Costa Brava filming locations

A brief history of the Costa Brava filming locations

The Costa Brava has long been a popular location for Movie and TV Shoots. The first recorded production was entitled “Amor de Pescadora” by Eduard Marquina and was shot in Tossa de Mar in 1914. It is easy to find Costa Brava filming locations all along this stretch of coastline and below i outline some of the major movies to be shot here.

Costa Brava filming locations
Elizabeth Taylor on the Costa Brava in 1958

Movies shot on the Costa Brava during the 1950’s

Perhaps the Golden age of Movies shot on the Costa Brava with some of the biggest names in Hollywood filming here.

1951 Pandora and the Flying Dutchman staring Ava Gardner and James Mason. This was the first big North American movie to be filmed on the Costa Brava. Filmed entirely on location including the coastal towns of Tossa de Mar, Palamos, S’Agaro and Platja d’Aro. 1951 was the year that Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra married.

1952 Decameron Nights shot in Cala Francesc, Blanes starred Joan Fontaine and a young Joan Collins.

1956 The Spanish Gardener filmed in various locations along the Costa Brava including Palamos, Sant Feliu de Guxols, S’Agaro and Tossa de Mar. Dirk Bogarde was supported in the main role by Jon Whiteley and Cyril Cusack among others.

1958 Sea Fury filmed in Begur and staring Stanley Baker.

1959 Suddenly Last Summer was a blockbuster movie staring big name stars such as Elizabeth Taylor and Katharine Hepburn. Filmed in various locations including Pals, Begur and Sant Feliu de Guixols.

Costa Brava filming locations
Sinatra and Gardner on the Costa Brava in 1951

Costa Brava filming locations from the 1960’s onwards

Notable movies shot on the Costa Brava from the 1960’s onwards include:

1960 The three worlds of Gulliver Staring Kerwin Mathews.

1961 Mysterious Island staring Michael Craig and Herbert Lom

1968 Some Girls Do staring Richard Johnson

1970 The light at the edge of the World staring Yul Brynner and Kirk Douglas

1971 Nicholas and Alexandra staring a long list of stars including Tom Baker, Laurence Olivier, Fiona Fullerton and Michael Redgrave.

1977 Valentino staring Rudolf Nureyev, Felicity Kendal

1992 1492: Conquest of Paradise Directed by Ridley Scott and staring Sigourney Weaver and Gerard Depardieu

Costa Brava filming locations
Kirk Douglas on the Cap de Creus, Cadaques

Game of Thrones and Westworld filming location

More recently Girona was selected as a filming location for the celebrated series Game of Thrones. Visiting Girona to see the GoT filming locations is a popular day trip from the Costa Brava.

Part of the Westworld Series 2 was filmed in the medieval village of Besalu which was turned into a WW11 movie set for a couple of weeks.

Costa Brava filming locations
Westworld filming in Besalu

Commercial shooting locations Spain

Over the years Charming Villas Catalonia has provided locations for numerous TV commercial and product catalog shoots. We have also worked with production companies from all over the world and provided Catalonia location shooting for the following shows:

Linnan tähdet from Finland, Playing it Straight from the UK, Ocho apellidos Catalanes from Spain and Red Light from the Netherlands.

Luxury villas on the Costa Brava

At Charming Villas Catalonia we have an extensive portfolio of high standard vacation homes in and around Tamariu. Please browse our selection of luxury Costa Brava villas and farmhouses. We have visited all of the properties on our website on multiple occasions. Our aim is to offer un-biased opinions on each property and help our clients choose the best property for their needs.

Locally based we offer a free Costa Brava concierge service to all our clients and can help arrange extra services and activities. We can give suggestions of day-trips and put together bespoke days out including some of our off the beaten track favorites.

Costa Brava soccer training camps

Football training camps Barcelona and Costa Brava

Considering a family vacation close to Barcelona or the Costa Brava and looking for ideas of healthy activities for your kids? Then a Costa Brava soccer training campus could be a good option for you and your children.

Xavi football campus
Xavi football campus 2020 (photo credit Campus Xavi)

Choosing the right Costa Brava football campus for you

There’s various soccer training camps on the Costa Brava to choose from. Here at Charming Villas Catalonia we are here to help you choose the right one for you and your family. There’s a whole host of Important factors to consider before deciding which campus is right for you.

  1. Start and finish dates. Are you looking for a one week, two week or longer campus?
  2. Prestige and reputation. It’s an important investment you are making so you need to be sure it’s the right one.
  3. Safety for your kids. Let us go through in detail with you Covid-19 safety protocol of each campus.
  4. Location. Quite possibly the most important decision of all. Choosing a location close enough to the campus yet also close to other amenities and beaches. Outside of football time you want to make the most of what the region has to offer.
Cadaques, Costa Brava
Cadaques on the Costa Brava

Soccer training camps on the Costa Brava

Girona football club is the biggest soccer club in the Costa Brava region. Currently in the 2nd tier of Spanish football after a recent stint in the top division alongside the most famous Catalan club of all Barça. Girona hold a five week campus normally from the last week of June and throughout July.

