© Lonely Planet Publications 340 lonelyplanet.com COSTA BRAVA 341 0 50 km CATALONIA 0 30 miles Ax-les- Les N20 Bossòst Thermes FRANCE R Perpignan iu G e Catalonia a g ron n e e i Vielha Esterri d'Àneu r C28 A N116 Bielsa Santuari D115 Benasque N125 ANDORRA de Núria Puig Neulós (1256m) Llavorsí Andorra la Vella Vallter Le Perthus Cerbère Escuaín Peramola a Cantallops s Llívia Prats de Portbou e 2000 Parc Nacional r Molló La Jonquera Colera Escalona a Castejón d'Aigüestortes i l Bellver de Lllançà Vilaller l Boltaña de Sos Esany de Sant a La Seu Cerdanya Puigcerdà Setcases Boadella P Ainsa d'Urgell Maurici Sort a N260 Camprodon Cadaqués El Pont r Beget Embalse e La Molina Roses From metropolitan Barcelona spreads a land of such diversity that, although its furthest-flung de Suert u Ribes Castellfollit Figueres Parc Natural de Mediano g o Adrall de Freser a La Pobla Besalú del Cap de N de la Roca Riu F n lu A138 de Segur u Bagà vià Empúries Creus corner is no more than 200km away, you could spend weeks dissecting it and still feel you’d HUESCA a i Gombrén Olot c R Santa Pau A139 r Organyà Ripoll L'Escala N230 o Cercs Banyoles Torreciudad Graus g Park Natural de la Verges Torroella de barely begun. The Costa Brava, blighted by dreary pockets of mass tourism, still boasts much a Berga Montesquiu b Zona Volcànica i Tremp Sant Llorenç de Sarrià Montgrí Benabarre Sant Quirze de la Garrotxa Ter R de Ter iu Parlavà N123 Morunys de Besora R of the wild beauty that first drew visitors here. Just inland are the medieval city of Girona a LLEIDA Oliana Gironella Rupit Pals r Salt Girona e Bassella Manlleu Palafrugell u Puig-reig Sant Hilari Barbastro N230 g Anglès GIRONA Àger Solsona R Tamariu and Figueres, home of the ‘theatre-museum’ of that city’s zany son, Salvador Dalí. o Cardona Sacalm re i Vic Calonge N240 N Seg u C25 iu Palamós R u Ponts Monzón i L C17 Llagostera NII Sant Feliu R Sallent i Montsec Artesa de C1412 o de Guíxols R Binéfar b Vidreres Running across the north, the Pyrenees rise to mighty 3000m peaks from a series of green C55 Parc Natural r i Segre a e u Alfarràs del Montseny v g Tossa de Mar a Agramunt Manresa a Breda Tordera r C Almenar Alguaire t Lloret de Mar and often remote valleys, dotted with villages that retain a palpable rural and even medieval Balaguer B i n Blanes ta c Cervera BARCELONA Parc del os a Almacelles Térmens Monistrol AP7 Palafolls Montegre C air. These mountains provide some excellent walking and skiing. Enchanting Romanesque C3 Vilanova de A2 de Montserrat la Barca Tàrrega Terrassa i del Corredor Bellpuig Igualada Esparraguera Sabadell churches are scattered across the valleys of the north. Albatàrrec Lleida (Lérida) Mataró Fraga Les Borges A2 Blanques C241 Martorell El Masnou Sarroca de Sant Sadumi Badalona Costa del Maresme Vinaixa beràl'Espluga Excitement runs thinner in the far west and south, but there’s enough to keep you exploring Candasnos Torrente Lleida d'Anoia Barcelona de Cinca de Francolí Vilafranca del El Prat de Llardecans Llobregat Mequinenza Montblanc Penedès Barcelona Airport for days, from the wetlands of the Ebro delta to the historic cities of Tarragona and Lleida. Strike C242 Conca deReial Bar C230 Monestir de AP2 Vilanova Santa Maria Valls i la Geltrú Castelldefels out and you’ll discover grand medieval monasteries, lush vineyards and hilltop villages. ZARAGOZA Riu E El Vendrell b de Poblet Sitges Barcelona–Palma de Mallorca r Cubellas Flix e N340 TARRAGONA Coma-ruga e p Reus Altafulla Throughout Catalonia (Catalunya in Catalan, Cataluña in Castilian Spanish) the sense of differ- lo a Móra d'Ebre Cambrils Tarragona d Barcelona–Maó a Gandesa u Port Aventura ence from the rest of Spain is intense, not only in the use of Catalan (although everyone speaks G Rasquera N420 Calaceite Miami AP7 Platja Castilian too) but in the festivals, cuisine and reminders of the region’s unique history. Xerta N340 TERUEL Aldover Costa Daurada Tortosa L'Ampolla HIGHLIGHTS Amposta Deltbre Pica d'Estats Delta de l'Ebre Baqueira-Beret (3143m) AP7 La Pobla de Sant Carles de la Ràpita Chill out on the Costa Brava coves and beaches –Ibiza Llavorsí Cadaqués Benifassá M E D I T E R R A N E A N Figueres N340 near Palafrugell ( p346 ) or Begur ( p347 ) Boí & Taüll Vall de Núria N232 Sant Mateu Vinarós Parc Nacional Catí Barcelona S E A Discover the magical village of Cadaqués Girona d'Aigüestortes CASTELLÓ Benicarló I Estany de Begur Peñíscola ( p356 ) and nearby Port Lligat, haunted by the Sant Maurici Palafrugell Santa Magdalena memory of Salvador Dalí de Pulpis Contemplate the absurd with a visit to the Teatre-Museu Dalí ( p359 ) in Figueres with