Girona

With spring already well underway, a delightful stay awaits us in the south of the Costa Brava, where we’ll discover some of the most fascinating natural and cultural corners of the maritime La Selva region. We begin our getaway in Blanes, more specifically at the Sant Joan Castle, a Romanesque-style building that was built to keep a lookout for maritime pirate raids. Located at the top of the Sant Joan hill, the castle offers a panoramic view of Blanes.

In this town, we also can’t miss the route of hermitages, all built in strategic locations around Blanes to serve a double function, both religious and defensive at the same time. Along this route, we’ll get to know the hermitages of Esperança, Sant Francesc and Santa Bàrbara, among others, each of them with their own history, legends and curiosities.

Something else that characterises this region is its impressive Mediterranean gardens. In Blanes, we’ll find the Marimurtra botanical garden, a paradise of the plant world with over 4,000 species from five different continents. Very close by, in Lloret, there’s also the Santa Clotilde gardens, located on a cliff. A space full of nature, scents, colours and tranquillity with an unbeatable view of the Costa Brava.

Still in Lloret de Mar, we’ll visit a unique modernist cemetery, one of the prime examples of 19th-century funerary art in Catalonia that still preserves the traces of its Indiano legacy. On the seafront, we can also visit Can Garriga, one of the most important Indiano houses in the city, which is currently home to the Museum of the Sea. A place that will take us on a journey through the history of Lloret de Mar, from the time when ships were built on its beach to the voyages to America.

We’ll round off our getaway in Tossa de Mar, where we can take in the spectacular Vila Vella, an imposing walled city built between the 12th and 14th centuries as a defence against pirate raids. The interior of Vila Vella is a must-see, made up of winding picturesque streets and buildings with a lot of charm. At the highest point, we find the Tossa lighthouse, built on the old castle that overlooked the territory and which has now become a point of reference for people interested in gaining insight into the world of lighthouses.

A proposal brought to you in collaboration with Descobrir magazine.

Josep Pla was born on 8 March 1897 in Carrer Nou de Palafrugell, number 49. More than a century later, this address is now the starting point of a route that takes you to all the places in the Empordà that had a bearing on the life and work of one of the most widely-read writers in Catalan literature. It is from here that the route continues to Carrer Torres i Jonama number 56—where the Pla family went to live in 1904—passing by Carrer Estret—which lent its name to the novel he published in 1956—continuing on to Plaça Nova, once an olive grove outside the town walls. This is where the Cercle Mercan­til is located, formerly a social centre for the well-to-do, as well as the Centre Fraternal, a social club for the working classes that is still fully operational. The Josep Pla Foundation designed this route in 1993 to draw attention to the places in Palafrugell that influenced Pla, as well as to enrich any reading of his work by linking literature with the heritage and landscape that inspired it. The route, however, is not restricted to the municipality in which Pla was born. It includes other places, such as Calella, where it passes along the Mirador dels Burricaires with its views over Port Bo and Canadell beach, and Llofriu, where it crosses the old town before arriving at the cemetery, where Pla is buried. As well as highlighting the places Pla describes in his books, the route also brings to light other aspects of heritage, such as the Sant Sebastià lighthouse, the Joaquim Turró vantage point, the lookout tower and hermitage, Pals—the Hores Tower, the church of Sant Pere—and the Cap Roig Gardens, just to name a few.
 
After a joint investigation by the Catalonia - Ullastret Archaeological Museum and the Josep Pla Foundation to research Pla's association with the Ullastret archaeological site, the route also includes this location with a walk along the Sant Andreu hill. This walk evokes Pla's meeting with the pioneering archaeologists who first excavated the site. In fact, this year marks 75 years since the excavation work began and visits to commemorate this anniversary will be held on 9 July, 6 August and 17 September. The literary event on 17 September, for Pla's avid readers, will include refreshments.

Over the course of time many legends have grown up around the lake of Banyoles, legends that have passed from generation to generation. A trip around the area is a good way of finding out about its history, its heritage and, perhaps, it is also a way of unravelling what is true from what is false in these curious legends.
 
The tour begins in La Pes­quera d’en Lero, where you will find the municipality's tourist information office. The building dates from 1886 and previously, amongst other uses, it was where the landing stage was for pleasure craft as well as housing a souvenir shop. It is a good place to appreciate the extent of the lake, the largest lake in Catalonia. If you set off towards Porqueres, you come to the Romanesque church of Santa Maria, outstanding on account of its decorative elements such as the interior arches and the semi-circular arched doorway, with its frieze of figurative medallions. In fact, there are many religious buildings in Banyoles that can be visited, such as the monastery of Sant Esteve, and the remains of the convent of Sant Martirià.
 
The lake route continues to Can Morgat, a farmhouse on top of a hill surrounded by holm oaks, a reminder of one of the legends concerning the formation of the lake. To return to the tour's point of departure continue onwards towards La Draga, a park to the side of the lake which contains La Draga Neolithic Park. This is one of the oldest agricultural sites in the north-east of the Iberian peninsula and one of the first lakeside Neolithic settlements in Europe. Here you can see reproductions of ancient huts and activities there, for all ages, give an idea of what it was like to live there in Neolithic times.
 
