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CATALONIA 0 50 km
Catalonia
0 30 miles
Ax-les-
Bossòst
Les N20
Thermes FRANCE
Riu Perpignan
Ga
Ariege
ronn
e
Vielha C28 Esterri d'Àneu N116
Bielsa Benasque Santuari D115
N125 ANDORRA de Núria Puig Neulós (1256m)
Llavorsí Andorra la Vella Le Perthus
Escuaín Peramola Llívia Cantallops Cerbère
Vallter
aresa
Prats de 2000 Portbou
Escalona Castejón Parc Nacional Molló La Jonquera Colera
d'Aigüestortes i Bellver de Lllançà
de Sos Vilaller Esany de Sant
Pall
Boltaña La Seu Cerdanya Puigcerdà Setcases Boadella
Ainsa Maurici Sort d'Urgell Camprodon Cadaqués
N260
From metropolitan Barcelona spreads a land of such diversity that, although its furthest-flung Beget
ra
Embalse El Pont La Molina Ribes Roses Parc Natural
Figueres
e
de Suert Castellfollit
gu
de Mediano La Pobla Adrall de Freser de la Roca Besalú Riu Fl del Cap de
No
a
corner is no more than 200km away, you could spend weeks dissecting it and still feel you’d de Segur Bagà uvià Empúries Creus
gorcan
A138 HUESCA Gombrén
iu
R Olot
A139 Organyà Santa Pau L'Escala
N230 Cercs Ripoll Banyoles Verges
barely begun. The Costa Brava, blighted by dreary pockets of mass tourism, still boasts much Torreciudad Graus Berga Montesquiu
Park Natural de la Torroella de
a Riba
Zona Volcànica Sarrià Montgrí
Benabarre Tremp Sant Llorenç de Sant Quirze de la Garrotxa de Ter u Ter
of the wild beauty that first drew visitors here. Just inland are the medieval city of Girona N123
LLEIDA Oliana
Morunys Gironella de Besora Rupit
Salt
Ri Pals Parlavà
Girona
oguer
Bassella Manlleu Palafrugell
Puig-reig
and Figueres, home of the ‘theatre-museum’ of that city’s zany son, Salvador Dalí. Barbastro N230 Àger Solsona Cardona
Sant Hilari Anglès
Vic C25 Sacalm
GIRONA
Calonge
Tamariu
Segre
Riu
Riu N
N240 Palamós
ec Riu Ponts
Monzón nts C17 Llagostera NII Sant Feliu
Running across the north, the Pyrenees rise to mighty 3000m peaks from a series of green Mo Sallent
Liobregat
Binéfar Artesa de C1412 Vidreres de Guíxols
Segre C55 Parc Natural
Riu Cinca
va
Alfarràs del Montseny Tossa de Mar
Agramunt Breda Tordera
and often remote valleys, dotted with villages that retain a palpable rural and even medieval
ra
Almenar Alguaire Manresa Lloret de Mar
Balaguer Blanes B
Cervera BARCELONA AP7 Parc del Palafolls sta
air. These mountains provide some excellent walking and skiing. Enchanting Romanesque Almacelles Térmens Monistrol
de Montserrat Montegre Co
C3 Vilanova de A2
la Barca BellpuigTàrrega Igualada Esparraguera
Terrassa i del Corredor
e
Sabadell
churches are scattered across the valleys of the north. Albatàrrec Lleida (Lérida)
Les Borges
Mataró are
sm
Fraga A2 lM
Blanques C241 Martorell El Masnou de
Badalona s ta
Sarroca de rà Sant Sadumi Co
Excitement runs thinner in the far west and south, but there’s enough to keep you exploring Candasnos Torrente Lleida Vinaixa rbe l'Espluga
Ba de Francolí Vilafranca del
d'Anoia
El Prat de Barcelona
de Cinca Llardecans de
ca Reial Montblanc Penedès Llobregat
for days, from the wetlands of the Ebro delta to the historic cities of Tarragona and Lleida. Strike Mequinenza
