EXCURSIONS
contents
- Girona (Click here)
- Figueres (Click here)
- Montserrat (Click here)
- Costa Brava (Click here)
- Sitges (Click here)
- Penedès Wine Country (Click here)
- Tarragona (Click here)
Return to beginning of chapter
Barcelona is just the beginning. Once you break through the choking ring of satellite suburbs and dormitory towns surrounding the capital, one of Spain’s most diverse regions unfolds before you. Catalonia (Catalunya to the locals), a land with its own language and a proud history setting it apart from the rest of Spain, offers everything from golden beaches to wicked ski runs, medieval monasteries to Roman ruins, top-quality wines to the art of Salvador Dalí. A weekender to Barcelona could easily be converted into a couple of weeks exploring the bustling city’s hinterland.
The region, covering 31,932 sq km and with a total population of 7.48 million, is bounded by the mighty Pyrenees range and the French frontier to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the east and the inland region of Aragón to the west.
Barcelona is the big boy nowadays, but in the times of ancient Rome it was Tarragona that lorded it over this neck of the empire. The sunny port boasts plenty of reminders of its Roman glory days. Northeast of Barcelona, the intensely Catalan town of Girona, where you’ll be lucky to hear Spanish (Castilian), flourished during the Middle Ages. Its tightly packed medieval centre remains largely intact. Further north, Figueres is synonymous with the hallucinatory genius of Salvador Dalí.
Catalonia is not, however, all high culture. Myriad beaches, coves and seaside locales dot the rugged spectacle of the Costa Brava. Another fine strand southwest of town is Sitges, which is loaded with bars and is an obligatory stop on the gay partygoer’s European circuit. Those who take their hedonism with more restraint can trundle around the Penedès wine country west of Barcelona. The jagged mountain range of Montserrat makes the perfect antidote to a seaside hangover.
Return to beginning of chapter
ANCIENT CITIES
Tarragona (Click here) is a busy port and beachside city with an unfair amount of sunshine. Southwest of Barcelona, it is the place in Catalonia for those wanting to know what the Romans ever did for any of us. Apart from the well-preserved vestiges of the city’s amphitheatre, circus (where chariot races were held) and forum, Tarragona has an archaeological museum replete with ancient artefacts. Inland and to the northeast of Barcelona lies another Roman settlement, Girona (Click here). With its cluttered medieval buildings in the crowded old-town centre, Girona makes an enchanting contrast to the sprawl of the region’s capital.
Return to beginning of chapter
DALÍ MANIA
Zany Salvador Dalí, with his upturned handlebar moustache, outlandish dream paintings and outrageous lifestyle, is surely the most colourful character to emerge from 20th-century Catalonia. For all his globetrotting, he left the greater part of his artistic legacy on home turf. The core rests in his theatre-museum-mausoleum in Figueres (Click here), a half-hour north of Girona by train. Enthusiasts can seek out more of his work in several nearby locations, including the magical coastal towns of Cadaqués (Click here) and Port Lligat (Click here).
Return to beginning of chapter
WINE, PARTIES & PIETY
Barely 50km west of Barcelona stretch the vineyards of one of Spain’s premier wine-making regions, the Penedès (Click here). Most of the national production of cava, the local version of bubbly, pours out of this region. Alongside known names such as Freixenet and Codorníu, countless smaller wineries are in constant ferment.
Barely 20km south of Vilafranca del Penedès, Sitges (Click here) was a modest fishing village a century ago. It is now a party animal’s haven, with a notable gay leaning.
On another plane altogether is Catalonia’s most revered mountain and monastery, Montserrat (Click here), northwest of Barcelona. People come here to venerate the Black Madonna, explore the monastery’s art treasures and walk in the weirdly shaped mountains.
Return to beginning of chapter
RUGGED COAST
Too often dismissed because of its tainted package-holiday image, the bulk of the Costa Brava (Rugged Coast; Click here) is a joyous spectacle of nature. Blessed with high blustery cliffs, myriad inlets and minuscule coves alternating with long expanses of golden sand and thick stands of hardy pine, it begs to be explored.
ORGANISED TOURS
The Catalunya Bus TurÍstic (Map; 
93 285 38 32; Plaça de Catalunya) offers a series of day tours from Barcelona to various parts of the region. Routes include a day in Vic, north of Barcelona, visiting the old town and huge weekly market (€35; 
Tue); Girona and Figueres (€71, Tue-Sun); a Penedès wine and cava jaunt with three winery tours and lunch (€59; Wed-Fri & Sun); and Montserrat and Sitges (€69; Tue-Sun). All tours leave at 8.30am from Plaça de Catalunya from late March to October.
Return to beginning of chapter
GIRONA
Northern Catalonia’s largest city, Girona (Gerona in Spanish) is draped in a valley 36km inland from the Costa Brava and 103km northeast of Barcelona. Its medieval centre, which seems to struggle uphill above the Riu Onyar, exudes a quiet, contemplative magnetism.
The Roman town of Gerunda lay on the Via Augusta, the highway from Rome to Cádiz (Carrer de la Força in Girona’s old town follows part of its line). Wrested from the Muslims by the Franks in AD 797, Girona became capital of one of Catalonia’s most important counties, only falling under the sway of Barcelona in the late 9th century. Its medieval wealth produced a plethora of fine Romanesque and Gothic buildings that survived repeated assaults and sieges to give us pleasure today.
The narrow streets of the old town climb in a web above the east bank of the Riu Onyar. Commanding the northern half of the city with its majestic baroque facade placed high over a breezy square and stairway, the Catedral (972 42 71 89; www.catedraldegirona.org; Plaça de la Catedral; museum adult/child under 7yr/child 7-16yr/senior & student €5/free/1.20/3, Sun free; 10am-8pm Apr-Oct, 10am-7pm Nov-Mar) makes an obvious starting point for exploration. Most of the edifice, which has been altered repeatedly, is a great deal older than its exterior suggests. Wander inside to appreciate this. First you find yourself in Europe’s widest Gothic nave (23m), but other treasures await. Head through the door marked ‘Claustre Tresor’ to the museum. The collection includes the masterly Romanesque Tapís de la Creació (Creation Tapestry) and a priceless Mozarabic illuminated Beatus manuscript from AD 975. Beyond, you emerge in the beautiful, wonkily shaped, 12th-century Romanesque cloister; the 112 stone columns display whimsical, albeit weathered, sculpture. During services (especially 10am to 2pm Sundays) you can only visit the museum and cloister.
Next door to the cathedral, in the 12th- to 16th-century Palau Episcopal, the Museu d’Art (972 20 38 34; www.museuart.com; Pujada de la Catedral 12; adult/child under 16yr/senior & student €2/free/1.50; 10am-7pm Tue-Sat Mar-Sep, 10am-6pm Tue-Sat Oct-Feb, 10am-2pm Sun & holidays) boasts an extensive collection that ranges from occasionally delirious-looking Romanesque woodcarvings to rather more dour early-20th-century paintings.
Girona’s second great church, the Església de Sant Feliu (Plaça de Sant Feliu; 11am-1pm & 4-6pm), is downhill from the cathedral. The 17th-century main facade, with its landmark single tower, is on Plaça de Sant Feliu, but the entrance is around the side. The nave has 13th-century Romanesque arches but 14th- to 16th-century Gothic upper levels. The northernmost of the chapels, at the far western end of the church, is graced by a masterly Catalan Gothic sculpture, Aloi de Montbrai’s alabaster Crist Jacent (Recumbent Christ). It looks like it is made of perfectly moulded ice cream.
The Banys Àrabs (Arab Baths; 972 21 32 62; www.banysarabs.org; Carrer de Ferran Catòlic; adult/senior & student €2/1; 10am-7pm Mon-Sat Apr-Sep, 10am-2pm Tue-Sat Oct-Mar, 10am-2pm Sun & holidays), although modelled on Muslim and Roman bathhouses, is actually a 12th-century Christian affair in Romanesque style. It’s the only public bathhouse discovered in medieval Christian Spain. Possibly in reaction to the Muslim obsession with water and cleanliness, washing came to be regarded as ungodly in Christian Europe (and water was feared as a source of germs and illness). Europe must have been the smelliest continent on earth! The bathhouse contains an apodyterium (changing room), followed by the frigidarium (cold-water room), the tepidarium (hot-water room), and the caldarium (a kind of sauna). Across the street from the Banys Àrabs, steps lead up into lovely gardens that follow the city walls in what is called the Passeig Arqueològic (Archaeological Walk) up to the 18th-century Portal de Sant Cristòfol gate, from which you can walk back down to the cathedral.