a sizable and strikingly well preserved me- Reial Monestir COSTA BRAVA dieval centre, and Figueres (Castilian: Figueras), Conquer the trails of the Parc Nacional de Santa Maria d’Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici ( p375 ) de Poblet famous for its bizarre Teatre-Museu Dalí, the The Costa Brava (stretching from Blanes to the foremost of a series of sites associated with the Take the cremallera (rack-and-pinion railway) French border) ranks with the Costa Blanca eccentric surrealist artist Salvador Dalí. up to Vall de Núria ( p366 ) and Costa del Sol as one of Spain’s three great The ruggedness of the Costa Brava continues Ski the region’s premier slopes at holiday coasts. But alongside some occasionally under the sea and has some of the best diving in Baqueira-Beret ( p380 ) awful concrete development, English breakfasts Spain. Diving centres with certified instructors Explore the compact medieval city centre of Girona ( p349 ) and Konditoreien (pastry shops), the ‘Rugged operate at a dozen or more places. The Illes Coast’ has some spectacular stretches. Medes, off L’Estartit, are protected islets with Contemplate Spain and France from atop the region’s highest mountain, Pica d’Estats ( p365 ) Nestling in the hilly back country – green and probably the most diverse sealife along the CATALONIA Seek out the Romanesque churches around Boí and Taüll ( p376 ) covered in umbrella pine in the south, barer and Spanish coast. Other top diving spots include Wander the monastery complex of the Reial Monestir de Santa Maria de Poblet ( p383 ) browner in the north – are scattered charming the Illes Formigues (rocky islets off the coast stone villages, the towering monastery of St between Palamós and Calella de Palafrugell CATALONIA CATALONIA Pere de Rodes and Salvador Dalí’s fantasy castle with waters down to 45m) and Els Ullastres, AREA: 32,113 SQ KM AVE SUMMER TEMP: HIGH 30°C, POP: 6.99 MILLION home at Púbol. A little further inland are the which has three underwater hills off Llafranc, LOW 22°C bigger towns of Girona (Castilian: Gerona), with some sheer walls and depths to 54m. 342 COSTA BRAVA lonelyplanet.com Booklonelyplanet.com accommodation online at lonelyplanet.com COSTA BRAVA •• Tossa de Mar 343 0 20 km COSTA BRAVA 0 12 miles Getting There & Away %972 34 12 97; adult/child €3/1.50; h10am-10pm Tue-Sun Direct buses from Barcelona go to most towns May-Sep, 10am-6pm Tue-Sun Oct-Apr). Inside there is an Perpignan on or near the Costa Brava. The railway between imaginative 20-minute walk-through display Barcelona and the coastal border town of Port- on the history of lighthouses and life inside bou runs inland, through Girona and Figueres, them. Next door is a great bar (see p345 ). most of the way. From Girona and Figueres In the lower part of Vila Vella, the Museu there are fairly good bus services to the coast. Municipal (%972 34 07 09; Plaça de Roig i Soler 1; adult/stu- F R A N C E In summer, you could take an alternative dent & senior €3/1.80; h10am-8pm Tue-Sat, to 2pm Sun-Mon approach to the southern Costa Brava from Jun–mid-Oct, to 2pm & 4-6pm Tue-Sat, to 3pm Sun mid-Sep–mid- Puig Neul s (1256m) Barcelona by a combination of rodalies (local Jun), set in the 14th- and 15th-century Palau trains) and boat. del Batlle, has mosaics and other finds from a Le Perthus Paratge Natural d’InterŁs Nacional Cerbère The AP7 autopista (tollway) and the toll- Roman villa, off Avinguda del Pelegrí, and Tossa- Vallter 2000 de l’Albera Cap de CerbŁre Prats de ὈὈPortbou free NII Hwy both run from Barcelona via related art including Chagall’s El Violinista. Molló La Jonquera Cantallops Maçanet de Coll d’Area Cabrenys AP7 Colera Girona and Figueres to the French border, A tangle of 18th-century lanes, Vila Nova (1513m) Sant Climent Vilamaniscle Monestir de Sant Setcases Coustouges Darnius Sescebes Pere de Rodes a few kilometres north of La Jonquera. The (New Town) stretches away from the old nu- Pant de Llançà Tregurà Molló El Port de Dalt Boadella Garriguella C32 autopista follows the NII up the coast as cleus. Further north, northwest and northeast de la Selva Cap de Vilallonga Boadella Peralada Parc Creus far as Blanes. spreads the sprawl of the really new town. de Ter Beget Vilajuïga Sant Pere Camprodon Pont de Molins Natural de Rodes del Cap Port Lligat Vilabertran Castelló de Creus Cadaqués d'Empúries TOSSA DE MAR Beaches & Coves Sant Joan de ὈὈFigueres ὈὈRoses les Abadesses Riu Ter C26 Castellfollit Parc Natural pop 5260 The main town beach, Platja Gran, tends to be de la Roca N260 dels Aiguamolls Besalú NII de l’Empord Curving around a boat-speckled bay and busy.