Tag Archives: Costa Brava activities

Costa Brava activities

Day trips from Barcelona

Posted on by
Reply

A selection of some of the best day trips from Barcelona

Spending some time in Barcelona but would also like to explore what Catalonia has to offer away the capitol city? Here we share a selection of our favorite places and things to do outside of the city. Please note that these suggestions are based on using a car. If you are using public transport please refer to our Barcelona day trips by public transport post.

Day trips to the Costa Brava

Located to the North of Barcelona the Costa Brava contains some wonderful beaches and fishing villages. There’s loads of different sections of the Costa Brava to choose from and all offer different facets to the traveler.

Cala Guillola
Cala Guillola, Cap de Creus, Cadaques

If i were to list all the places to visit on the Costa Brava this would turn in to a long essay so i will give just two suggestions here. Cadaques at the end of the Cap de Creus peninsula is one of our favourite places in the whole of Catalonia. Two hours by car from Barcelona the town is a wonderful place to spend a day. More details about what to do in Cadaques and surrounding area can be found here.

The second part of the Costa Brava is the area around Begur and Palafrugell, around 90 minutes from Barcelona. Here there’s a whole host of beaches to choose from many of which have restaurants where to dine on or close to the beach. More information about what to do in Begur can be found here.

Costa Brava Medieval villages

The province of Girona is not only about the beaches of the Costa Brava. There’s many interesting medieval villages in the region to explore. If history, interesting architecture and wandering around ancient cobbled streets is your thing then read more in our Costa Brava Medieval villages blog post.

Medieval bridge of Besalu
The medieval bridge of Besalu

Visit a Vineyard

Probably not the best idea of a day trip if you are driving however there’s a wide range of Barcelona based tour agencies offering wine tours close to Barcelona. Another option would be to hire a driver for the day and this is something Charming Villas can help arrange.

Catalonia contains no less than 10 distinct wine growing regions each offering its own unique growing conditions and varieties of grape. I don’t have enough space here to list each region in detail but more information on the Emporda wine growing region can be found here.

Day trip to Montserrat

A classic day trip from Barcelona and one which is advertised online by many Barcelona based tour agencies such as visitarmontserrat.com. Montserrat is a beautiful and oddly shaped mountain range which reaches a height of 1236m above sea level. Among the hills is a famous Abbey which was founded in the year 1025. If driving to Montserrat please do not leave any valuables inside the car when you park up. We once had some clients whose hire car was broken in to and valuables were stolen.

Barcelona day trip Montserrat
The Montserrat mountain range close to Barcelona (image credit www.visitarmontserrat.com )

Visit Girona and Figueres

This is a trip which can also be made by train from Barcelona. The high speed AVE train connects to Girona in 35 minutes and Figueres in just under an hour. The main draw of Figueres is without doubt the Dali museum. This world class museum could fill up a whole day just by itself. When i am helping my clients plan day trips i always stress that if the museum is on the list of things to do then this should be the main focus of the day. Unless you are planning a very early start and late finish then i do not advise multiple destinations in the same day.

Day trips from Barcelona
Dali painting the Face of War 1941 (photo credit salvador-dali.org)

Girona, bigger than Figueres, is arguably a more interesting and picturesque city to spend a day. Whereas Figueres is all about the Dali museum Girona has more variety of things to see and do. The Cathedral has been made famous since it was chosen as a filming location for the HBO series “Games of Thrones”. A number of locally based tour operators offer guided visits of the city exploring the various filming locations within the city.

Girona also has a wide range of shops and artisan markets to browse as well as its very own Las Ramblas. Not as big or famous as Barcelona’s Ramblas nonetheless it is a pleasant place to stroll or sit and watch the world pass by.

Barcelona day trip ideas
The Eiffel bridge Girona (photo credit www.holeinthedonut.com)

Vacation homes on the Costa Brava and Barcelona

Charming Villas Catalonia offer a hand-picked selection of high standard vacation rentals on the Costa Brava and Barcelona. We offer our clients a free Costa Brava concierge service and help plan activities, day trips and extra services. Let us guide you through the villa selection process helping you choose the best property for your needs.

Costa Brava Medieval villages

Posted on by
Reply

The most beautiful villages on the Costa Brava

The Costa Brava is rightly famed for its unspoiled coastal towns and villages but just a short distance inland from the coast there’s many Medieval villages waiting to be discovered. In this blog post we explore some of the most beautiful Costa Brava Medieval villages.

