Platja de Pals has a sandy beach that stretches for miles with a championship golf course nearby. The medieval town of Pals that lends its name to this area is just a few miles north.
A Trip to la Costa Brava by Kim Knopp
If you`re going to be in the Midi-Pyrenees or Languedoc-Roussillon area of France for a while, why not dust off your old Spanish dictionary, and give the Costa Brava a call?.
The Costa Brava is the beautiful Spanish Mediterreanean coastline that stretches south from the French border to Barcelona. From Toulouse, the A61 and A9 auto routes, continuing into Spain, make it an easy 3 hour destination. (Speak for yourself, Kim. Last time I crossed from France to Spain, in a battered old VW Kombi, at the other end of the Pyrennees, the French douaniers decided to strip the lining off the inside to see if I was carrying drugs. Since I was still shaking from trying to avoid being flattened by huge trucks as I hurtled down into Hendaye, I was happy to help him while Phyll walked the dogs.)
First of all, this is a very popular and crowded European summer destination, so plan accordingly.
Once you cross the border into Spain, continue south on the autoroute until the town of Figures. Take the exit west towards Roses/Cadaques. You`ll drive through marshy areas, a bit similar to that of the Camargue area in southern France. Roses is a very touristy boat harbor town. Continue on towards Cadaques. You will begin climbing into the high hills. The road becomes very steep and windy… Caution to those prone to car sickness! It is a beautiful drive… just take it slow!
Unfortunately, when we visited this town, it was raining. It has cute small cobblestone streets, and those who fancy flowers will be in for a treat. The buildings and homes are smothered in summer baskets and trellises galore.
The waterfront has its usual tourist traps and restaurants to suit all tastes. But we found it a bit too touristy, even still if the rain dampened our spirits a bit.
Once you leave Cadaques, you continue south towards L`Escala. Just before you come into L`Escala, the Office of Tourism is a must stop. The girls speak all languages, and are very helpful.
L`Escala itself has its fill of waterfront tourist places, hotels, and the like. We chose to stay just south outside the town in the burg of Montgo. Our hotel, "Can Miquel", sat at the dead end of the street, with the beach within a few yards of our door. We had a top floor corner room, with sweeping views of the wonderful pool, and the bay. It is a clean, and very affordable hotel, with very helpful friendly staff, and I do recommend it.
Montgo is full of beautiful homes, of which many can be rented. There are 2 very large camping complexes just down the road, also. There, you can either hook up your own rig, put up your own tent, or rent a cottage.
It`s amazing to see the many Germans who choose this area for their holiday. I often heard our poor waiters in the hotel struggling to be tri-lingual in French, English, and German! "Merci, Thanks, Danke!".
There is a lot of Greek and Roman history here too. The Empuries, just before you get to L`Escala, is the site of a 3000 year old Greek and Roman City. A few of the temples have been reconstructed with the remaining columns, and are quite impressive. You can see some beautiful, floor mosaics, still very well preserved, and totally intact.
There is a nice artefacts museum, with a film presentation, popular with visiting school kids; as was the case when were there. It must`ve been "School Day at the Ruins". There were 4 bus loads of them! Anyway, it is worth the visit.
In fact, you can start your 3000 years of history with a very easy walking tour from the cute medieval village of Sant Marti. From there, where you can park your car for 1 hour, walk through the very small, cute, 2 street village to the waterfront, just around the back of the church. You get a beautiful view of the Mediterranean, a very long beach for sunning and swimming, and can also see the remains of a 3000 year old Greek pier.
There is a walking path from there to the main Empuries, Greek/Roman city site. And the path continues all the way into L`Escala.
The Costa Brava is not only about beautiful beaches, but well worth it to explore the interior a bit. From L`Escala follow signs to Torroella de Mongri. You will see the beautiful castle on the top of the mountian near by. This castle is accessible only by hiking up to it. We didn`t do it, though there are signs pointing towards the beginning of the very steep looking climb.
Driving through this town, follow directions to Ullastret. Here there are 2 very intriguing stops. Just 1 km from this very quiet medieval village, sits the site of a 3000 year old Iberian village, still being excavated. There are many curious `holes` in the ground that was a grain storage system they used. The area is a very fertile farm land, and has been used this way throughout the centuries.
The quiet, medieval village, 1 km away, is a delight to walk around, sit and have a sandwich at the local cafes, and take in all marvellous 800 year old stone buildings.
Our next town takes us to Pals. This again, is another medieval village, but one that shouldn`t be passed by. Its church towers over the village, and one can have a sweeping view of the valley from there. The streets are lined with flowers galore. Even a few medieval "street lamps" can be seen. These are metal baskets bolted, protruding from the upper sides of buildings. In the baskets lay a pile a wood to burn. Hence, a street light! How ingenious they were!
OK, this is the Costa Brava, and we`re finally going to talk about beaches! Pals Beach is the largest and longest. From the village of Pals, you can take either the direction "Platja de Pals (beaches), or towards Begur/Sa Riera.
If you take the main "Platja" direction, you`ll end up at an area of condominiums and golf courses. You`ll get the the beach all right, but it`s not the best spot! Taking the other direction will take you the the other end of the long Pals beach. When you see the group of large radio and TV antennas, you`ll know that the beach is not far. Following the signs into Sa Riera, you`ll be able to park along the street by numerous tourist trap shops and cafes or in parking lots at the beach. The beach is long and there is enough space for the most crowded of days.
For those who want to "bare it all", the naturist beach is an easy walk over a stone step path. Just walk to the end of the beach, and follow the (people), and the stone path over the cliff.
The other beach towns near are Sa Tuna, Mas Pinell, Aiguafreda, and Tamariu, but we preferred Sa Riera. The roads to each beach town curve and wind, and split around the hills, and are not always well marked. We had to double back before we got to Sa Riera!
Back inland, the city of Girona is worth a look. It has a beautiful cathedral, although it was closed when we were there. Its long white staircase with statues of the apostles gracing the entrance is gorgeous. Beautiful, small winding streets and gardens abound in the medieval corner, and then winding your way back to the parking lot across the river there is a street mall for the shopping minded with lots of wonderful ice cream vendors for those hot Costa Brava days!