About 100m north of the Banys Àrabs across the bubbling Riu Galligants stands the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque Monestir de Sant Pere de Galligants (972 20 26 32; www.mac.cat/cat/Seus/Girona; Carrer de Santa Llúcia; adult/senior & child €2.30/free; 10.30am-1.30pm & 4-7pm Tue-Sat Jun-Sep, 10am-2pm & 4-6pm Tue-Sat Oct-May, 10am-2pm Sun & holidays), a modest monastery with a lovely cloister. Get up close to the pillars that line the cloister. The closer you look, the weirder the medieval imagination seems – all those bizarre animals and mythical monsters! The monastery houses the Museu Arqueològic, with exhibits that range from prehistoric to medieval times, including Roman mosaics and medieval Jewish tombstones. Opposite the monastery is the pretty Lombard-style 12th-century Romanesque Església de Sant Nicolau. It is unusual for its octagonal bell tower.
BUBBLES AND MUD
For some, a day at the beach just isn’t enough (and a little impractical in winter!). Never fear, for wellness is here. Indeed, it always was. Since Roman days, thermal baths have operated in various parts of Catalonia. Now there are 18 across the region, with several of them less than 40km from Barcelona.
In La Garriga, a pretty town 36km north of the city, are two fine historic installations that have been modernised. Termes La Garriga (93 871 70 86; www.termes.com; Carrer dels Banys 23; 9.30am-8pm Mon-Sat, 9.30am-2pm Sun) sits atop waters that bubble out at temperatures as high as 60°C. All sorts of treatments are possible, from mud baths to aroma massage. For €33.35 you can spend half a day (three hours) wandering between a couple of pools, a sauna and various showers. Booking is mandatory. The other option is the luxurious five-star Gran Hotel Blancafort (93 861 92 04/9; www.spablancafort.com; Carrer de la Mina 7; d package incl dinner & baths access from €250), out of the centre. After bathing, go for a stroll around town, especially along the street hugging the railway line, and admire Modernista mansions built by Barcelona’s wealthy elite as summer retreats around the turn of the 20th century.
In the seaside town of Caldes d’Estrac, 36km northeast of Barcelona, the Romans loved to slop around in the thermal waters. Emulate them in the Balneari de Caldes d’Estrac (93 791 26 05; Carrer de la Riera 29; admission €6.40; 9am-1.30pm & 4-8pm Mon-Sat, 8am-3pm Sun), built in the early 19th century. Come on the train for a day and split your time between the baths (you are given about 20 minutes) and other extra treatments, lunch and the beach. Or stay at Hotel Colón (93 791 04 00; www.hotel-colon.net; Plaça de les Barques; d with/without sea views €122/108, ste €230) and use its spa facilities.
Caldes de Montbui, 28km north of Barcelona, hosts two thermal-bath hotels. You can use the spa facilities even if you don’t stay in the hotels. Broquetas Balneario (93 865 01 00; www.grupbroquetas.com; Plaça de la Font del Lleó 1) is the town’s historic spa hotel, located in front of the Roman baths and a public fountain (Font del Lleó) from which water has been spouting forth at a scorching 74°C since the 16th century. Founded in the 18th century and rebuilt several times, it is a predominantly Modernista building. It boasts an original 2nd-century-AD Roman vaporarium (steam bath). A session in its spa facilities (9am-1.30pm & 4.30-8.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1.30pm & 4.30-9.30pm Sat & Sun), including vaporarium, outdoor heated pool and indoor thermal pool with cervical showers, costs €34.65; book ahead. Hotel Termes Victoria (93 865 01 50; www.termesvictoria.com; Carrer de Barcelona 12) is a luxury spa hotel, with spa facilities (thermal pool session €16; 8am-1pm & 4-9pm Mon-Sat, 8am-2pm Sun) open to the public. The town itself is hardly stunning but is worth a wander. Visit the Museu Thermalia (93 865 41 40; Plaça de la Font del Lleó 20; adult/senior & student €3.15/1.90; 11am-2pm & 5-8pm Tue-Sat, 11am-2pm Sun May-Sep, 10am-2pm & 4-7pm Tue-Sat, 10am-2pm Sun Oct-Apr), which outlines this thermal town’s history in a medieval building that was, until the 1970s, a hospital and public baths. The Museu Delger (Carrer del Dr Delger; 11am-1pm 1st & 2nd Sun of month), an 18th-century mansion stuffed with period furniture, is worth a look. For access to Museu Delger, ask at the tourist office (93 865 41 40; www.caldesdemontbui.org; Plaça de la Font del Lleó 20; 11am-2pm & 5-8pm Tue-Sat, 11am-2pm Sun), in the same building as the Museu Thermalia.
Caldes d’Estrac and La Garriga are easily reached by rodalies trains from Barcelona. Caldes de Montbui is more easily reached by car, or Sagalés bus (902 130014; www.sagales.com) from Passeig de Sant Joan (€2.70, 65 minutes).
South along Carrer de la Força, about 100m off the stairway leading up to Plaça de la Catedral, the Museu d’Història de la Ciutat (City History Museum; 972 22 22 29; www.girona.cat/museuciutat; Carrer de la Força 27; adult/senior & child under 16yr/student €3/free/2; 10am-2pm & 5-7pm Tue-Sat, 10am-2pm Sun & holidays) traces Girona’s history from ancient times to the present. Dioramas, explanatory boards, videos and all sorts of objects ranging from neolithic tools to the whining musical instruments used to accompany the sardana (traditional Catalan folk dance) help bring the town’s story to life. Learn about the 18-month siege of the town by Napoleon’s troops, which cost half Girona’s population their lives, and inspect the Capuchin monks’ 18th-century cemetery (the monks moved into the then Gothic mansion in 1732), where cadavers were hung in niches.
Carrer de la Força lies at the heart of the Call (the Jewish quarter). Until 1492, when Jews had to convert to Catholicism or leave Spain, Girona was home to Catalonia’s second most important Jewish community after Barcelona. For an idea of medieval Jewish life, visit the Museu d’Història dels Jueus de Girona (Jewish History Museum, Centre Bonastruc Ça Porta; 972 21 67 61; Carrer de la Força 8; adult/child under 16yr/senior & student €2/free/1.50; 10am-8pm Mon-Sat Jul-Aug, 10am-2pm Mon, 10am-6pm Tue-Sat Sep-Jun, 10am-2pm Sun & holidays). Named after Jewish Girona’s most illustrious figure, Bonastruc ça Porta, a 13th-century cabbalist philosopher and mystic, the centre offers a limited array of artefacts but has an engaging display of information and images relating to the Jewish presence in the city, dealing with Jewish community life, the synagogues, the Jewish diaspora and persecution in Spain during the Inquisition.
TRANSPORT: GIRONA
Distance from Barcelona 103km
Direction Northeast
Travel time Up to 1½ hours
Car Take the AP-7 freeway via Granollers.
Train At least 20 trains per day run from Barcelona Sants station (€6.50 to €8.80).
There is not a great deal to see in the modern half of Girona, on the west bank of the Riu Onyar. One outstanding exception is the Museu del Cinema (972 41 27 77; www.museudelcinema.org; Carrer de Sequia 1; adult/child under 16yr/senior & student €5/free/2.50; 10am-8pm Tue-Sun May-Sep, 10am-6pm Tue-Fri, 10am-8pm Sat, 11am-3pm Sun Oct-Apr), housed in the Casa de les Aigües. Shadow puppets and magic lanterns introduce the Col.lecció Tomàs Mallol, a display that details the precursors to and story of the motion-picture business. Take a close look at some of the images for fairground magic lantern shows in the 18th century, like the devilish character working a bellows in someone’s backside!
Return to beginning of chapter
INFORMATION
Parc Hospitalari Martí i Julià (972 18 25 00; Carrer del Doctor Castany) Hospital.
Policía Nacional (091; Carrer de Sant Pau 2)
Tourist office (972 22 65 75; www.girona.cat/turisme; Rambla de la Llibertat 1; 8am-8pm Mon-Fri, 8am-2pm & 4-8pm Sat, 9am-2pm Sun)
FIVE IN ONE
The M5 ticket gives you half-price entry at four of Girona’s five museums. You pay full price at the first museum you visit, where you pick up the ticket. It is valid for six months.
Return to beginning of chapter
EATING
König (972 22 57 82; Carrer dels Calderers 16; meals €8-15; daily) For a quick sandwich, entrepà (filled roll) or simple hot dish, ‘King’ boasts a broad outdoor terrace shaded by thick foliage.
Restaurant Albereda (972 22 60 02; www.restaurantalbereda.com, in Catalan & Spanish; Carrer de l’Albereda 9; meals €40-45; Tue-Sun; 
) One of the town’s top dining venues, Restaurant Albereda serves Catalan cuisine with interesting twists, such as the fidueada de ceps i calamarcets (a noodle dish with mushrooms and tiny squids). There are also two tasting menus for €30 and €50.
