The Camí dels Bons Homes, or Path of the Good Men, is a long-distance hiking trail that traverses the Pyrenees mountains. The route is approximately 230km long and follows the paths taken by the Cathars as they fled the Inquisition during the thirteenth century. The trail begins in Foix, amongst the hills and woodlands of Occitania, southern France.…
Category: Catalonia
Five-Day Hike From Vic To Besalú (Multi-day hike near Barcelona)
Spain is crisscrossed by a network of long-distance hiking trails called Senderos de Gran Recorrido, or GR footpaths. These trails usually take anywhere from a few days to several weeks to complete, making them ideal for hikers seeking a multi-day trek. This post describes a five-day hike that combines the most scenic sections of two…
History Museum of Catalonia (Museu d’Història de Catalunya)
As its name implies, The History Museum of Catalonia is entirely dedicated to explaining the history of Catalonia. The museum is located in the Port Vell harbour and is housed in the only remaining building from the original nineteenth-century dockyards, built during the height of the Industrial Revolution. The museum is divided into two floors.…
Complete Guide to Hiking the Camins de Ronda (Costa Brava Coastal Path)
The Camins de Ronda are a series of historic footpaths that run along the Costa Brava, one of Spain’s most beautiful sections of coastline. The paths date back more than a thousand years and were originally used by fishermen to travel from village to village. From the mid-nineteenth century, the paths were used by the…
Vic Travel Guide: What to See and Do in Vic
Located seventy kilometres inland from Barcelona, with a population of only 50,000, Vic is a charming city that boasts one of the largest arcaded plazas in Spain. The plaza is the heart of Vic’s historic quarter, which features a magnificent medieval cathedral and a smaller Roman temple dating back to the second century. The plaza…
Hiking the Camí Ral: The Old Medieval Road from Vic to Olot
The Camí Ral is an old Medieval road connecting the cities of Vic and Olot in central Catalonia. The road was originally built during the middle ages to transport wood from the forests of the La Garrotxa region to the Royal Shipyards in Barcelona. The forty-five-kilometre section between the towns of Vic and Olot was…
Peralada Travel Guide: What to See & Do
Peralada is a picturesque medieval village approximately one hundred and forty kilometres north of Barcelona. The town dates back to the fifth century BC and rose to prominence during the middle ages when it was home to the Counts of Peralada. Nowadays, Peralada is best known for its impressive medieval castle, El Castell de Peralada,…
The Monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes (and how to get there)
The Monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes is a Romanesque-style Benedictine monastery which overlooks the Costa Brava, one hundred and fifty kilometres north of Barcelona. Legend has it that the monastery was built by monks who fled from Rome during the seventh century, taking with them the remains of Saint Peter. In reality, the first…
El Port de la Selva Travel Guide: What to See and Do
Set in a natural bay and surrounded by mountains, El Port de la Selva is a small fishing village on the Costa Brava, just twenty kilometres south of the French border. Although there are a few hotels in the village as well as a campsite, some holiday apartments and several good restaurants, El Port de…
Monument to Lluís Companys (Statue of a girl with a handkerchief)
Born in Tarrós in 1882, Lluis Companys was one of the founding members of the Catalan political party Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya and served as president of the Generalitat de Catalunya from 1934 until he was executed in 1940. The first part of the twentieth century was a time of political unrest and upheaval in…
Banyoles & Estany de Banyoles: What To See & Do
Banyoles is a small town built on the shores of L’Estany de Banyoles, the largest lake in Catalonia, and hosted the rowing competitions for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. The lake was formed two hundred and fifty thousand years ago by the tectonic activity which created the Pyrenees mountain range. The area has been settled since…
Ripoll: What to See and Do
Ripoll is a small town in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountain range, one hundred kilometres from Barcelona. The town is best known for the monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll, which was founded in the ninth century and is considered one of the most important Romanesque monuments in Spain. Ripoll also makes a good…
Easy Day Trips From Barcelona by Public Transport (and how to get there)
If you’re visiting Barcelona for longer than just a weekend, chances are you’ll want to go beyond the city limits and take a day trip. There’s no shortage of awesome destinations for a quick road trip, from blue flag beaches and medieval castles to extinct volcanoes and picturesque villages. If you don’t fancy hiring a…
The Remnants of Barcelona’s 18th Century Citadel
Centrally located, at the north edge of the old town, the Parc de la Ciutadella is Barcelona’s best known and most popular park. The seventeen-hectare park is home to Barcelona Zoo, the Catalan Parliament Building, two museums, a large fountain, a bandstand, a boating lake and a diverse collection of sculptures and monuments. A green…
Terrassa: What to See and Do
Thirty kilometres inland from Barcelona, Terrassa’s attractive, pedestrianised city centre is an interesting and lesser-known day trip or weekend break. Sometimes referred to as the Catalan Manchester, Terrassa played a key role during the Industrial Revolution when it was an important city for textile manufacturing. In its heyday at the beginning of the twentieth century,…
