Hiking in Costa Brava

Barcelona is visited by millions of tourists every year, yet most of them never think to venture outside of the city. What a mistake! There are dozens of interesting places in Catalonia, from enchanting medieval towns to marvellous beaches. A stretch of the coast that is really worth exploring goes from Blanes, to the north-east of Barcelona, to the French border. It is called Costa Brava, which means "rugged coast". 

 

The rugged coast of Costa Brava

 

Pretty much all of Costa Brava is lined by Caminos de Ronda, coastal footpaths used in the past by the Guardia Civil to control the coast and stop smuggling, and now offering excellent hiking possibilities. They are dotted with calas, small charming coves, surrounded by pine groves and wild flowers. There is no shortage of secluded beaches, fishermen's retreats and water grottos, making the hike very interesting and varied.

A cove near Palamos

 

One day last summer, I took a bus from Barcelona to Palamós (17€, 2 hours), and I began to explore the coast to the north of this point. I found the small town of Palamós a bit underwhelming, apart from the church of Santa Maria, with its nice façade. The real beauty starts of course when you start following the footpath along the coast. The water is very clear, the landscape keeps changing because of the many small bays and cliffs encountered. Some of the beaches are crowded, for example the famous La Fosca, not far from Palamós, but others, especially the hardest to reach, are not.

The beauty of Costa Brava

One of the most charming coves I have encountered is called Cala S'Aguer, and it's dotted with colourful fishermen's houses and boats. In another country this cove would have been taken by souvenir shops and restaurants. Here, instead, I could still see bits and pieces of quiet life: an old man painting, a woman cleaning the fish for the dinner, and so on.




Cala S'Alguer

Another image of this cove

Around Cap Roig I lost my path, and it took me a while to get back to it. Here, I discovered, there is a famous music festival with international artists, and a botanic garden. There is no lack of culture in this area of Spain: one of the towns of Costa Brava, Cadaqués, was chosen by Dali, Picasso and other artists as a summer home.



Near Cap Roig

It took me about 3-3,5 hours to reach my final destination, Calella de Palafrugell, including a stop for luch in one of the few small restaurants along the path. Unfortunately I did not stay long in Calella, because the clouds that had started to gather towards the end of my hike finally decided to give in to a good downpour.

Peace and quiet in Costa Brava

Next summer I hope to pick up from where I left and explore a little bit more of this beautiful area.

Introducing colourful Girona - a town with character

I'd like to introduce you to the colourful town of Girona, located a little bit more than an hour away from Barcelona. You can easily get there with the train (I paid 24€ for a return ticket), and you'll also enjoy views of the gorgeous Catalan countryside on the way. Girona is famous for the Ryanair airport, that's for sure, but also for these picturesque houses along the river Onyar, and for the charm of its cobbled streets.
 

The famous houses on the river Onyar

Montserrat: the perfect day trip from Barcelona

With monuments such as Sagrada Familia, the beach in Barceloneta and its incredible night life, day trips are not as popular in Barcelona as they are in other cities in Europe. Still, if you want to escape city life and fancy some great scenery and amazing nature, I strongly suggest that you go to Montserrat.

The monastery of Montserrat, perched up a rock

The Virgin of Montserrat is probably the most famous icon of the virgin, perhaps surpassed only by that of Guadalupe in Mexico. Its significance in the area is so strong that it gave the name - Montserrat, that is - to an island in the Caribbean discovered by Christopher Columbus and to many baby girls in Catalonia. Involved in Arthurian legends concerning the holy graal, the monastery of Santa María de Montserrat is a place of pilgrimage, but also a location for excursionists, because of its incredible location. Montserrat in Catalan means "handsawed mountain", and as soon as you'll see the shape of the rocks you'll understand why. It looks a bit like Meteora in Greece, with its monastery so close to the rock and the amazing view overlooking all the surrounding hills and plains.

Being only one hour away from Barcelona and easily accessible by public transport, you can decide to visit Montserrat on a whim from the city. Just make sure that the sky is clear!  They say that on a good day you can see until Mallorca! When I got there, I simply started to walk around for a little bit, taking in the beauty and spirituality of the place. Even though I am not religious, the significance of the place and the beauty of the location left an impression on me.

 

A peaceful cloister in Montserrat

The cathedral is definitely worth visiting and it's free of charge. I love the details of the façade and the fact that it's a bit hidden inside a courtyard. You'll probably need to cue if you also want to pay homage to the "moreneta", the famous black Madonna, but you can see it anyway from the main nave.