Return to beginning of chapter
SLEEPING
Hotel Històric (972 22 35 83; www.hotelhistoric.com; Carrer de Bellmirall 4a; s/d €109/122; 
) A bijou hotel in a historic building in the heart of old Girona. The eight pretty, spacious rooms are individually decorated, and there are also apartments available in the same building and in another building nearby (from €60 to €114).
Bed & Breakfast Bells Oficis (972 22 81 70; www.bellsoficis.com; Carrer dels Germans Busquets 2; r €40-99; 
) With just five rooms, this family-run option is perfectly placed just off Rambla de la Llibertat. The rooms are all very different. The two best ones have balconies overlooking the Rambla. The biggest (€99) has ample space for four people.
Return to beginning of chapter
FIGUERES
Just 12km inland from the Golf de Roses, Figueres (Figueras in Spanish) might generously be described as a humdrum town with a single serious attraction: Salvador Dalí. Born here in a two-storey 1898 Modernista house (being restored and destined one day to be a museum on Dalí’s early days) at Carrer de Monturiol in 1904, Dalí maintained ties with his home territory in all his long years of peregrination between Barcelona, Madrid, Paris and the USA.
Towards the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939, Figueres’ theatre was largely destroyed by fire and subsequently left to rot. In 1961, the by-now world-renowned eccentric Dalí had the money to buy the site and work on one of his wackier projects, the Teatre-Museu Dalí (972 67 75 00; www.salvador-dali.org; Plaça de Gala i Salvador Dalí 5; adult/senior & student €11/8; 9am-8pm daily Jul-Sep, 9.30am-6pm Tue-Sun Mar-Jun & Oct, 10.30am-6pm Tue-Sun Nov-Feb), which he completed in 1974. It is at once art gallery, final testament and mausoleum. It was, and remains, the greatest act of self-promotion of a man who had made a supreme art form of such activities. But make no mistake, Dalí was a unique artistic talent, as the contents of his theatre-museum amply demonstrate. It is a multidimensional trip through one of the most fertile (or febrile) imaginations of the 20th century.
The building aims to surprise from the outset. The fuchsia wall along Pujada del Castell is topped by a row of Dalí’s trademark egg shapes and what appear to be female gymnasts ready to leap. Bizarre sculptures greet visitors outside the entrance on Plaça de Gala i Salvador Dalí. One can only imagine the parish priest at the adjacent centuries-old Església de Sant Pere looking with disapproval (Franco was still in charge in those days) upon this loopiness as it emerged from the theatre ruins.
Inside, the ground floor (level one) includes a semicircular garden on the site of the original theatre stalls. In its centre is a classic piece of weirdness, Taxi Plujós (Rainy Taxi), composed of an early Cadillac – said to have belonged to Al Capone – and a pile of tractor tyres, both surmounted by statues, with a fishing boat balanced precariously above the tyres. Put a coin in the slot and water washes all over the inside of the car. The Sala de Peixateries (Fish Shop Room) off here holds a collection of Dalí oils, including his Autoretrat Tou Amb Tall de Bacon Fregit (Soft Self-Portrait with Fried Bacon) and Retrat de Picasso (Portrait of Picasso). Beneath the former stage of the theatre is the crypt, with Dalí’s surprisingly plain tomb.
TRANSPORT: FIGUERES
Distance from Barcelona 139km
Direction Northeast
Travel time 1½ to 2¼ hours
Car Take the AP-7 freeway via Granollers and Girona. From central Girona it should not take more than 30 minutes.
Train At least 18 trains daily from Barcelona Sants station via Girona (€9.40 to €12.80).
The stage area (level two), topped by a glass geodesic dome, was conceived as Dalí’s Sistine Chapel. If proof were needed of Dalí’s acute sense of the absurd, Gala Mirando el Mar Mediterráneo (Gala Looking at the Mediterranean Sea) would be it. From the other end of the room, the work appears, with the help of coin-operated viewfinders, to be a portrait of Abraham Lincoln. One floor up (level three) is the Sala de Mae West, a living room where the components, viewed from the right spot, make up a portrait of Ms West: a sofa for her luscious, wet lips; twin fireplaces for nostrils; Impressionist paintings of Paris for those come-to-bed eyes.
DALLYING WITH DALí DELIRIUM
Dalí left his mark in several locations around Catalonia, particularly at his seaside residence in Port Lligat and inland ‘castle’, Castell de Púbol.
Port Lligat, a 1.25km walk north of Cadaqués, is a tiny fishing settlement on a quiet, enchanting bay. God knows what serious-minded fishermen thought of Dalí’s seaside residence, antics and international jet-set pals. Between 1930 and 1982, Dalí spent time (equal to more than half his adult life) here, in what was originally a fisherman’s hut. Dalí had not come by choice. His father had forbidden him to return to the family house in Cadaqués after Dalí presented in Paris what was for his father an intolerable painting. Across an image of the Sacred Heart, Dalí had written: Parfois je crache par plaisir sur le portrait de ma mère (Sometimes I spit for fun on my mother’s picture). His father never forgave him this insult to his deceased wife. By Dalí’s standards, the myriad white chimney pots and two egg-shaped towers on the house he ‘grew’ out of the original cabin are rather understated. It is now a museum, Casa-Museu Salvador Dalí (972 25 10 15; www.salvador-dali.org; adult/student & senior €10/8; 9.30am-9pm mid-Jun–mid-Sep, 10.30am-6pm Tue-Sun mid-Sep–early Jan & early Feb–mid-Jun); bookings essential.
The Castell de Púbol (972 48 86 55; www.salvador-dali.org; Plaça de Gala Dalí; adult/student & senior €7/5; 10am-8pm daily mid-Jun–mid-Sep, 10am-6pm Tue-Sun mid-Mar–mid-Jun & mid-Sep–Oct, 10am-5pm Tue-Sat Nov-Dec), in the village of La Pera, just south of the C-66 road between Girona and Palafrugell, forms the southernmost point of the Dalí triangle. He bought the Gothic and Renaissance mansion – which includes a 14th-century church – in 1968 for his wife, Gala, who lived here without him (apparently lusting after local young lads to the end of her days) until her death at 88 in 1982. An inconsolable Dalí then moved in himself, but abandoned the place after a fire (which nearly burnt him to a crisp) in 1984 to live out his last years in Figueres. Dalí did the castle up in his own inimitable style, with lions’ heads staring from the tops of cupboards, statues of elephants with giraffes’ legs in the garden and a stuffed giraffe staring at Gala’s tomb in the crypt.
A separate section displays Dalí Joies (Dalí Jewels; adult/senior & student €6/4), the magnificent Owen Cheatham collection of 37 pieces of jewellery in gold and precious stones designed by Dalí. Dalí did the designs on paper (his first commission was in 1941) and the jewellery was made by specialists in New York. Each piece, ranging from the disconcerting Ull del Temps (Eye of Time) through to the Cor Reial (Royal Heart), is unique. Admission for Teatre-Museu Dalí includes entry to Dalí Joies. In August, it also opens at night from 10pm to 1am (admission costs €12) for a maximum of 500 people (booking essential); you are treated to a glass of cava.
On La Rambla, the town’s main boulevard about 100m south of the dazzling display of Dalíesque dizziness, lie what are, by comparison, two rather staid museums. The Museu de l’Empordà (972 50 23 05; www.museuemporda.org; La Rambla 2; adult/senior & child/student €2/free/1; 11am-8pm Tue-Sat May-Oct, 11am-7pm Tue-Sat Nov-Apr, 11am-2pm Sun & holidays) is a worthy institution that combines Greek, Roman and medieval archaeological finds with a sizable collection of art, mainly by Catalan artists. Admission is free with a Teatre-Museu Dalí ticket. The Museu del Joguet (972 50 45 85; www.mjc.cat; Carrer de Sant Pere 1; admission €5; 10am-7pm Mon-Sat, 11am-6pm Sun Jun-Sep, 10am-6pm Tue-Sat, 11am-2pm Sun & holidays Oct-May) has more than 3500 Catalonia- and Valencia-made toys from the pre-Barbie 19th and early 20th centuries. One wonders to which children the Groucho Marx doll would have appealed.
The sprawling 18th-century Castell de Sant Ferran (972 50 60 94; www.lesfortalesescatalanes.info, in Spanish, Catalan & French; adult/child under 10yr/senior & student €3/free/2.50; 10.30am-7pm Easter week, 10.30am-8pm Jul-Aug, 10.30am-3pm Sep-Jun), on a low hill 1km northwest of the centre, was built to withstand the most vicious of sieges but never got the chance show its mettle. Built in 1750, it saw almost no action. Spain’s Republican government held its final meeting of the civil war in the dungeons on 1 February 1939. The castell is still partly owned by the military, who don’t at all mind divisions of tourists manoeuvring around inside.