Manresa’s Medieval Fair : La Fira de l’Aixada
Every year, at the end of February, Manresa celebrates La Fira de l’Aixada (festival of the mysterious light) which dates back to 1686 and sees the town step back in time to the 14th Century. In addition to the medieval market, there is a busy schedule of theatrical performances, processions, music and dance commemorating events…
Cardona Castle and Salt Mountain Cultural Park
Perched on a hilltop 95km from Barcelona, Cardona Castle is a popular day-trip for local families who come to explore the medieval castle and visit the nearby salt mine. For thousands of years salt was one of the most valuable commodities and during the Middle Ages Cardona castle was home to one of the wealthiest…
Devil’s Bridge Roman Aqueduct – Tarragona
Devil’s Bridge (Catalan: El Pont del Diable) is a 2000 year old Roman aqueduct built during the reign of Emperor Augustus (27 BC to 14 AD) to supply the city of Tarraco with fresh water from the nearby River Francolí. A testament to Roman engineering, the 249m long aqueduct continued to bring water to Tarragona until as…
Tossa de Mar: History, Sand and Sunshine on the Costa Brava
Situated on the southernmost part of the Costa Brava, the charming seaside resort of Tossa de Mar is a popular day trip from Barcelona. Tossa’s attractions include sandy beaches and a picturesque old town whose narrow streets are lined with restaurants and bars. Not to mention the impressive 12th-century medieval castle or Vila Vella. Once an…
Cadaqués and Salvador Dalí’s House in Portlligat
If you ask most Barcelona locals to name the most beautiful village on the Costa Brava, the chances are that they will say Cadaqués. Set in a sheltered bay on the southern side of the Cap de Creus peninsula, this small town was once a busy port whose economy was based on fishing, wine-making and…
Wilfred the Hairy: History and Legends
Tucked away beside the north entrance to Barcelona Cathedral, there is a small stone sculpture of an extremely hairy knight fighting what looks like a griffin. The knight is Wilfred the Hairy (Guifré el Pilòs), who was Count of Barcelona from 878 until his death in 897. Wilfred the Hairy was born in 840 in Prades…
Lleida – Cathedrals, Castles and a Medieval Dungeon
Despite being only 150km from Barcelona on the main road to Madrid and with high-speed train links to both cities. Lleida is one of those places which just tends to get overlooked. Certainly I’ve driven past on numerous occasions without ever giving it so much as a second glance. Earlier this month my partner and…
Hot Air Ballooning Near Barcelona
This year is the 25th anniversary of the company that I work for. Last week we celebrated the occasion with a team-building weekend starting with a party on Friday night. The celebrations continued on Saturday with activities, lunch at a Parador and an evening meal at the old Moritz factory. The activities were a closely guarded…
Girona Flower Festival – Girona Temps de Flors
Each spring, during the 2nd week of May, the streets of Girona fill with colour as the city hosts it’s annual flower festival Girona Temps de Flors. The festival takes place in the historic city centre and medieval Jewish quarter El Call Jueu. The most impressive floral displays include the Cathedral steps, the Arab baths,…
Monument to Francesc Cambó
Born in Verges in 1876, Francesc Cambó was a wealthy conservative politician, lawyer, author, philanthropist and Catalan nationalist. He founded the Regionalist League, was member of the Spanish government, promoted Catalan culture and collected art (a large part of his collection is on display in Barcelona’s MNAC museum). Shortly after the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed in…
Besalú – A Medieval Gem in the Heart of Catalonia
With a population of approximately 2400 people, Besalú makes an interesting and relaxing day trip from Barcelona. As you wander the narrow streets, it’s hard to believe that this now tranquil small town was once an important local capital during the Middle Ages. What to See in Besalú Besalu’s star attraction is, without doubt, the…
Windsurfing in the Bay of Roses – Sant Pere Pescador
Sant Pere Pescador on the the Bay of Roses is one of Spain’s most popular windsurfing venues and a regular feature on the PWA world tour. The wide bay and 5km sandy beach are ideal for windsurfers of all ages and abilities. Prevailing Winds The combination of beautiful scenery, enviable wind stats and cheap flights…
Monument to Francesc Macià
Francesc Macià i Llussà was President of the Generalitat de Catalunya from 1932 until his death in 1933. Born in September 1859, Macià grew up in Vilanova i la Geltrú (a medium-sized town approximately 50 kilometres south of Barcelona). After a spell in the Spanish army, he fought for Catalan independence and formed the political…
Catalonia’s National Day – La Diada de Catalunya
Every year on the 11th of September, thousands of Barcelona residents take to the streets to celebrate a public holiday called La Diada de Catalunya or National Day of Catalonia. Often refered to as simply La Diada, the day comemorates the fall of Barcelona to the French and Castilian troops of Phillip V of Spain during the War…
Badalona’s Fish-Kite Mural
The impressive Fish-Kite mural was painted in 2010 by a group of artists from the Identidad(es) initiative. The initiative was sponsored by Badalona city council and aimed to develop social cohesion through several different urban art projects. The mural was painted on the exterior walls of four terraced houses in the Barri Groc district of Badalona,…