on
C230 C242 C Monestir de Vilanova
Barcelona Airport
AP2
i la Geltrú Castelldefels
out and you’ll discover grand medieval monasteries, lush vineyards and hilltop villages. ZARAGOZA Ri u Santa Maria Valls
de Poblet El Vendrell Sitges
Eb
Flix N340 Cubellas
TARRAGONA
Barcelona–Palma de Mallorca
re
Coma-ruga
pe
Throughout Catalonia (Catalunya in Catalan, Cataluña in Castilian Spanish) the sense of differ- Reus Altafulla
alo
Móra d'Ebre Cambrils Tarragona
Ba
d
Gandesa Port Aventura rce
ua
ence from the rest of Spain is intense, not only in the use of Catalan (although everyone speaks G Rasquera
lon
a–
Miami a M
N420 Calaceite ad aó
Castilian too) but in the festivals, cuisine and reminders of the region’s unique history. AP7 Platja au
r
Xerta aD
TERUEL Aldover N340
C ost
Tortosa
L'Ampolla
Deltbre
HIGHLIGHTS Amposta
Pica d'Estats
iza
AP7 Delta de l'Ebre
Baqueira-Beret (3143m)
Barcelona–Ib
La Pobla de Sant Carles de la Ràpita
Chill out on the Costa Brava coves and beaches Llavorsí Benifassá
Cadaqués
N340
MEDITERRANEAN
near Palafrugell (p346) or Begur (p347) Boí & Taüll Vall de Núria
Figueres N232
Sant Mateu Vinarós
Parc Nacional Catí SEA
Discover the magical village of Cadaqués d'Aigüestortes Girona
CASTELLÓ Benicarló
I Estany de Begur Peñíscola
(p356) and nearby Port Lligat, haunted by the Sant Maurici Palafrugell Santa Magdalena
de Pulpis
memory of Salvador Dalí
Contemplate the absurd with a visit to the
with a sizable and strikingly well preserved me-
Teatre-Museu Dalí (p359) in Figueres
Conquer the trails of the Parc Nacional
Reial Monestir
de Santa Maria
de Poblet
COSTA BRAVA dieval centre, and Figueres (Castilian: Figueras),
famous for its bizarre Teatre-Museu Dalí, the
d’Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici (p375)
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
C ATA L O N I A
C ATA L O N I A
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
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.

2. 342 C O S TA B R AVA lonelyplanet.com Bookeaccommodation online at lonelyplanet.com
lon lyplanet.com C O S TA B R AVA • • T o s s a d e M a r 343
COSTA BRAVA 0
0
20 km
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-
FRANCE 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 Cap de CerbŁre
Prats de
La Jonquera
de l’Albera
Cantallops Portbou free NII Hwy both run from Barcelona via related art including Chagall’s El Violinista.
Molló
Coll d’Area
Maçanet de
Cabrenys AP7
Sant Climent
Colera Girona and Figueres to the French border, A tangle of 18th-century lanes, Vila Nova
(1513m) Vilamaniscle Monestir de Sant
Setcases Coustouges Darnius Sescebes
Llançà Pere de Rodes
a few kilometres north of La Jonquera. The (New Town) stretches away from the old nu-
Tregurà Pant de
de Dalt
Molló
Boadella Garriguella El Port
de la Selva Cap de
C32 autopista follows the NII up the coast as cleus. Further north, northwest and northeast
Vilallonga
de Ter Beget Boadella Peralada Parc
Vilajuïga Sant Pere Natural
Creus far as Blanes. spreads the sprawl of the really new town.
