Peratallada, Ullastret, Monells and Púbol are some of the medieval villages in the Baix Empordà district. They can be visited in a
pleasing itinerary that includes a
Surrealist museum, an
Iberian settlement and a
castle crowning a massif.
PERATALLADA, ULLASTRET AND MONELLS It's best to visit Peratallada, Ullastret and Monells in this order.
Peratallada is built on solid rock on which, in the middle ages was built a very
large fortification with its moat carved out of the rock. 'Pedra tallada' means 'cut rock, or 'carved stone,' and this gives the place its name. The town today has a handsome arcaded square. The one in Monells is particularly spectacular having an irregular floor plan with arcades on three of the four sides. A
large market was held here until the end of the 17th century. A most beautiful place.
Ullastret is also surprising. It had been a closed, or walled, town and its narrow streets retain a
medieval air, but the main attraction in Ullastret is the
Iberian settlement there, the largest in the whole principality. The entrance fee includes the sound guide which has a
version for adults and another one for children in which the director of the site talks about who lived here during the
time of the Ibers and how archaeologists have been able to find out about them. The visit ends at the
small dedicated museum, which has a virtual realty
immersive room where you can travel back in time and walk through the streets of the Iberian town as if the houses were still standing.
PÚBOL And now to Púbol where there is a very special museum. Púbol
castle was purchased by
Salvador Dalí, who restored it in his own way—which is to say with a lot of Surrealist imagination—and then he gave it to
his wife Gala. You shouldn't miss the chance to visit it.
TORROELLA DE MONTGRÍ
From Púbol you can go to
Torroella de Montgrí. Why? To go up to the
castle. From there, with the Empordà at your feet you can feel for a moment like one of the former lords,
counts or barons who once ruled these lands.
*An excursion proposed in collaboration with the magazine Descobrir.