Campus Xavi is located close to the town of Banyoles. Banyoles is famed for its natural lake, scene of the 1992 Olympic rowing events. The campus location is around one hour from Costa Brava beaches and 20 minutes from the medieval village of Besalu.

The Costa Brava is home to many other football summer camps and we can help you plan the best one for your needs. Why not combine a week at a soccer campus with a week at a tennis campus? Or golf lessons for children at one of the many high standard golf courses on the Costa Brava? We offer a free concierge service to all our clients where we can help you plan all your activities and extra services.

Browse our selection of luxury Costa Brava villas and farmhouses. We have a vacation rental home on the Costa Brava for every taste and occasion.

Costa Brava Concierge Services

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?

The best beaches on the Costa Brava

The Costa Brava has many great beaches from the isolated, hard to get to bays and coves on the Cap de Creus to the popular sandy beaches of Begur and Palafrugell. With over 200kms of coastline from Portbou in the north to Blanes on the southern tip there is a beach for everyone. Here is a selection of our personal favourites.

Our favourite beaches on the northern Costa Brava

Cala Taballera, Port de la Selva

The largest beach in the Cap de Creus peninsula. It is a good two hour hike from Port de la Selva and well worth the effort.

Cala Taballera, Port de la Selva
Cala Taballera, Port de la Selva

Platja del Ros, Cadaques

The beaches of Cadaques are not huge but this is one of the best and has great views of the Cadaques seafront in the background.

Platja del Ros, Cadaques
Platja del Ros, Cadaques

Sa Sabolla, Cadaques

A pleasant 45 minute walk from Cadaques in the direction of Cala Nans and the lighthouse this is a firm favorite of ours. Pebbles rather than sandy and a great place for a swim.

Sa Sabolla, Cadaques
Sa Sabolla, Cadaques

Cala Joncols, Roses

Roughly half way between Roses and Cadaques Cala Joncols makes a great stop off for a swim if you are walking the coastal “Cami de Ronda” between the two towns.

Cala Joncols, Roses
Cala Joncols, Roses

Our favourite beaches on the mid-section of the Costa Brava

Aiguablava beach, Begur.

The beautiful turquoise waters of Aiguablava make this one of the most beautiful beaches of the Costa Brava. This beach has a few restaurants, toilets and showers and a large car park nearby.

Aiguablava beach Begur
Aiguablava beach, Begur

Platja Castell, Palamos

With over 300m of fine sand, this is one of the largest and less busy beaches in the Palamos/Palafrugell area.

Platja Castell, Palamos
Platja Castell, Palamos

Tamariu beach, Palafrugell

One of the most popular beaches of the whole Costa Brava, Tamariu beach has beautiful clear waters and fine sand. There’s also a choice of restaurants to choose from on the beach front.

Tamariu beach, Palafrugell
Tamariu beach, Palafrugell

Portixol beach, L’Escala

Portixol beach is a great sandy beach sitting half way between the charming coastal village of Sant Marti d’Empuries and the larger town of L’Escala. There are a number of similar lovely sandy beaches each side of Portixol and a selection of restaurants within walking distance.

Platja de Portixol, L'Escala
Platja de Portixol, L’Escala

Cala Montgo, L’Escala

Just on the southern edge of L’Escala Cala Montgo is a lovely sandy bay with great views of the Montgri national park. There’s also a couple of nearby restaurants to choose from.

Cala Montgo, L'Escala
Cala Montgo, L’Escala

Sa Riera, Begur

Another of our favourites, Sa Riera in our opinion, is the best beach of Begur. A large area of sand and a handful of restaurants to choose from the beach offers space yet at the same time a sense of intimacy.

Sa Riera, Begur
Sa Riera, Begur

Llafranc beach, Palafrugell

Similar to the nearby Tamariu beach, Llafranc has a lovely sandy beach and a number of beach side restaurants to choose from.

Llafranc beach, Palafrugell
Llafranc beach, Palafrugell

Cala Estreta

On the Cami de Ronda coastal path one finds Cala Estreta and El Crit beaches and are a nice walk from either Platja Castell or from Calella de Palafrugell to the north. Isolated and with no bars or shops these are a great beaches to escape the crowds.

Cala Estreta, Palamos
Cala Estreta, Palamos

Sa Conca, S’Agaro

With numerous facilities, you can access it both by car and on foot, via a pleasant stroll along the coastal path. It has a blue flag and a few metres away from here is also the Port d’Aro marina.

Sa Conca beach, S'Agaro, Costa Brava
Sa Conca, S’Agaro

For more information about the beaches of the Costa Brava check out the Patronat de Turisme website.

Here is a map showing the locations of our favourite beaches on the Costa Brava