Return to beginning of chapter
INFORMATION
Hospital (972 50 14 00; Ronda del Rector Aroles)
Policía Nacional (091; Carrer de Pep Ventura 8)
Tourist office (972 50 31 55; www.figueres.cat, in Spanish; Plaça del Sol; 8.30am-9pm Mon-Fri, 9am-9pm Sat, 9am-3pm Sun Jul-Aug, 8.30am-8pm Mon-Fri, 9am-8pm Sat Sep, 8.30am-3pm & 4.30-8pm Mon-Fri, 9.30am-1.30pm & 3.30-6.30pm Sat Easter-Jun & Oct, 8.30am-3pm Mon-Fri Nov-Easter) Hours can be a trifle unpredictable.
Return to beginning of chapter
EATING
Hotel Durán (972 50 12 50; www.hotelduran.com; Carrer de Lasauca 5; meals €30-40) The Durán clan has been serving up fine traditional food in this hotel-restaurant since 1855. See if you can visit the wine cellar (where it’s also possible to dine), in which Salvador Dalí used to hang around quite a bit.
Return to beginning of chapter
SLEEPING
Hotel Rambla (972 67 60 20; www.hotelrambla.net; La Rambla 33; s/d €54/67; ) Right in the heart of the city with comfortable, modern rooms behind a 19th-century facade, this place is one of the best in town. Larger doubles cost a little more (€80).
Return to beginning of chapter
MONTSERRAT
Shimmering bizarrely in the distance as you drive the C-16 toll road between Terrassa and Manresa is the emblematic mountain range of Catalonia, Montserrat (Serrated Mountain). So dear is it to Catalan hearts that it has long been a popular first name for girls (Montse for short). Lying 50km northwest of Barcelona, the serried ranks of wind- and rain-whipped rock pillars (reaching a height of 1236m) were formed from a conglomeration of limestone, pebbles and sand that once lay beneath the sea. With the historic Benedictine monastery, one of Catalonia’s most important shrines, perched at 725m on the mountain range’s flank, it makes a great outing.
From the range, on a clear day, you can see as far as the Pyrenees, Barcelona’s Tibidabo hill and even, if you’re lucky, Mallorca.
The Monestir de Montserrat (93 877 77 01; www.abadiamontserrat.net; 9am-6pm) was founded in 1025 to commemorate a vision of the Virgin on the mountain. Wrecked by Napoleon’s troops in 1811, then abandoned as a result of anticlerical legislation in the 1830s, it was rebuilt from 1858. Today a community of about 80 monks lives here. Pilgrims come from far and wide to venerate La Moreneta (Black Madonna), a 12th-century Romanesque wooden sculpture of Mary with the infant Jesus that has been Catalonia’s official patron since 1881. A bit like children refusing to believe claims that Santa Claus does not exist, Catalans chose to ignore the discovery in 2002 that their Madonna is not black at all, just deeply tanned by centuries of candle smoke.
The two-part Museu de Montserrat (93 877 77 77; Plaça de Santa Maria; adult/student €6.50/5.50; 10am-6pm) has a collection ranging from ancient artefacts, including an Egyptian mummy (the collection of Egyptian artefacts counts more than 1000 items, including a mummified crocodile), to occasional works by Caravaggio, Monet, Degas, Picasso and others (including an ample parade of Catalan painters). The Espai Audiovisual (adult/senior & student €2/1.50, free with Museu de Montserrat; 9am-6pm) is a walk-through multimedia space that illustrates the monks’ daily life.
TRANSPORT: MONTSERRAT
Distance from Barcelona 46km
Direction Northwest
Travel time One hour
Bus A daily bus (€53) from Barcelona with Julià Tours (Map; 93 317 64 54; Ronda de la Universitat 5, Barcelona) leaves for the monastery at 9.30am (returning at 3pm). The price includes travel, all entry prices, use of funiculars at Montserrat and a meal at the self-service restaurant. Be at the office a quarter of an hour before departure.
Car Take the C-16. Shortly after Terrassa, follow the exit signs to Montserrat, which will put you on the C-58. Follow it northwest to the C-55. Head 2km south on this road to the municipality of Monistrol de Montserrat, from where a road snakes 7km up the mountain.
Train The R5 line trains operated by FGC (93 205 15 15) run from Plaça d’Espanya station in Barcelona to Monistrol de Montserrat up to 18 times daily starting at 5.16am. They connect with the cremallera (rack-and-pinion train; 902 312020; www.cremallerademontserrat.com; one way/return €5.15/8.20), which takes 17 minutes to make the upward journey. One way/return from Barcelona to Montserrat with the FGC train and cremallera costs €10.10/18.10. Alternatively, you can get off the train at the previous stop, Montserrat Aeri, and take the Aeri de Montserrat telecabin (93 237 71 56; www.aeridemontserrat.com; one way/return €5.40/8.50; 9.40am-7pm Mar-Oct, 10.10am-5.45pm Mon-Sat, 10.10am-6.45pm Sun & holidays Nov-Feb), which takes five minutes. For various all-in ticket options, check out the above website or www.fgc.net.
From Plaça de Santa Maria you enter the courtyard of the 16th-century basilica (7.30am-8pm Jul-Sep, earlier closing rest of year). The facade, with its carvings of Christ and the 12 apostles, dates from 1901, despite its 16th-century plateresque style. For La Moreneta, follow the signs to the Cambril de la Mare de Déu (La Moreneta; 8-10.30am & 12.15-6.30pm daily), to the right of the basilica’s main entrance.
The Escolania (www.escolania.cat; admission free; performances 1pm & 6.45pm Mon-Thu, 1pm Fri, noon & 6.45pm Sun late Aug-late Jun), reckoned to be Europe’s oldest music school, has a boys’ choir, the Montserrat Boys’ Choir, which sings in the basilica once a day, Sunday to Friday. See the latest performance times (which can change) on the web page. It is a rare (if brief) treat as the choir does not often perform outside Montserrat. The choir has sung hymns since the 13th century. The 40 to 50 escolanets, aged between 10 and 14, go to boarding school at Montserrat and must endure a two-year selection process to join the choir.
To see where the holy image of the Virgin was discovered, take the Funicular de Santa Cova (one way/return €1.80/2.90; every 20min 10am-5.35pm Apr-Oct, 11am-4.25pm Nov-Mar) down from the main area. You can explore the mountain above the monastery by a network of paths leading to some of the peaks and to 13 empty and rather dilapidated little chapels. The Funicular de Sant Joan (one way/return €4.50/7.20; every 20min 10am-5.40pm Apr–mid-Jul, Sep & Oct, 10am-7pm mid-Jul–Aug, 10am-4.30pm Mar & Nov, 11am-4.30pm Dec, closed Jan & Feb) will carry you from the monastery 250m up the mountain in seven minutes. You can also walk.
From the Sant Joan top station, it’s a 20-minute stroll (signposted) to the Sant Joan chapel. Enjoy the views as you look west from the trail. More exciting is the hour’s walk northwest along a path marked with occasional blobs of yellow paint to Montserrat’s highest peak, Sant Jeroni (1236m), from which there’s an awesome sheer drop on the northern side.
Check the monastery website for accommodation options. There are several places to eat.
Return to beginning of chapter
COSTA BRAVA
The rugged Costa Brava stretches from bland Blanes (about 60km northeast of Barcelona) to the French border. At its best, it is magnificent. At its worst, it fully lives up to its reputation as a beach-holiday inferno. Lloret de Mar and parts of the Golf de Roses are the worst offenders, where you can almost hear all that northern European flesh sizzling on the beaches in between lager top-ups. Don’t run away! The bulk of the coast is one of nature’s grand spectacles, with rugged cliffs plunging into crystalline water, interrupted at improbable points by ribbons of golden sand, tiny hidden coves and shady pine stands. Some towns have managed to retain great charm, and one of the most ancient sites of settlement in Spain, Empúries, is here.
TRANSPORT: COSTA BRAVA
Distance from Barcelona Tossa de Mar 77km; Palafrugell 125km; Empúries 153km; Cadaqués 164km (or 199km via Empúries)
Direction Northeast
Travel time 1½ to three hours
Car Take the AP-7 freeway from Barcelona and peel off at exit 9 for Tossa de Mar, exit 6 for Palafrugell and around, exit 5 for L’Escala and Empúries and exit 4 for Cadaqués (via Roses). You can also follow the coast for parts of the trip. From Barcelona take the C-32 to Blanes and then (often congested) single-lane roads to Tossa de Mar via Lloret de Mar. The single-lane A-2 coast road is slower still. From Tossa it is possible to follow the coast (the initial 21km stretch to Sant Feliu de Guíxols is breathtaking) to Palafrugell and beyond.