In addition to the trip around the lake, there are other outstanding places to be seen in Banyoles, such as the Llotja del Tint, the Pia Almoina and the town walls, amongst other attractions. On the way to Porqueres the tour can be extended, this time by car, to visit the studio-cum-workshop of Carles Fontserè, the renowned poster artist, illustrator, painter, writer and photographer. It is in Can Montguix, and on display in the house are some of the artist's paintings, some personal items, books and photographs, which give an insight into Fontserè's creative universe. He took up residence in Porqueres in the early 1970s upon his return from exile in various countries.

An excursion proposed in collaboration with the magazine Descobrir

Its historic past and the medieval heritage it has preserved make Besalú the medieval town par excellence. A stroll through its streets is an experience that transports you back in time to the medieval period when Besalú was the capital of the county of La Garrotxa. Much has survived since those times and should not be missed, such as the church that once formed part of the Sant Pere de Besalú monastery. The church is the only surviving element of that monastery, founded in 977 by Miró Bonfill, who was both count and bishop. Outstanding features of the church are the capitals of the ambulatory pillars with their vegetable and figurative motifs scenes, such as those depicting David in the lion's den, Herod receiving counsel from the devil and the Slaughter of the Innocents.
 
Besalú also has one of the best medieval Jewish quarters in Catalonia, and a guided tour can lead you through it. The mikvé is of particular interest, being one of the few Jewish ritual baths to have survived in our country. Also well worth visiting are the former pilgrims' hospital, the Casa Cornellà, the church of Sant Vicenç and the Gothic hall in the Palace of the Curia Real. Above all, however, the Pont Vell, Besalú's old bridge, is the symbol of the town. It is noteworthy on account of its size and its position at a right angle over the river. The oldest document in which it is mentioned dates from 1075, however, its present appearance is due to it having been reconstructed in the 1960s.
 
To the north of Besalú lies the small town of Beuda. You can explore its heritage through the Town Council's Rodamons per Beuda ('Roaming Through Beuda') route. The route is designed to be followed by car and is suitable for all ages. It includes the most notable Romanesque works in the neighbouring Lligordà, Palera and Segueró, such as the churches of Sant Feliu, Sant Pere de Lligordà, Santa Maria de Palera, Sant Sepul­cre de Palera, Santa Maria de Segueró and Beuda castle. The church of Santa Maria de Segueró, for example, has a splendid polychrome Gothic carving in alabaster of the Virgin Mary with child, while the church of Sant Feliu has a large baptismal font decorated with motifs depicting sin. The map of the route with QR links, proposed games and various curiosities is included in the knapsack that can be collected from the rural houses in Beuda and from Besalú tourist office.

An excursion proposed in collaboration with the magazine Descobrir.

 

We start the excursion in Olot, with its rich cultural life, its heritage, and its natural volcanic surroundings, which even form part of the town itself in the form of urban craters that appear between the labyrinth of the towns thoroughfares. The recently opened 'Espai Cràter' is therefore a must see. It is located within the Puig del Roser volcano and is a completely innovative and interactive exhibition full of information about the volcanoes in La Garrotxa and others around the world. It is open to the public for visits and there are also highly recommended guided visits to both the exhibition and to the Montsacopa volcano, one of Olot's iconic sites. Family workshops are also available.
 
Olot's museums are also well worth a visit. A visit to the Garrotxa museum is essential for an understanding of the legacy of the 'Olot School' with Marià Vayreda and Josep Berga as the main exponents of this style of landscape painting. Another exceptional museum is the Sants museum, devoted to the craft production of religious imagery, something that has a long tradition in Olot.
 
A stroll around the town will lead you to such beautiful Modernista buildings as the Casa Solà Morales, the Casa Gaietà Vila and the Casa Gassiot. The tourist office organises guided tours that reveal their secrets.
 
Sant Joan les Fonts, a small town nestling within a superb natural environment moulded by volcanic activity, is very close to Olot. The distinctively rose-coloured Romanesque church of the monastery of Sant Joan is highly worth a visit, and inside, its 12th-century capitals and baptismal font are remarkable. The church forms part of the Medieval Route which includes Juvinyà castle and a medieval bridge, made from volcanic rock.
 
The geology of Sant Joan les Fonts is very interesting and includes the cliffs of Font­freda, a spectacular ensemble of columns with prisms of more than three metres. They form part of the Tres Colades de Lava Route, which takes less than two hours on foot.
 
The high point is Castellfollit de la Roca, a village perched on a 50-metre high basalt rock cliff. Castell­follit is as spectacular seen from a distance, with its houses peering over the abyss, as it is at close quarters with its narrow streets leading to the ancient church of Sant Salvador, at the end of the cliff, where there is a lookout point with spectacular views.
 

An excursion proposed in collaboration with the magazine Descobrir.