Strategic Hostalric

Winter walk- Calella to Llafranc

Bike ride Celra to Bordils along river Ter

Both Celra and Bordils are not most people's idea of scenic villages as they pass through in their cars along the main road to the Costa Brava from Girona. However, get a little out of the town of Celra and a remarkable transformation takes place, with fertile land planted with different seasonal crops as well as a tree and shrub nursery which covers many hectares. 

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Pals- medieval splendour

Pals is a town set on a hill some 6 kms from the Costa Brava and has been well restored in all its medieval splendour. The steep narrow streets winding up to the church and tower are full of interesting balconies, doors, courtyards with many colourful plants like hibiscus and bougainvillea growing everywhere.
Like all medieval towns the important characteristics are here, the hill and walls for extra fortification, the church and lords house and the tower which was a lookout as well as providing water storage in some cases. Pals was on the coast 500 years ago before the surrounding land silted up and watching for pirates was important as this was a wealthy town from trading agricultural commodities.
Rice from Pals is famous for its quality and flavour and they built an irrigation system to sustain the industry which dates back a thousand years.
Now the town mainly lives off tourism with many art galleries, shops selling local produce (chocolates and rice) and ceramics from the nearby La Bisbal pottery centre. There are many terraces to sit and eat and drink in the shade before admiring the views from the top of the village over the Islas Medes and the Mediterranean Sea.

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Can Candela S’Agaro

The perfect holiday house for a large family seeking privacy and tranquility set in its own walled gardens on one of the most exclusive parts of the Costa Brava.

Can Candela is set in a 2,000 square metre garden with swimming pool only a short distance from the spectacular Sant Pol beach in S’Agaro. It sleeps 8 in comfort and has everything to make your holiday visit a relaxing delight.

Four bedrooms, three bathrooms, three terraces both a large dining room and living room with fireplace make this a truly spacious house. The kitchen is also large and has  enough space to eat in and is fully equipped with gas stove, oven, microwave,  fridge/freezer and a dishwasher. A washing machine and drying/ironing area is available.

The gardens are a combination of lawns, vegetable garden and fruit trees with palm trees shading the 12 metre pool. There is also a barbecue area and a garage.

Available from June to end September at very reasonable rates.

Please consult for prices and availability: info@discovergirona.net

Airport pickup

Why get  stressed trying to find your way out of the airport with a rental car or figure out the train/bus timetables in a different language?

Let us pick you up and take you directly to where you are staying, where after getting your bearings, you can decide whether to rent a car locally or use public transport to get around.

We can take bikes and any number of passengers with a few days notice and transfers between airports as well.

Airports served: Barcelona; Girona/Costa Brava; Perpignan

Prices on request

info@discovergirona.net

Calella de Palafrugell – spectacular spot

Calella de Palafrugell is one of those perfect Mediterranean fishing villages which are now sophisticated tourist resorts but without having spoilt either the natural beauty or grown too big to stroll through easily.
Located on what is, for me, the nicest part of the Costa Brava, where the pine trees and wild herbs cling to steep canyons which plunge down to the crystal clear water below.
The best way to see this coast is to walk along the coastal path or “cami de ronda” which will make you work as you follow all the ups and downs of the contours but is well worth it for the views and to experience some of the wild parts that are hardly reached by the 6 million visitors to this area every year.

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Empuries Greco-Roman ruins

Empuries is only some 30 minutes drive from Girona and is right next to l'Escala on the coast in a beautiful setting of sand dunes and pine trees. This area was first settled by Iberian tribes but it is really with the arrival of the civilizing Greeks in approx 300BC that both building and commerce began. Empurion, as it was known, was connected to many other trading ports around the Mediterranean, all eventually supplying the main markets of Greece and Italy with wine, olive oil, nuts ( almonds and hazelnuts), hides and wheat.
This trade became so important that the Romans decided to take over the whole Iberian peninsula to guarantee their supplies for an expanding empire. The remains we see today show a very sophisticated and prosperous community which enjoyed saunas, cultural entertainment, gymnastics and music which even today we can feel envious of.

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Sailing off the Costa Brava

There are few better ways of spending a Friday afternoon than hiring a 12m yacht with some friends and heading off in a 15 knot wind and choppy seas for four hours of sheer unwinding glorious weather sailing.
As we left the port of Palamos we passed fishing boats coming in with their days catch to auction at the fish market, the largest on the Costa Brava. As the coastline diminished over the horizon the steady breeze and rolling waves became our world and even the minor problem of drinking wine out of plastic cups while at a 45º angle seemed fun.
The sense of peace and space combined with the exhilaration of sailing is a potent mixture and as therapeutic as any I have felt. As the sun dropped behind the coastal range we were berthing once again in Palamos and after some brief arranging of buoys and ropes it was hard to believe that four hours had passed by so quickly and pleasantly.
Thank you Jochen and Annie for inviting me.

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Storm hit Costa Brava – Palamos

Walking along a fairly deserted promenade in Palamos today after some of the worst storms in recent memory over Christmas. Some coastal towns on the south of the Costa Brava like Blanes, Lloret de Mar and Tossa de Mar suffered severe damage to their beaches, promenades and even flooding to buildings along the beach from the 6metre high waves and 90km winds. Other places like Cadaques were cut off because of snow which in itself only happens rarely in these days of global warming. Here in Palamos they had a scare as one of the large ferry boats broke its moorings and floated out to sea before being rescued and towed to port again.
Still, we are on the Mediterranean and after a few dramatic days everything will return to sunny, calm and quiet winter days very soon!

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