Bus The company SARFA (902 302025; www.sarfa.com) runs buses from Barcelona’s Estació del Nord to Tossa de Mar (€10.60, 1½ hours, seven to 18 times daily) and to Palafrugell (€16.15, two hours, seven to 13 times daily). Local buses connect to Calella, Llafranc and Tamariu. Up to four buses a day run from Barcelona to L’Escala and Empúries via Palafrugell (€18.95, 1½ to three hours). For Cadaqués, buses to/from Barcelona (€21.35, 2¼ to 2¾ hours) operate from two to five times daily. Journey times depend on routes and the number of stops made along the way.
Driving is the easiest way to explore the coast. What follows is a taster. To reach all these spots you need to reckon on at least one overnight stay. In July and August, finding lodgings without a reservation can be problematic.
Leaving the strobe-light silliness of Lloret de Mar behind, the road slices back inland into the coastal hills before setting you down in Tossa de Mar. A small white town backing onto a curved bay that ends in a headland protected by medieval walls and towers, Tossa is an enticing location. Artist Marc Chagall called it his ‘blue paradise’. The place has sprawled since Chagall stopped by in the 1930s, but Tossa has retained some of the integrity of a beachside village.
The walls and towers on the headland, Mont Guardí, at the southern end of the main beach, were built in the 12th to 14th centuries. The area they girdle is known as the Vila Vella (Old Town). Wandering around Mont Guardí, you come across ruins of a castle and a lighthouse (with restaurant and bar attached); the sunsets here are superb. Vila Nova (New Town), a tangle of 18th-century lanes, stretches away from the old nucleus and makes for a pleasant stroll. The main beach, Platja Gran, tends to be busy. Further north along the same bay are some quieter, smaller beaches.
The 21km drive from Tossa to Sant Feliu de Guíxols is a treat, the most breathtaking driving stretch of the coast. From here the coastal road continues through the not-unpleasant Spanish resort of Platja d’Aro, on through the more-offensive Palamós and inland to Palafrugell, a local transport hub that funnels you into another prime stretch of the Costa Brava. Again, uncompromising rock walls are interspersed with coves and hideaways. Among the places you can fan out to are Calella de Palafrugell, Llafranc, Tamariu, Aigua Blava and Fornells de Mar. A coastal walking path links the first three.
Jagged cliffs and pine stands give way to a long stretch of beach beyond Sa Punta to L’Estartit, the diving centre of the coast fronted by the marine reserve of the Illes Medes. From here roads redirect you inland to L’Escala, a low-key resort town on the southern tip of the Golf de Roses bay, and the nearby ruins of Empúries (972 77 02 08; www.mac.cat; adult/senior & child/student €3/free/2.10; 10am-8pm Jun-Sep, 10am-6pm Oct-May). Founded around 600 BC, it was probably the first, and certainly one of the most important, Greek colonies in Iberia. It came to be called Emporion (literally ‘market’). In 218 BC, Roman legions landed here to cut off Hannibal’s supply lines during the Second Punic War. By the early 1st century AD, the Roman and Greek settlements had merged. Emporiae, as the place was then known, was abandoned in the late 3rd century after raids by Germanic tribes.
A small museum separates the Greek town from the larger Roman town on the upper part of the site. While the Museu d’Arqueologia de Catalunya (Click here) in Barcelona has a bigger and better Empúries collection, highlights of the larger Roman town include the mosaic floors of a 1st century BC house, the forum and walls. Outside the walls are the remains of an oval amphitheatre.
A string of brown-sand beaches stretches north from the ruins and leads to the cheerful 15th-century hamlet of Sant Martí d’Empúries. On Plaça Major four restaurant-bars compete for your business. You could dine at the homey Can Roura (972 77 33 80; www.canroura.com; Carrer Major 10; meals €30-35, d €81-115; Thu-Mon Apr-Jun & Sep, daily Jul & Aug), which serves local dishes and predominantly seafood, and sleep in one of the studio apartments with views over the square.
Next, head for the windswept Parc Natural del Cap de Creus. As well as boasting Spain’s most easterly point (Cap de Creus), the area bursts with hiking possibilities, coves and the eternally attractive seaside town of Cadaqués, a strange mix of whitewashed fishing village and minor hedonists’ hang-out. The area was the stomping ground of Dalí and a host of other jet-set figures through the 1960s and 1970s. Today it is ideal for strolling, lazing around on nearby beaches and, in the evening, eating and drinking. It can get quite lively on weekends. Nearby is Port Lligat (see Dallying with Dalí Delirium, Click here).
Return to beginning of chapter
INFORMATION
Cadaqués tourist office (972 25 83 15; www.visitcadaques.org; Carrer del Cotxe 2; 9am-9pm Mon-Sat, 10am-1pm & 5-8pm Sun Jun–mid-Sep, 9am-1pm & 3-7pm Mon-Thu, 9am-1pm & 3-8pm Fri & Sat, 10am-1pm Sun mid-Sep–May)
Tossa tourist office (972 34 01 08; www.infotossa.com; Avinguda del Pelegrí 25; 9am-9pm Mon-Sat, 10am-2pm & 5-8pm Sun & holidays Jun-Sep, 10am-2pm & 4-8pm Mon-Sat Apr, May & Oct, 10am-2pm & 4-7pm Mon-Sat Nov-Mar)
Return to beginning of chapter
EATING
Casa Anita (972 25 84 71; www.casa-anita.com; Carrer de Miquel Roset 16, Cadaqués; meals €30; Tue-Sun Mar-Jan) Everyone from Yul Bryner to Elton John has eaten inside this whitewashed eatery partly carved out of the rock. There is no menu as such, so allow yourself to be advised on oven-cooked fish of the day and other goodies, served at long benches you may well share with perfect strangers.
COOKING UP A THREE-STAR STORM
Once a simple bar and grill clutching onto a rocky perch high above the bare Mediterranean beach of Cala Montjoi and accessible only by dirt track from Roses, 6km to the west, El Bulli (972 15 04 57; www.elbulli.com; Cala Montjoi; meals from €200; Jun-Dec; ) is one of the world’s most sought-after dining experiences (usually fully booked a year in advance), thanks to star chef Ferran Adrià (Click here). He intends to close it for a creative break from 2012 to 2014, which means he will lose his Michelin stars. While easily Catalonia’s internationally best-known dining experience, it has three three-star Michelin stablemates (in all Spain there are only seven; the other three are in the Basque Country).
Can Fabes (93 867 28 51; www.canfabes.com; Carrer de Sant Joan 6, Sant Celoni; meals €120-300; lunch & dinner Wed-Sat, lunch Sun, closed Jan) has long attracted a steady stream of ‘gastronauts’ from Barcelona (53km to the south). Chef Santi Santamaria (the first Catalan chef ever to be awarded three Michelin stars) is a local boy who started up here in 1981. Dishes based on local products (seafood landed at Blanes, for example) are at the core of his cooking, which, while loaded with creative touches, makes no attempt to reach Adrià’s kooky levels.
Barely 25km east, on the coast at Sant Pol de Mar, is another foodie’s fave. Sant Pau (93 760 06 62; www.ruscalleda.com; Carrer Nou 10; meals €120-250; lunch & dinner Tue-Wed & Fri-Sat, dinner Thu, closed most of May & Nov) is a beautifully presented mansion whose garden overlooks the Mediterranean. Observe the cooks at work on local seafood and farm products downstairs before heading upstairs to dine. Carme Ruscalleda is the driving force.
In El Celler de Can Roca (972 22 21 57; www.cellercanroca.com; Carrer de Can Sunyer 48; meals €120-250; Tue-Sat), set outside central Girona in a tastefully redone country house, history blends with avant-garde in architecture and cuisine. The enthusiastic team serves up three relatively modestly priced tasting menus (ranging from €90 to €135, plus wine). The style is playful – how about a ‘dry gambini’ (with a prawn serving the role normally reserved to the olive in a dry martini)?
Twenty-three other restaurants scattered around Catalonia have a Michelin star (and just one has two), in addition to 14 (two with two stars) in Barcelona, so the French clearly find the region fruitful territory for the discerning palate.
Sa Jambina (972 61 46 13; Carrer de Bofill i Codina 21, Calella de Palafrugell; meals €35-45; lunch & dinner Tue-Sat, lunch Sun mid-Jan–mid-Dec) A few strides back from the beach, Sa Jambina is a family business that takes pride in serving up market-fresh fish and seafood.
Can Sisó (972 34 07 08; Plaça del Pintor Vilallonga 1, Tossa de Mar; meals €30-35; lunch & dinner Wed-Sat, lunch Sun; ) Set just inside the walls of Tossa’s Vila Vella at the foot of the promontory, this place stands out from the bunch. Service is amiable and the accent is on seafood. The arròs negre (rice with cuttlefish, drenched in its black ink) is especially worth the wait.
