Tarragona

On the coast of Cambrils, a quintessential seaside town, you’ll find all the most important natural and heritage treasures. On the seafront, the Cambrils Red Lighthouse is a must-visit. It provides a wide perspective of the port of the municipality, allowing you to watch the fisherfolk carrying out their daily work and also take in some breathtaking sunsets. What’s more, you can visit it whenever you want as it’s open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Also located right in the centre of the port and standing out due to its imposing structure, we find the Torre del Port, also known as the Torre de los Moros. This defensive building dating from the 17th century served to prevent the pirate attacks suffered by the town. As one of the seats of the Museum of History of Cambrils, it currently holds different temporary exhibitions.

 

If you want to really get to know the municipality, another must-see seat of the Museum is the Molí de les Tres Eres, an old hydraulic flour mill. Dating from the 14th century, here, we can find the permanent exhibition “Cambrils: los orígenes” (Cambrils: the origins), a journey from prehistory to the late Roman period of the municipality told through household utensils, ritual objects and ornamental elements, especially the bronze ones found in the Roman villa of la Llosa. This site, discovered in 1980, is open to the public and presents the remains of a villa in the immediate vicinity of Tarraco, which was inhabited between the 1st century B.C. and the 6th century A.D.

 

Also in Cambrils, we find the Samà Park, a majestic historic garden that is part of the European cultural itineraries. This natural space, an Indiano legacy of the marquis of Marianao, evokes the exuberance of the former colonies and is one of the best examples of Romanticism gardening.

 

As well as all this history, Baix Camp also has an outstanding artistic imprint. For this reason, it’s well worth following the footsteps of Joan Miró at Mas Miró in Mont-roig del Camp, a town with different backdrops that have appeared in the artist’s works. Here, you can follow the self-guided tour El paisaje emocional de Miró (The emotional landscape of Miró), which, thanks to different signposted points, allows you to discover the municipality that welcomed the painter and served as a source of inspiration for his creations.
 

The architecture of Tortosa already gives us many clues to the variety of civilisations that have coincided in the city, since the capital of the Baix Ebre has two thousand years of history that can be glimpsed at every corner.

A good first example is the Cathedral of Santa Maria de Tortosa, one of the city’s most outstanding works of architecture representing the Catalan Gothic style. Overlooking the Ebro, the building stands on the same site where the Roman forum, a Visigoth church and a mosque once stood. Just a five-minute walk away, you’ll find the Royal Colleges. Considered one of the most representative Renaissance sites in all of Catalonia, it’s made up of three buildings that were formerly a Dominican friars convent.

 

When you visit Tortosa, the La Suda or Sant Joan Castle is also an absolute must. Built in the 10TH century and of Arab origin, it was constructed on a Roman acropolis and has been a Parador hotel since 1972. Even if you don’t stay the night, you can stroll through a large part of the fortress, which is an outstanding viewpoint.

 

If you have time, we also recommend visiting the Gothic-style Monastery of Santa Clara. And if you feel like walking, just fifteen minutes away you’ll find the Jewish quarter, a section of the city where the Hebrews lived separated from the Christian centre, and which has retained the layout of the old streets.

 

You can also enjoy the town’s more recent history, especially if you visit the system of excavated galleries that make up Air Raid Shelter number 4, which is located on Calle Ernest Hemingway and, during the Civil War, had a capacity for four hundred people. Tortosa was heavily bombed by fascist troops and the chronicles written by the young Hemingway are a good testimony of these events. 

 

If you still want to know more, just two streets away from the Jewish quarter you’ll find the Tortosa Museum. Located in the old slaughterhouse, it’s considered the most significant modernist building in the city. You can also visit Tortosa Cota 0, a museum space where you’ll travel back 1500 years in the city’s history and find out about its human evolution.

 

Finally, you can board Lo Sirgador and take part in this river activity to learn about the role of the river in the evolution of the city, because Tortosa simply can’t be understood without the Ebro.

A proposal brought to you in collaboration with Descobrir magazine.