Pyrenees Guide

The South Baix Emporda is the stretch of coast which inspired the term Costa Brava (Rugged Coast) in the early 1900s. A traditional fishing port, Sant Feliu de Guixols has beautiful Indiano and Moorish style architecture and a good selection of restaurants. Its neighbour the attractive S'Agaro was founded in the 1920s as a Modernist destination for the rich and famous.

Platja d'Aro 3 kilometres of busy beach, bars and shops, which has come to eclipse its medieval neighbour Castell d'Aro. Same happens with Sant Antoni de Calonge, which is beginning to overshadow the inland village of Calonge. Palafrugell has maintained its parental position at the hub of its three beautiful coastal offshoots: Calella de Palafrugell, Llafranc and Tamariu. 

Palamos is situated at the eastern end of the wide bay that bears its name. On a headland overlooking the busy port for fishing, trade and pleasure boats, which was founded in 1279 by the King Peter II “the Great”, stands the old quarter, with its still medieval layout.

The Northern part of the Baix Emporda marks an abrupt change in terrain from the Southern Costa Brava. Begur is a stylish town with a profound historical personality. In the shelter of its medieval castle, coral divers, fishermen, “Indians” (wealthy emigrants returning from Spain’s West colonies) and cork workers have written brilliant pages of a story which is reflected in each street, each house and each corner of the town.

Further North, the three-and-a-half kilometre beach of Pals, ideal for water sports, while inland the restored medieval village of Pals stands in contrast to beautiful Peratallada, with an excellent selection of restaurants. Nearby busy market town of La Bisbal d’Emporda is the capital of the Baix Emporda region and for centuries has been a pottery manufacturing town.

Towards the Alt Emporda, Salvador Dali makes his presence felt in the inland village of Pubol. Since 1996, Pubol's medieval castle, the residence of Salvador Dali's wife in the 1970s and his own in the early-1980s, has housed the Gala Dali House-Museum.

The Alt Emporda is the northern part of the Costa Brava. It is much rugged than the south, a beautiful landscape where the Pyrenees meets the Mediterranean Sea. The Cap de Creus is the last outlet of the Costa Brava and at the same time the most easterly point of the Iberian Peninsula on the map. At the Southern end of the Gulf or Roses is L’Escala, a seafaring town and long-established fishing port, specialising in red fish (sardines, herrings etc.) and salted anchovies. There are superb Greek and Roman ruins at Empuries, 2km north. Sant Pere Pescador (12km north of L'Escala) is surrounded by natural spaces of wonderful landscape and natural interest and crossed by the River Fluvia. The Natural Park of the Emporda Marshes brings together a large number of native species of flora and fauna and is located between Castello d'Empuries, Empuriabrava and Sant Pere Pescador.

One of the oldest town in Catalonia (3000 year old), Roses is a living museum mapped out by the traces of the passing ages, and as a privileged place that was lodged deeply in the affections of the many cultures who once inhabited its past. The last resort on the Costa Brava before the French border, Cadaques is reached by a small winding road, twisting over the mountains from Roses, the nearest major center.

Related Links

• Costa Brava Hotels

  Real-time Costa Brava hotel availability and online reservations service.