Return to beginning of chapter
SLEEPING
Hostal Empúries (972 77 02 07; www.hostalempuries.com; Platja del Portixol, L’Escala; d €130-150; ) Looking over the beach by the ruins of Empúries, the elongated hotel is split into the characterful original building, with elegant tiled floors and lots of timber, and a slicker but less appealing designer half. A meal at one of the tall old timber tables overlooking the sea is beaten only by the views from the terraces of the more expensive sea-facing rooms.
Hotel Diana (972 34 18 86; www.diana-hotel.com; Plaça d’Espanya 6, Tossa de Mar; s/d €90/110, d with sea view €140; ) A small-scale, older hotel fronting Platja Gran with 21 simple but light rooms, a Gaudí-built fireplace in the lounge, Modernista decor and stained glass in the central covered courtyard. Prices shoot higher still in August.
Hotel Ubaldo (972 25 81 25; Carrer de l’Unió 13, Cadaqués; d €55-80; ) Set just inside the old town but away from the centre, these quiet and reliable lodgings in two adjacent buildings offer pleasant, simple and mostly airy rooms, some with balcony.
Return to beginning of chapter
SITGES
Jet-setters, honeymooners and international gay party-goers descend on this once-quiet fishing village from spring to autumn. Just 32km (a half-hour by train) southwest of Barcelona, Sitges boasts a long sandy beach, groovy boutiques for fashionistas, a handful of interesting sights and nightlife that thumps from dusk ’til dawn. In winter, Sitges can be dreary, but it wakes up with a vengeance for Carnaval (see Click here) in February, when the gay crowd puts on an outrageous show.
Sitges has been fashionable in one way or another since the 1890s, when it became an avant-garde art-world hang-out. It has been one of Spain’s most unconventional, anything-goes resorts since the 1960s.
The main landmark is the parish church, Església de Sant Bartomeu i Santa Tecla, atop a rocky elevation that separates the 2km-long main beach to the southwest from the smaller, quieter Platja de Sant Sebastià to the northeast.
Three museums (93 894 03 64; per museum adult/child/student €3.50/free/2; 9.30am-2pm & 4-7pm Tue-Sat, 10am-3pm Sun mid-Jun–Sep, 9.30am-2pm & 3.30-6.30pm Tue-Sat, 10am-3pm Sun Oct–mid-Jun), which offer a combined ticket (adult/child/student €6.50/free/3.50), serve as a timid counterweight to the hedonism. Closed for renovations at time of writing, the Museu Cau Ferrat (Carrer de Fonollar) was built in the 1890s as a house-cum-studio by artist Santiago Rusiñol. The house is full of his own art and that of his contemporaries. The interior, with its exquisitely tiled walls and lofty arches, is enchanting. Next door is the Museu Maricel del Mar (Carrer de Fonollar), with art and handicrafts from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.
The Museu Romàntic (Carrer de Sant Gaudenci 1), housed in late-18th-century Can Llopis mansion, re-creates with its furnishings and dioramas the lifestyle of a 19th-century Catalan landowning family. It also has a collection of several hundred antique dolls – and some of them are mighty ugly! Many of Sitges’ grand old residences were built in the 19th century by locals who had made good (often in dubious businesses, such as cotton-raising using slave labour) in South America and were commonly dubbed Americanos or Indianos.
TRANSPORT: SITGES
Distance from Barcelona 32km
Direction Southwest
Travel time 30 minutes
Car The best road from Barcelona is the C-32 toll road. More scenic is the C-31, which hooks up with the C-32 after Castelldefels, but it is often busy and slow.
Train Four rodalies trains an hour, from about 6am to 10pm, run from Barcelona’s Passeig de Gràcia (€3, 38 to 46 minutes) and Estació Sants to Sitges.
At night, head down to the ‘Calle del Pecado’ (Sin St), actually Carrer del Marquès de Montroig, and its extension, Carrer del 1er de Maig, for wall-to-wall bars that will kick your Sitges nocturnal life off with many decibels.
Return to beginning of chapter
INFORMATION
Policia Local (704 101092; Plaça d’Ajuntament)
Tourist office (93 894 50 04; www.sitgestur.com; Plaça d’Eduard Maristany 2; 9am-8pm daily mid-Jun–mid-Sep, 9am-2pm & 4-6.30pm Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm & 4-7pm Sat, 10am-2pm Sun mid-Sep–mid-Jun)
Tourist office (93 811 06 11; Passeig de la Ribera; 10am-2pm & 4-8pm daily mid-Jun–mid-Sep, 10am-2pm & 4-7pm daily mid-Sep–mid-Jun) A branch office.
Return to beginning of chapter
EATING
Al Fresco (93 894 06 00; Carrer de Pau Barrabeig 4; meals €30-40; dinner Tue-Sat mid-Jan–mid-Dec; ) Hidden along a narrow stairway that masquerades as a street, Al Fresco serves a varied array of food in a pleasant setting. You could try anything from an Indian-style chicken curry with green mango to a slab of Angus steak done in red wine and mustard and served with chips. One dish costs €22, or €34 for two (one of which will serve as a starter).
Costa Dorada (93 894 35 43; Carrer del Port Alegre 27; meals €30; lunch & dinner Fri-Tue, lunch Wed Jan-Nov) Old-world service in a 1970s atmosphere, perfect for seafood, paella and fideuà (similar to paella but uses vermicelli noodles as the base).
La Nansa (93 894 19 27; Carrer de la Carreta 24; meals €35; Thu-Mon, closed Jan) This seafood specialist is cast just back from the town’s waterfront and up a little lane in a fine old house. It does a great line in paella and other rice dishes, including a local speciality, cassola d’arròs a la sitgetana (a brothy seafood-and-rice dish). There’s a set menu for €24.
Return to beginning of chapter
SLEEPING
Romàntic Hotel (93 894 83 75; www.hotelromantic.com; Carrer de Sant Isidre 33; s/d with bathroom from €86/119, s/d without bathroom €72/102) Three adjoining 19th-century villas are sensuously restored in period style, and have a leafy dining courtyard. Prices rise a little for rooms with own terrace and/or facing the garden. If there are no rooms available in this gay-friendly spot, ask about its other boutique hotel, Hotel La Renaixença.
Return to beginning of chapter
PENEDÈS WINE COUNTRY
Rivers of still white and bubbly, among Spain’s best wines, spring forth from the area around the towns of Sant Sadurní d’Anoia and Vilafranca del Penedès. Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, a half-hour train ride west of Barcelona, is the capital of cava. Vilafranca del Penedès, 12km further down the track, is the heart of the Penedès DO region (denominación de origen; see Click here), which produces light, still whites. Some good reds and rosés also gurgle forth here.
TRANSPORT: PENEDèS WINE COUNTRY
Distance from Barcelona 48km (to Vilafranca del Penedès)
Direction West
Travel time 30 to 45 minutes
Car Head west along Avinguda Diagonal and follow the signs for the AP-7 freeway, then take either the Sant Sadurní d’Anoia or Vilafranca del Penedès exit.
Train Around two rodalies trains an hour run from Plaça de Catalunya and Estació Sants in Barcelona to Sant Sadurní (€3, 45 minutes from Plaça de Catalunya) and Vilafranca (€3.60, 55 minutes from Plaça de Catalunya).
A hundred or so wineries around Sant Sadurní produce 140 million bottles of cava a year – something like 85% of the national output. Cava is made by the same method as French champagne (of course, the French harrumph at such observations) and is gaining ground in international markets. If you happen to be in town during October, you may catch the Mostra de Caves i Gastronomia, a cava- and food-tasting festival. For more on cava, see www.crcava.es.
The epicentre of the Penedès wine-producing district is the large and somewhat straggly Vilafranca del Penedès. Spreading itself around the pleasant old town centre is a less captivating and sprawling new town.
The mainly Gothic Basilica de Santa Maria stands at the heart of the old town. Construction began in 1285 and, since then, it has been much restored. It is possible to arrange visits to the top of the bell tower in summer at around sunset. Ask at the tourist office.
IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT TIPPLE
To do a tour of the Penedès area, you will need your own transport. For suggestions on wine tourism, browse through www.enoturismealtpenedes.net. Do not, however, expect to wander into any old winery. Many only open their doors to the public at limited times. The more enthusiastic ones will show you how wines and/or cava (the Catalan version of champagne) are made and finish off with a glass or two. Tours generally last about 1½ hours and may only be in Catalan and/or Spanish. Groups must book. You can search www.dopenedes.es for wineries. This list should get you started:
Cava Martín Soler (Map; 93 898 82 20; www.cavamartinsoler.com; Puigdàlber; 9am-1pm & 3-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-1pm Sat, Sun & holidays) Located 8km north of Vilafranca in a 17th-century farmhouse surrounded by vineyards, this winery only makes cava.