The cathedral in Montserrat

Another reason to visit  Montserrat is that the hiking trails are amazing: they zigzag through the mountain, passing by tiny churches almost carved into the rocks, or leading to viewpoints with crosses and small sanctuaries. I hiked two trails without two much effort enjoying spectacular spots. During our second hike, we hiked to the tiny church of Santa Cova, also a site of pilgrimage. Even though the church was closed, I enjoyed the walk very much. The rocks look so unreal that you think you're in a cartoon or something. At certain times they almost have a pink colour! Along the way (camí in Catalan) there are stops of the rosary, in the forms of shrines, designed by famous artists.

 

The church of Santa Cova in Montserrat

You can reach Montserrat with a train from Plaça de Espanya in the centre of Barcelona. The train takes one hour and then you can either take the cable car (funicolar) or the rack railway (cremallera). I suggest that you take the former, so that you can enjoy the beautiful view going up towards the monastery. The price for a return ticket (train + cable car) is 20€. I had my own sandwiches, and it was a good choice, because restaurants in Montserrat, at least around the main square near the monastery, seemed to be a bit expensive and unremarkable.

Looking happy!

I really think that this place should be as famous as Meteora. It is amazing how close it is to Barcelona, and how virtually unknown  it is by many tourists who visit Spain. If you want to see a place in Catalonia that is not Barcelona - and you have time only for one - I highly suggest that you organize a day trip to Montserrat. Even if you only have half a day it's still worth going: the trains run fairly often, and you'll get to see how Catalonia is outside of Barcelona: quaint, alive and full of history.

Great scenery

Had you ever heard of Montserrat? Would you like to visit it? Do you think it can compare with Meteora?

Tarragona & Sitges, two pearls of Catalonia

Maybe some of you already know this, but I am obsessed with ruins: whenever I can, I try to explore towns that offer an insight into ancient civilizations. Two weeks ago I went to Tarragona, a town one hour away from Barcelona that hosts amazing Roman ruins. You can get there with the train or the bus, for about 8€ one way.

 

I didn't know what to expect to be honest. I found the city more touristic than I thought it would be, but there is a reason why tourists go to a certain place. Tarragona has an attractive historical centre that is really pleasant to explore even for those who are not thrilled by the sight of Roman ruins.
 

Entertainment in Tarragona

The main attraction is of course the Roman amphitheatre, which boasts a great view over the sea. It must have been really thrilling to watch plays from this location. Nowadays, you can walk through the ruins of the theatre for an admission price, or admire the view from the gardens nearby. There are also other ruins to visit, like the "pretori", and they offer a good insight into the Roman settlement in Tarragona.



The amphitheatre of Tarragona

Catalan identity is very much felt in Tarragona, perhaps even more than in Barcelona. I saw a monument dedicated to human pyramids, a tradition in this region, and countless Catalan flags.



A street sign in Tarragona

Time for breakfast! In Tarragona I discovered ensaimada, a pastry typical of the island of Majorca, made with pork lard and topped with sugar. I can assure you that it is delicious!



My delicious ensaimada

Tarragona is also full of cute squares where people congregate to have a caña (beer) or some tapas. Sometimes Roman ruins appear in the middle of the square. Don't miss the trompe l'oeil painted house in Plaça dels Sedassos. It was painted in 1995 in the building where painter Carles Arola had a studio.

Trompe-l'oeil painted house in Tarragona



A detail of the house in Plaça dels Sedassos

The cathedral of the town is also quite nice, and so is the seaside. It's that kind of town where you can wander aimlessly and just take pictures of different things, without bothering too much about tourist attractions.

A detail of the cathedral

The seaside in Tarragona



Sitges is a completely different kind of town. Mostly frequented by beachgoers, and famous for being a gay-friendly resort, it didn't impress me as much. There isn't a proper historical centre, so if you don't intend to go to the overcrowded beach, you're left with nothing much to do but buy an ice-cream. As a matter of fact, I had never seen so many ice cream shops one after the other, not even in Italy.

 

A view of Sitges

 

A view of Sitges

Even though Sitges had some cute corners, I didn't find it that interesting, and after about one hour I took the train back to Barcelona. If your main purpose for visiting is beach life, though, this could be your destination.