The Costa Brava is one of the best destinations to enjoy the beach in summer, but the winters in this corner of the Catalan coast are from another world. When its beaches and towns are empty of tourists, the best time of the year arrives to rediscover the Catalan coast. In this post you will find the best things to do on the Costa Brava in winter!
The north of the Catalan coast is full of places that will make you fall in love. At the easternmost tip of the peninsula is Cadaqués, a town of white houses located in a quiet bay. It is a good opportunity to visit the medieval towns of Pals and the Medes Islands.
One of the corners that is worth visiting in low season is the village of Calella de Palafrugell, a picturesque town of white houses and traditional fishermen's houses located in a rocky coastal area. In the south of the Costa Brava, you cannot miss visiting the charming vila vella of Tossa de Mar, with one of the most beautiful old towns on the Mediterranean coast.
Calçots are one of the most popular Catalan cuisine products in winter. They are usually consumed between the months of November and April in the well-known “calçotades”, a kind of gastronomic festival in which friends and/or family members get together to eat this mild-flavored vegetable cooked on the grill with the traditional romesco sauce. Although during this time the calçots can be tasted in many Catalan restaurants, most Catalans prefer to buy them in greengrocers or supermarkets and cook them themselves. Find out more about this product in our post about calçots!
The Empordà area is one of the main wine tourism destinations in the country. Its red, white and rosé wines, with grape varieties such as Garnatxa, are distinguished by the Empordà Designation of Origin (DO) seal. In this region you can enjoy visits to wineries, meals among the vines, wine therapy treatments and visits to museum spaces of enogastronomic interest, among others. Consult our publication on DO Empordà wines for more information!
Even though winter is not the best time to bathe on the beaches of the Costa Brava, it is one of the best times of the year to go for a walk near the sea. In the north of the Catalan coast there are some paths, called Camins de Ronda, which run along the coast and were previously used by the Civil Guard to control the Spanish maritime border and prevent smuggling.
The sections of the Camí de Ronda from Sant Feliu de Guíxols to S'Agaró, from Calella de Palafrugell to Llafranc and from Platja de la Fosca to Platja del Castell (in Palamós) are especially popular for their beauty. Take advantage of this winter to meet them without people and let yourself be surprised by the Costa Brava in winter.
On the Costa Brava is one of the most visited museums in Spain, the Dalí Theater-Museum in Figueres, where some of the best-known works of Salvador Dalí can be found. Continuing with this artist, another of the most outstanding museums in the area is the Salvador Dalí House-Museum, in Portlligat, the small fisherman's house where he lived with his wife for more than 50 years.
If you are passionate about painting, in the town of Sant Feliu de Guíxols there is a center dedicated to temporary exhibitions of the Carmen Thyssen Collection, the Espai Carmen Thyssen. And if you are interested in learning about the history of Catalonia, at the Archeology Museum of Catalonia - Empúries you can walk through the most important Greco-Roman archaeological site in Catalonia, the Greek city of Emporion and the Roman city of Emporiae.
Close to the Costa Brava are some of the most spectacular natural spaces in Catalonia. There is the Montseny Natural Park, which includes territories in the Osona, Vallés Oriental and La Selva regions and presents pronounced reliefs and a rich ecological variety. The Osona region is also home to the Guilleries-Savassona Natural Area, with one of the most spectacular reservoirs in the country, the Pantà de Sau. And in La Garrotxa, there is the Natural Park of the Volcanic Zone of La Garrotxa, which has a large number of craters and cones of volcanoes, as well as the Fageda d'en Jordà, a beech forest with unique characteristics in Spain.
If you are passionate about skiing, you should know that just two hours from the Costa Brava are the Pyrenees, a mountain system located between Spain, France and Andorra. The closest ski resorts are La Molina and Masella, located in the La Cerdanya region. A little further away, in the Vall d'Aran region, is the Baqueira Beret ski resort, the largest in Spain and the only one that faces the north face of the Pyrenees.
Come discover the Costa Brava and its surroundings with Rosamar Hotels!
Catalonia is one of the autonomous communities in Spain where Christmas is most intensely lived. In addition to the most popular Spanish traditions, this region has its own traditions, some of which will surprise you.
If there is something we enjoy so much about Christmas as spending quality time with our family and friends it is the food. During this time of year, some traditional dishes are made in Catalonia that you may not know yet but that you will soon be looking forward to trying.
If you are near the capital of Girona this Christmas and you do not have plans yet, in this post we bring you some of the best activities and events to attend as a couple, as a family or with friends that take place in the province so that you do not you will not be bored for a single second.
Lloret de Mar is a city with a lot of history in which many places are hidden that you cannot miss if you happen to visit the Costa Brava. Discover what to see and do in Lloret de Mar!
Who doesn't feel like going for a walk through the Christmas markets? During the month of December in the province of Girona and the Costa Brava you can enjoy a wide variety of fairs and Christmas markets with all kinds of products. Discover them in this post!
Each culture and region has its own way of celebrating Christmas, and the Catalan territory is no exception: a log that shits gifts, a very special figurine in the nativity scene and a traditional dish made with leftover food of Christmas. Discover the most surprising and unique Christmas traditions in Catalonia!
If you still do not have plans for this Christmas and you are worried about getting bored during the holidays, in this post we bring you some activities to do at home with your family, partner and friends, such as decorating the house, cooking pastries or setting up a cinema. Read on for inspiration!