Caves Romagosa Torné (Map; 93 899 13 53; www.romagosatorne.com; 10am-1pm & 4-7pm Mon-Sat) This winery at Finca La Serra is on the road to Sant Martí Sarroca. Cava is, again, the star. Head on for a look at nearby Sant Martí Sarroca.
Codorníu (Map; 93 891 33 42; www.codorniu.es; Avinguda de Jaume Codorníu, Sant Sadurní d’Anoia; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat, Sun & holidays) The Codorníu headquarters is in a Modernista building at the entry to Sant Sadurní d’Anoia when coming by road from Barcelona. One of the biggest names in cava, it made its first bottle in 1872.
Freixenet (Map; 93 891 70 00; www.freixenet.es/web/eng; Carrer de Joan Sala 2, Sant Sadurní d’Anoia; adult/child under 9yr/child 9-17yr/senior €6/free/2.20/4.50; 1½hr tours 10am-1pm & 3-4.30pm Mon-Thu, 10am-1pm Fri-Sun) Easily the best-known cava company internationally.
Giró Ribot (Map; 93 897 40 50; www.giroribot.es; Finca el Pont, Santa Fe del Penedès; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm Sat & Sun) The magnificent farm buildings ooze centuries of tradition. These vintners use mostly local grape varieties to produce a limited range of fine cava and wines (including muscat). The times given are for the shop. To visit the cellars, call ahead.
Jean León (Map; 93 899 55 12; www.jeanleon.com; Pago Jean León, Torrelavit; tours per person €6; 9.30am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9.30am-1pm Sat, Sun & holidays) Born in Santander as Ceferino Carrión in 1928, Jean León uses cabernet sauvignon and other grape types imported from prestigious vineyards in France to create a unique name in wines. Visits must be booked.
Nadal (Map; 93 898 80 11; www.nadal.com; El Pla del Penedès; tours per person €6; 10am-2pm & 3-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm Sat & Sun Mar-Oct, 10am-2pm & 3-7pm Mon-Fri Jan & Feb, 10am-2pm Sat & Sun Nov & Dec) Nadal is just outside the hamlet of El Pla del Penedès. The centrepiece is a fine masia, where you can join organised visits.
Torres (Map; 93 817 74 87; www.torres.es; tours per person €6; 9am-5pm Mon-Sat, 9am-1pm Sun & holidays) About 3km northwest of Vilafranca on the BP-2121 near Pacs del Penedès, Torres’ El Maset winery is home to the area’s premier winemaker. The Torres family tradition dates from the 17th century, but the family company, in its present form, was founded in 1870. Torres produces an array of reds and whites of all qualities, using many grape varieties, including chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, Pinot noir and local ones such as Parellada, Garnacha and Tempranillo.
The basilica faces the Vinseum (93 890 05 82; www.vinseum.cat; Plaça de Jaume I 5, Vilafranca; adult/child under 12yr/senior, student and child 12-17yr €5/free/3; 10am-2pm & 4-7pm Tue-Sat, 10am-2pm Sun & holidays) across Plaça de Jaume I. Housed in a Gothic building, a combination of museums here covers archaeology, art, geology and bird life, along with an excellent section on wine.
Return to beginning of chapter
INFORMATION
Tourist office (93 818 12 54; www.turismevilafranca.com; Carrer de la Cort 14, Vilafranca; 4-7pm Mon, 9am-1pm & 4-7pm Tue-Sat, 10am-1pm Sun) A good source of information on wineries.
Return to beginning of chapter
EATING
Cal Ton (93 890 37 41; Carrer Casal 8, Vilafranca; meals €40; lunch & dinner Wed-Sat, lunch Tue & Sun) Hidden away down a narrow side street, Cal Ton has a crisp, modern decor and inventive Mediterranean chow, which tempts with anything from foie gras with apple to seafood and cava pancake.
Return to beginning of chapter
SLEEPING
Hostal del Castell Gimenelles (977 67 81 93; www.gimenelles.com; Sant Jaume dels Domenys; r €80-135; ) Eight rooms with antique furniture are arranged in a typical, 18th-century Penedès farmhouse and surrounded by vineyards, just west of the town of Sant Jaume dels Domenys. The restaurant offers hearty victuals (set meal €23.50).
Hotel Sol i Vi (93 899 32 04; www.solivi.com; Subirats; s/d €51/68; 
) Occupying a renovated masia (Catalan country farmhouse) in Subirats, 4km south of Sant Sadurní on the C-243a road to Vilafranca, Hotel Sol i Vi has spacious rooms, a restaurant and country views.
Return to beginning of chapter
TARRAGONA
A hustling port city, Tarragona was once Catalonia’s leading light. Roman and medieval vestiges testify to its two greatest epochs. The Romans established the city as Tarraco in the 2nd century BC, and in 27 BC Augustus elevated it to the capital of his new Tarraconensis province (stretching from Catalonia to Cantabria in the northwest and to Almería in the southeast). Abandoned when the Muslims arrived in AD 714, it was reborn as a Christian archbishopric in 1089.
The superb Catedral (977 21 10 80; Pla de la Seu; adult/child 7-16yr/senior & student €3.80/1.20/2.80; 10am-7pm Mon-Sat Jun–mid-Oct, 10am-6pm mid-Mar–May, 10am-5pm mid-Oct–Nov, 10am-2pm Dec–mid-Mar) was built between 1171 and 1331 on the site of its Visigothic predecessor and a Roman temple (probably dedicated to Caesar Augustus), combining Romanesque and Gothic features, as typified by the main facade on Pla de la Seu. The same combination continues inside in the grand cloister, with Gothic vaulting and Romanesque carved capitals. One of the latter depicts rats conducting what they imagine to be a cat’s funeral, until the cat comes back to life! The rooms off the cloister house the Museu Diocesà, with an extensive collection ranging from Roman hairpins to some lovely 12th- to 14th-century polychrome woodcarvings of a breastfeeding Virgin. The interior of the cathedral, which is over 100m long, is Romanesque at the northeast end and Gothic at the southwest (a result of the prolonged construction period). The aisles are lined with 14th- to 19th-century chapels and hung with 16th- and 17th-century tapestries from Brussels. As a mark of reverence for St Thecla, Tarragona’s patron saint, her arm is kept as a permanent and rather gruesome souvenir in the Capella de Santa Tecla on the southeast side. All sorts of tall tales abound about St Thecla, who was apparently so impressed by St Paul’s preaching on virginity that she called off her impending wedding to follow his advice (and then him). Paul’s teaching and her example were not always popular: she escaped several attempts to have her put to death and wound up living as a hermit.
TRANSPORT: TARRAGONA
Distance from Barcelona 96km
Direction Southwest
Travel time 55 minutes to 1¾ hours
Car Take the C-32 toll road along the coast via Castelldefels or the AP-7 (if following Avinguda Diagonal west out of town).
Train More than 40 regional and long-distance trains per day run to/from Barcelona’s Estació Sants (some also stop at Passeig de Gràcia). The cheapest fares (for Regional and Catalunya Express trains) cost €5.70 to €6.40 and the journey takes one to 1½ hours. Long-distance trains (such as Talgo, Alaris, Arco and Euromed trains) are faster but more expensive – as much as €19.80 in tourist (standard) class.
The so-called Museu d’Història de Tarragona (MHT, History Museum; 977 24 22 20; www.museutgn.com; adult/concession per attraction €3/1.50, all attractions €10/5; 9am-9pm Tue-Sat, 9am-3pm Sun Easter-Sep, 9am-7pm Tue-Sat, 10am-3pm Sun & holidays Oct-Easter) is actually an ensemble of elements that includes four separate Roman sites (which together with other Roman sites around the province constitute a Unesco World Heritage site).
The Museu Casa Castellarnau (Castellarnau mansion; Carrer dels Cavallers 14) is furnished in 19th-century fashion and sheds light on how the other half lived through the centuries. For the Roman stuff, start with the Fòrum Provincial (Plaça del Rei), which is dominated by the Torre del Pretori, a multistoreyed building later reused by the city’s medieval rulers. A short walk north, Plaça del Fòrum is actually what remains of the Provincial Forum. Stretching west from behind the Torre del Pretori is the Circ Romà (Roman circus), where chariots would thunder along in dangerous, and often deadly, races along a 300m-long track that extended just beyond the present Plaça de la Font. What remains of the vaults of the circus can be entered from Rambla Vella. Nearby, Casa Canals (Carrer d’en Granada) is a fine 19th-century noble family’s house abutting the Roman city wall and jammed with period furniture and objets d’art. Near the beach is the well-preserved Amfiteatre Romà (Plaça d’Arce Ochotorena; 9am-9pm Tue-Sat, 9am-3pm Sun Easter-Sep, 9am-5pm Tue-Sat, 10am-3pm Sun & holidays Oct-Easter), where gladiators hacked away at each other, or wild animals, to the death. In its arena are the remains of 6th- and 12th-century churches built to commemorate the martyrdom of the Christian bishop Fructuosus and two deacons, believed to have been burnt alive here in AD 259. There was certainly no lack of excitement in Roman Tarraco! East of Carrer de Lleida are remains of the Fòrum Romà (Carrer del Cardenal Cervantes), also known as Fòrum de la Colònia and dominated by several imposing columns. The Passeig Arqueològic is a peaceful walk around part of the perimeter of the old town betwen two lines of city walls; the inner ones are mainly Roman, while the outer ones were put up by the British in the War of the Spanish Succession.