Camprodon Pont de Molins de Rodes Port Lligat
del Cap
Vilabertran Cadaqués
Sant Joan de iu T
e r Figueres
Castelló
d'Empúries
de Creus
Roses
TOSSA DE MAR Beaches & Coves
les Abadesses R
C26 Castellfollit
de la Roca
Parc Natural pop 5260 The main town beach, Platja Gran, tends to be
dels Aiguamolls
Besalú
N260 NII de l’Empord Curving around a boat-speckled bay and busy. Further north along the same bay are the
Ripoll
Sant Pere
Golf de Roses
guarded by a headland crowned with defensive quieter and smaller Platja del Reig and Platja Mar
Olot Riu Pescador
Parc Natural
de la Zona
Fl uv i medieval walls and towers, Tossa de Mar is a Menuda at the end of Avinguda de Sant Ramon
Santa Pau
Volc nica de
la Garrotxa
Sant Martí d'Empúries
Empúries village of crooked, narrow streets onto which Penyafort. The coast to the northeast and south-
Banyoles C31
L'Escala tourism has tacked a larger, modern extension. west of Tossa is dotted by rocky coves, some
Sant Feliu de
Pallerols GI634 GI632 In July and August it’s hard to reach the water’s with small beaches. You can walk cross-country
G I R O N A C66 Verges
Torroella
de Montgrí L'Estartit edge without tripping over oily limbs, but it is from Tossa to Cala Llevado and Cala d’En Carles
Rupit Castell Parlavà
Illes Medes heaven compared with Lloret de Mar 12km beaches, 3km southwest, or the longer Platja de
C63 de Púbol
Manlleu
Tavertet
La Pera Illa Roja
southeast – a real concrete and neon jungle of Llorell (3.5km away), or drive down to Platja de
Ullastret Palau-sator
C17 iu Te
r
Girona Peratallada
Sa Punta Sa Riera Piccadilly pubs, Bierkeller and soccer chants. Llorell from the GI682. To the northeast, you
R
Pant Aiguafreda
de Sau Pant de Anglès
Susqueda
La Bisbal
C66
Pals Begur
Sa Tuna Tossa was one of the first places on the can walk down from the GI682 to sandy coves
d'Empordà Torrent Fornells
Aiguablava Costa Brava to attract foreign visitors – a such as Cala Pola (4km), Cala Giverola (5km), Cala
Vic Palafrugell Tamariu
Sant Hilari GI660 Llafranc Cap de Sant Sebasti
small colony of artists and writers gravitated Salions (8km) and Platja Vallpregona (11km).
C25 Sacalm
La Fosca
Calella de Palafrugell
Cala Estreta
towards what painter Marc Chagall dubbed In summer (Easter to September), glass-
Viladrau
Santa Coloma
de Farners
C65 Calonge Platja del Castell ‘Blue Paradise’ in the 1930s. bottomed boats (%972 34 22 29; return adult/3-12yr/under
Palamós
C31 3yr €10/6/free) run about hourly to some of these
El Brull
Arbúcies
C35
Platja d'Aro Orientation & Information northeastern beaches from Platja Gran, calling
Parc Natural
del Montseny
Maçanet
de la Selva Vidreres
Sant Pol The bus station is beside the GI682, where in at a few sea caves along the way. You have the
Sant Feliu de Guíxols
va
Montseny
Breda GI680 it leaves for Lloret de Mar. The main beach, option of spending the day at Cala Giverola (a
ra
NII C63
Platja Gran, and the older part of town are a pleasant sandy cove with a couple of restaurants
B
Tossa de Mar a
GI682 st
Sant Celoni Parc del Santa Maria del Llorell Co 10-minute walk southeast. and bars) and returning on a later boat.
Lloret de Mar
B A R C E L O N A
Montegre i
del Corredor Palafolls
Blanes
The tourist information office (%972 34 01 08;
Mon
Cardedeu Vallgorguina t ne g r e www.infotossa.com; Avinguda del Pelegrí 25; h9am-9pm Sleeping
Santa Susana
AP7
Arenys de Munt C32 Pineda de Mar Mon-Sat, 10am-2pm & 5-8pm Sun Jun-Sep, 9am-2pm & 4-8pm Tossa has around 70 hotels, hostales (budget
Calella
Granollers
Sant Pol de Mar Mon-Sat Apr-May & Oct, 9am-2pm & 4-7pm Mon-Sat Nov-Mar) hostels) and pensiones (small private hotels).
Canet de Mar
C60 Arenys de Mar
m
e is next to the bus station. You’ll find all of them open from Semana
Montmeló Caldes d'Estrac es r Santa (Easter) to October, but only a handful
Ma
To Barcelona (8km)
Mataró
Co s
ta
d el
MEDITERRANEAN Old Tossa outside those months.
The walls and towers on the pine-dotted head-
C ATA L O N I A
C ATA L O N I A
Premià de Mar SEA
El Masnou land, Mont Guardí, at the end of the main CAMPING
Badalona beach, were built between the 12th and 14th Five camping grounds are spread out around
Sant Adrià
de Besòs centuries. The area they girdle is known as the town. The nearest is Camping Can Martí
the Vila Vella (Old Town). When wandering (%972 34 08 51; www.canmarti.org; Rambla Pau Casals;
To Barcelona (4km) Summer Boat Route around Mont Guardí you will come across sites per 2-person tent & car €28; hlate May–mid-Sep; p),
vestiges of a castle, and the Far de Tossa (lighthouse; 1km back from the beach and well equipped.