Most charming villages in La Costa Brava

An hour and a half on the north of Barcelona we find the Costa Brava, which has some of the best beaches on the Iberian Peninsula. Either you’re going to Barcelona for a holiday or for a long term, you have to take a break and visit this area called the Empordà, its people, its landscapes and its history worth it. From ShBarcelona want to let you know some of the best villages there to give you an idea of what you will find there. Although the temperature is not the best to take a dip in the Mediterranean Sea, going to la Costa Brava in winter is also worth so you won’t have to fight with tourists to get an empty space or to walk through the promenade.

We go from south to north, up from Barcelona to France and found Platja d’Aro, which receives vacationers both from Barcelona and from Girona in its extensive sand beaches similar to the Barcelona beaches. In this town you will also find fun in summer in its many bars and nightclubs. If we continue up the coast we find Palamós, having both long beaches and “calas” and also a charming aspect of a fishing village, but with some large buildings that takes away a bit of this charm. If you go in summer you can take a bath in Cala Castell and from there, in the Cala Corb, Cala Estreta and S’Alguer. You will have to walk about 30 minutes along a path to reach these “calas”, but is worthy.

And we go up to find the towns of Llafranc and Calella de Palafrugell, two fishing villages that deserve a walk at night and it’s famous for the Habaneres concerts that take place there as well. It is also highly recommended in Llafranc climb to the lighthouse of Sant Sebastia to enjoy stunning views or visit the Botanical Gardens of Cap Roig. These places still remain empty of tourists and resist to real estate speculation, and are full of small “calas” to enjoy the Mediterranean Sea. In Llafranc Joan Manuel Serrat wrote his famous song “Mediterranean”.

By a winding road we arrive to Tamariu, a town that still has the fishing town aspect and charm as getting there through the curvy road is difficult. We keep going to the north and find Begur, one of the most beautiful towns of the Costa Brava and the with the best beaches of the Baix Empordà Comarca. It is worth visiting the castle of Begur, walk among the five defense towers that were built in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries against pirates and swim in the crystal clear waters of Cala Fonda and Aiguablava. Very near to Begur inland there is the village of Pals, which has the historical area and the beach area where the vacationers mostly stay during the summer. You will fall in love with the medieval part of the village, full of flowers and bows. In the beach area, you should discover the naturist beach on the other side of a rock from the beach of Pals. Nearby you can also visit the medieval village of Peratallada and eat an ice cream at one of the terraces. A must if you are in the area.

Related article: Have a beach day on the Costa Brava

From there we move to L’Estartit and L’Escala, two very tourist destinations in the coastal area but also charming and beautiful towns. In them, you can make numerous activities like diving in the Medes Islands and some culinary tourism in its many restaurants where they serve the best paellas and seafood from the Catalan coast. Nearby you can visit the Greco-Roman ruins of Empurias, some of the best-preserved ruins in Catalonia.

Finally, almost getting to France, we find the town of Roses, with the stunning Gulf of the same name. This is not the prettiest village in the Costa Brava, but has much of the infrastructure for tourism and a long sandy beach, besides a large number of “calas” among which you can find Canyelles, L’ Almadrava , Cap Norfeu, Punta Falconera, Jóncols and Montjoi.

A little further up and coming through a very curvy road there is Cadaqués, where live people “affected” by a wind called “Tramuntana”, which they say makes people become a little crazy. Definitely isolation in the northernmost part of the peninsula makes it a perfect place for artists and lonely people. These mystical people like Salvador Dalí are welcomed. We can even visit the house where the artist lived.