DETOUR: THE MONASTERIES ROUTE
The verdant oasis of La Conca de Barberà lies 30km west of Vilafranca del Penedès. Vineyards and woods succeed one another across rolling green hills (largely hidden from the ribbon of freeway that cuts through them), studded with the occasional medieval village and a trio of grand Cistercian monasteries (a combined ticket to all three is available for €9). With your own vehicle, it is possible to extend a Penedès wineries excursion to some of these magnificent sights. For information on the area around the monasteries, check out the Ruta del Cister (Cistercian Route) website, www.larutadelcister.info.
Following the AP-7 freeway southwest from Vilafranca, take the AP-2 fork about 18km west, then exit 11 north for the medieval Reial Monestir de Santes Creus (Royal Monastery of the Holy Crosses; 695 186873; Plaça de Jaume el Just; adult/senior & student €4.50/free, guided visit extra €2.20; 10am-6.30pm Jun-Sep, 10am-5pm Oct-May). Cistercian monks moved in here in 1168 and from then on the monastery developed as a major centre of learning and a launch pad for the repopulation of the surrounding territory. Behind the Romanesque and Gothic facade lies a glorious 14th-century sandstone cloister, chapter house and royal apartments where the comtes-reis (count-kings; rulers of the joint state of Catalonia and Aragón) often stayed when they popped by during Holy Week. The church, begun in the 12th century, is a lofty Gothic structure in the French tradition.
Back on the AP-2, travel another 22km to the medieval town of Montblanc, still surrounded by its defensive walls, and then L’Espluga de Francolí, beyond which you continue 3km to the fortified Reial Monestir de Santa Maria de Poblet (Royal Monastery of St Mary of Poblet; 977 87 02 54; www.poblet.cat; adult/student €6/3.50; 10am-12.45pm & 3-6pm Mon-Sat, 10am-12.30pm & 3-5.30pm Sun & holidays mid-Mar–mid-Oct, 10am-12.45pm & 3-5.30pm Mon-Sat, 10am-12.30pm & 3-5.30pm Sun & holidays mid-Oct–mid-Mar), the jewel in the crown of the Conca de Barberà and a Unesco World Heritage site. Founded by Cistercian monks from southern France in 1151, it became Catalonia’s most powerful monastery (it is said to be the largest Cistercian monastery in the world) and the burial place of many of its rulers. A community of Cistercian monks moved back in after the Spanish Civil War and did much to restore the monastery to its former glory. High points include the mostly Gothic main cloister and the alabaster sculptural treasures of the Panteón de los Reyes (Kings’ Pantheon). The raised alabaster sarcophagi contain such greats as Jaume I (the conqueror of Mallorca and Valencia) and Pere III.
Swinging away north from Montblanc (take the C-14 and then branch west along the LP-2335), country roads guide you up through tough countryside into the low hills of the Serra del Tallat and towards the Reial Monestir de Santa Maria de Vallbona de les Monges (Royal Monastery of St Mary of Vallbona of the Nuns; 973 33 02 66; adult/child €2.50/2; 10.30am-1.30pm & 4.30-6.45pm Tue-Sat, noon-1.30pm & 4.30-6.45pm Sun & holidays Mar-Oct, 10.30am-1.30pm & 4.30-6pm Tue-Sat, noon-1.30pm & 4.30-6pm Sun & holidays Nov-Feb). It was founded in the 12th century and is where a dozen nuns still live and pray. You will be taken on a guided tour, probably in Catalan. The monastery has undergone years of restoration, which has finally cleared up most of the remaining scars of Civil War damage. It is possible to stay here overnight on spiritual retreat.
The Museu Nacional Arqueològic de Tarragona (977 23 62 09; www.mnat.es; Plaça del Rei 5; adult/senior & child under 18yr/student €2.40/free/1.20; 9.30am-8.30pm Tue-Sat, 10am-2pm Sun & holidays Jun-Sep, 9.30am-6pm Tue-Sat, 10am-2pm Sun & holidays Oct-May) gives further insight into Roman Tarraco, although most explanatory material is in either Catalan or Spanish. Exhibits include part of the Roman city walls, frescoes, sculpture and pottery. A highlight is the large, almost complete Mosaic de Peixos de la Pineda (Fish Mosaic), which depicts local fish and sea creatures that we can only dream about in these times of overfishing. In the section on everyday arts, you can admire ancient fertility aids including an outsized stone penis, symbol of the god Priapus.
The town beach, Platja del Miracle, is clean but crowded. Platja Arrabassada, 1km northeast across the headland, is better, and the aptly named Platja Llarga (Long Beach), beginning 2km further out, stretches for about 3km. Local bus 1 from the Balcó stop on Via Augusta goes to Platja Arrabassada and Platja Llarga.
AN AFTERNOON OF WINTER FEASTING
All over Catalonia, but especially in the southwest inland around Tarragona, the locals indulge in a unique feasting frenzy whose culinary centrepiece is a strange, long spring onion, the calçot (Click here), that is grown around here and harvested from late January into March. Country restaurants stage great calçot pig-outs on weekends.
A fine place to try this is Ca Vidal (977 62 52 93; www.cavidal.com; Plaça de l’Església 16; meals €30-35; lunch & dinner Fri & Sat, lunch Sun-Thu, bookings essential) in the sleepy inland village of Perafort, 10km from Tarragona. After gorging yourself on grilled calçots and sloshing back red wine from porrones (a kind of carafe with a long spout from which you are supposed to allow the wine to pour through the air into your mouth) in the courtyard, you then head inside this 18th-century stone country house to indulge in seemingly endless serves of grilled meats and sausages.
About 11.5km southwest of Tarragona is Port Aventura (902 202220; www.portaventura.com), a massive and popular Disney-style theme park.
Return to beginning of chapter
INFORMATION
Guàrdia Urbana (977 24 03 45; Avinguda Prat de la Riba 37) Local police station.
Hospital Joan XXIII (977 29 58 00; Carrer del Dr Mallafre Guasch 4)
Tourist office (977 25 07 95; www.tarragonaturisme.es; Carrer Major 39; 10am-9pm Mon-Sat, 10am-2pm Sun Jul-Sep, 10am-2pm & 4-7pm Mon-Sat, 10am-2pm Sun & holidays Oct-Jun)
Return to beginning of chapter
EATING
Toful (977 21 42 16; Plaça del Fòrum; meals €20-25; lunch Sun & Tue-Thu, lunch & dinner Fri & Sat) A classic tapas bar in the old town, this place serves up generous servings of old faves like xipirons (little battered cuttlefish) and aletes de pollastre (oven-cooked chicken wings). During the week you could opt for the lunch menu at €9.80. It becomes a little more elaborate at the weekend (€17). For snacks, you can choose between tapas or the more substantial raciones size of most options on the menu.
Aq (977 21 59 54; www.aq-restaurant.com, in Catalan & Spanish; Carrer de les Coques 7; meals €45-55; Tue-Sat) This is a bubbly designer haunt with stark colour contrasts (black, lemon and cream linen), slick lines and intriguing plays on traditional cooking, such as ventresca de tonyina amb ceba caramelitzada, tomàquet, formatge de cabra i olives (tuna belly meat with caramelised onion, tomato, goat’s cheese and olives).
El Terrat (977 24 84 85; www.elterratrestaurant.com, in Catalan & Spanish; Carrer de Pons d’Icart 19; meals €45-60; Tue-Sat) With a pleasingly broad menu (including various rice-based dishes, and others in which foie gras is the standard element), this stylish restaurant, with dark timber floors and a subtle decor of swirling greys, offers a gourmet experience. You might go for a sirloin steak with foie gras and sherry, or the rèmol amb una parmentier de patata i garotes amb romesco de festucs i olives d’Aragò (turbot with potato and sea urchins in a pistachio-based sauce with olives from Aragón).
Return to beginning of chapter
SLEEPING
Hotel Lauria (977 23 67 12; www.hlauria.es; Rambla Nova 20; s/d €55/75; ) Pleasant enough rooms with parquet floors, good location and a modest pool and sun deck.
Pensió Plaça de la Font (977 24 61 34; www.hotelpdelafont.com; Plaça de la Font 26; s/d €55/70; ) Reasonable pensión with its own restaurant on a characterful, busy old town square.