© photographer Rafael Laguillo; agency Dreamstime.com
Catalonia's Mediterranean Coast

Geography
Cataluña is made up of four provinces: Lleida, Tarragona, Girona and, seat of the region's government, Barcelona. The Catalan people take fierce pride in their heritage and independence, and though all Spaniards speak Castilian Spanish, the official first language here is Catalan. The Catalanes are renowned for their industrious work ethic, practical nature and pragmatic character.

With the Pyrenees along its northern border and the shores of the Mediterranean to the east, Cataluña is blessed with more than its share of Spain's natural resources and stunning scenery. This is a bi-lingual, multi-ethnic, autonomous region just south of the French border, whose inhabitants regard their land as a nation with its own separate language. To the west, Cataluña meets Aragón; if you go south along the coast from the Costa Brava you will find Cataluña's vineyards and olive groves merging with those of Valencia.

Cataluña has long been the destination for migrating Spaniards from poor villages in more arid regions like Andalucia and Extremadura. This rich province is well known as the siren song which draws those who seek a better life.
 
History & Heritage
Originally colonized around 230 BC by the Carthaginians, Cataluña, like many parts of Spain, spent time under Visigoth rule and then became a Roman province. The Moorish invasion reached this northeast corner of Spain only briefly and by 987 the Moors had been driven south. Joined with the kingdom of Aragon in the twelfth century, Cataluña, with its access to the Mediterranean, became an important maritime power.

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Cataluña became a leading center in Europe for textile manufacturing and the subsequent industrial expansion brought about an era known as the Catalan Renassaince. By the end of the nineteenth century, this trend had given birth to the Modernisme art movement.

Nowhere else in Spain is the regional character so unique and distinct; nowhere has the influence of a region's historic forebears merged and been carried quite so clearly into the present day culture... Iberian, Phoenecian, Greek, Visigoth, Roman, Aragonese and finally, in large measure, French... all seem present in this cosmopolitan melting pot of progressive Cataluña. You see it in the art and architecture. You feel it in the impassioned conversation of well educated, well read Catalanes. The Catalan language's closest cousin today is the langue d'oc, the old native tongue of southern France.

© photographer Dainis Derics; agency Dreamstime.com

Best Sights
Costa Brava
There was a time when the entire Catalan coast from Barcelona, north to the French border, was referred to as the Costa Brava. These days we make a distinction between the Costa Brava and the Costa del Maresme, which is the stretch immediately north east of Barcelona, which has quite a different ambience and character and is mainly a weekend escape for the Barcelona locals. Now, Costa Brava refers more to the coast of the province of Girona.

There are some spectacularly scenic spots along Cataluña's jagged coast from Blanes, northward to the Pyrenees and France. Along the gorgeous coastline lie the immensely popular towns of Lloret de Mar, Tossa de Mar and Playa d'Aro... destination havens for families and young holiday makers, where the sun never ceases and the fun never stops.

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The name Costa Brava means wild, or savage coast and refers, not to the tourists, but to the steep cliffs and rugged quality of the Spanish shoreline of this north east region. Explore and you will find plenty of unspoiled rocky coastline, sheltered coves and pine groves stretching down to the Mediterranean. l'Estartit is a former fishing village with miles of wonderful beaches for swimming, sunning and water sports.Visit Torroella de Montgri and Figueres inland. The latter is well known primarily as the birthplace of the great surrealist painter Salvador Dali. Its main attraction is of course the museum dedicated to his art and life, which houses a very nice collection of some of his best works.

© photographer Photonimo; agency Dreamstime.com
Cadaqués

Cadaques is located in a natural harbor on the Cap de Creus Peninsular. Salvador Dali named it the most beautiful village in the world. With the Pyrenees as a backdrop, it is surrounded by olive groves and picturesque Mediterranean landscapes. It naturally became the haunt for a cadre of modernist and avant garde artists... Picasso, Dali, Man Ray, Garcia Lorca and filmmaker, Luis Bunuel among many others, and is home to many art museums and galleries as a result. The local church boasts an extraordinary baroque altarpiece, and there is an annual music festival.

Costa Dorada
The Costa Dorada (golden coast) runs from Barcelona, 150 miles south to Tarragona. Long regarded as one of Europe's favorite playgrounds for vacation fun in the sun, Costa Dorada has great expanses of golden sand, beautiful inland landscapes and picturesques towns, with Sitges being probably the most famous. It has many interesting historical sights and has become a well known counter-culture haven, famous for its night spots. About 10 km from Tarragona, find Salou and Cambrils two beach communities which offer safe, shallow waters and are perfect for families with young children. Salou is also home to a large theme park called Port Aventura.
 

© photographer Anthony Dodd; agency Dreamstime.com

Tarragona
Tarragona was the Roman capital of the province during the first century BC. The empire's temples and administrative buildings occupied the high ground where today Tarragona's Cathedral and old quarter now rest. Lower down, near the sea, are some of the best preserved Roman ruins in Spain... the aqueduct, amphitheater, forum and the Tomb of the Scipios. Close to Tarragona are the monasteries of Santes Creus and Santa Maria de Poblet, both large, impressive, well preserved Cistercian monasteries which date from the twelfth century.
 

© photo Joan ramon Mendo escoda; agency Dreamstime.com
The Priorat

Close to Tarragona, about a hundred miles southwest of Barcelona is a region known as The Priorat... twenty three villages whose origins go back to Cataluna's pre-Iberian settlers, nestled in a low mountain range. The monastery of Escaladei, known as the Cartoixa, was founded in the twelfth century by Cartusian monks, and was the first monastery on the Iberian Peninsular. Since the fifteenth century, the region's economy has rested on the production of wine and olive oil. Today there are some sixty wine producers recognized under the DOC  Priorat and DO Monsant designations for the Priorat's fine varietal wines.

Cuisine & Culture
Cataluña's provincial cuisine features some unusual ingredients, plus unusual combinations of the familiar. You might browse the menu to find Quail with Blood Sausage & Vi Ranci (literally rancid wine, but in reality a heavily oxidized, high-alcohol dessert wine); Goose cooked with Turnips and Pears; Round Grain (like Arborrio) Rice with Rabbit and Moixernons, a local dried mushroom; or one of the many Catalan equivalents of surf and turf, known as Mar i Muntanya (sea & mountain)... Rabbit with snails, Lobster Sauce over Chicken, and such. Along the coast, try the marvelously fresh fish and seafood. The grilled local sardines will amaze you if you've only ever eaten the canned variety.

A perfect complement to the local Catalan cuisine are the Priorat varietal wines. Distinctive and intense thanks to the volcanic soils of the Priorat, these wines have come into their own in the last decade or so and stand up well against the best Spain has to offer. Also try the more famous Riojas... full-bodied red wines produced in La Rioja, just west of Aragon. Sample the Basque Txacolis... bright, crisp whites, or Sidra, hard cider, very popular in this region, you will find it served by the glass in the local sidrerias. And of course don't forget Cava, the Catalan sparkling wine which is deservedly famous and enjoyed not only here in Cataluña but throughout Europe.

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