wide, leafy boulevard lined with various buildings and the magical flow of water, outdoor cafés as its main thoroughfare. The that comes in the canals that originate in the principal attraction is Dali’s striking homage to famous lake. There’s also an archaeological Surrealism, the Teatre-Museu Gala (entrance museum in Banyoles, as well as the Darder included), which is suitably bizarre and houses an Museum. impressive collection of his work. Beyond its star attraction, busy Figueres is a lively place with a For more information about Banyoles, please visit: http://www.catalonia-valencia.com/banyoles-travel- couple of interesting museums, some good guide.html restaurants, pleasant shopping streets around Carrer de Peralada, and a grand 18th-century fortress. Girona Elegant and handsome Girona is a lively city with a For more information about Figueres, please visit: walled medieval quarter, which sits on a hill http://en.visitfigueres.cat/ overlooking the city, elegant river banks lined with brightly painted houses and plenty of excellent Besalu museums. Sights here include the Archaeological Walk that explores the city's Roman roots, the Located in the foothills of the Pyrenees in the distinctively-named Church of St Peter of the cock Garrotxa region, the small town of Besalú is one of Crows, the wonderfully preserved medieval Jewish Catalonia’s most stunning medieval sites. Famous quarter of El Call, the imposing Cathedral and 12th for its impressive Romanesque bridge and the century Arab Baths. vestiges of its Jewish past. Like many places in Catalonia, the Jewish community lived in a relatively For more information about Girona, please visit: peaceful coexistence with the local Christian http://www.girona.cat/turisme/eng/index.php community. There were a number of pogroms carried out against the Jews during the late 14th and early 15th centuries, however, unlike in many Ripoll other Catalan towns, in Besalú there was relatively Ripoll can claim, with some justice, to be the little bloodshed and it is believed that the local birthplace of Catalonia. In the 9th century it was the Jewish families were allowed to leave the city and power base from which local strongman Guifré el flee elsewhere.Located on the shores of the river Pilós (Wilfred the Hairy) succeeded in uniting Fluviá, there are traces of settlements in the area several counties of the Frankish March along the southern side of the Pyrenees.