Costa Brava Medieval villages
The Medieval village of Beget (photo credit: www.femturisme.cat)

Medieval villages in the Baix Emporda

The Baix Emporda region of Girona is where some of the best beaches on the Costa Brava are to be found. The beaches of Begur and Palafrugell include Sa Riera, Sa Tuna, Aiguablava, Tamariu and Llafranc among others. Just a few kilometres inland from this stretch of coastline we find the well preserved villages of:

Peratallada, Pals, Monells and Palau Sator

These four villages are all located within the Baix Emporda “Golden Triangle”. Peratallada is the largest of the four and certainly one of the prettiest. With many cobbled streets to explore this village also has a good selection of restaurants open for lunches and dinners.

Costa Brava Medieval villages
The Medieval village of Peratallada (photo credit visitperatallada.cat)

Like Pereatallada Pals also has a labyrinth of small streets and alleyways to explore and restaurants where to dine. Monells and Palau Sator are a little smaller but by no means less pretty and are equally worth a visit.

These well preserved Medieval villages on the Costa Brava are not far from each other and can be visited in one day. The architecture, the history and the narrow cobbled streets offer the traveler a glimpse of Medieval times gone by.

Medieval villages of La Garrotxa

La Garrotxa is a County a little further inland from the Costa Brava famed mainly for its extinct volcanoes. La Garrotxa also boasts beautiful Beech forests and of course Medieval villages. Perhaps the most well-known village in this region is Besalu. Famed for its photogenic 12th Century Romanic bridge the village was an important Medieval seat of power.

Costa Brava Medieval villages
Besalu bridge (photo credit Vado Buch)

Also within the County of La Garrotxa is the Medieval village of Santa Pau. Santa Pau is located in the middle of the volcanic region and the beautiful Fageda Beech forest. Thanks to its fertile soil Santa Pau is famed for growing “mongetes” beans which are a staple in Catalan gastronomy.

Beget is a small village located further to the North in the neighboring County of Ripoles. This beautiful village is dominated by the Romanic San Cristóbal church and has a permanent population of only around 20 people.

Other Costa Brava Medieval villages

Further afield from the Costa Brava and worth a day-trip are the Medieval villages of Rupit and Tavertet. Tavertet sits on top of an escarpment enjoying breathtaking views of the Panta de Sau reservoir. The two villages are only 12 kilometres apart and a wonderful walk through forested countryside.

For more information about the Medieval villages of Girona and the Costa Brava take a look at the official Costa Brava website.

Costa Brava Concierge Services

Posted on by
Reply

Looking for concierge services on the Costa Brava? Then look no further than Sara and Richard from Charming Villas Catalonia. Locally based we are here to help our clients with every aspect of your vacation, all at no extra cost.

First things first – Choosing the right property

This all starts during your luxury Costa Brava villa selection process where we offer comprehensive and un-biased advice on all of our properties and locations. We listen to your important criteria and suggest suitable properties based on what we think would be a good fit. We have a varied selection of vacation rentals for all tastes and needs.

Planning your activities in Catalonia

Once we have nailed down your chosen vacation rental the next stage is to start planning excursions and activities. Whether that be a day trip to Barcelona or Cadaques or a table at the number one restaurant in Spain, El Celler de Can Roca. Things that normally need to be booked way in advance include tables at Can Roca, private chefs and boat hire. Further fine tuning can be planned closer to arrival but it is wise to get these important reservations out of the way early on. Other things we can help with include hire cars delivered to your villa, airport transfers, guides and sommeliers. These are just some of the Costa Brava concierge services we offer our clients.

Charming Villas Catalonia is a family business ran by Sara and Richard

We love making sure that our clients make the most out of their time while in Catalonia so take great pleasure in arranging bespoke itineraries. Some of our favorite authentic and off the beaten track restaurants often make it in to our clients plans! Or how about a picnic at one of our favorite secluded coves on the Costa Brava? We also keep an eye on local festivities and festivals (cultural and culinary) and give our clients a list of things that are going on locally. Two examples; watching some Castellers human towers or visiting a cheese and olive oil farmers market in a medieval village.

Catalonia specialists

All of our properties which we list on our website are located in Catalonia, predominantly on the Costa Brava, Girona and Barcelona. This means we focus all of our energies on this one concentrated corner of Spain. We have a huge database of local knowledge to share with our guests and believe we have more to offer than other agencies who spread their portfolios (and depth of local knowledge) over various regions within Spain or even multiple countries.

Whatever your needs or special requests we are here for you and nothing gives us greater pleasure than a satisfied group of clients.

Please contact us at catalonia@charmingvillas.net if you have any questions?