Catalonia in Spain

Catalonia has a great variety of different landscapes very close to each other, mountains on the Pyrenees (at the border with France), green hills on north of the country, agricultural planes on the west and beaches on the east.

What to visit;
Reus
Montserrat - A unusual rock mountain, with a Sanctuary on top. It is very popular among Catalans. You can travel there by train (take Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat from Plaça d’Espanya to Montserrat-Aeri) or by bus (they leave from the Plaça de la Universitat in the morning).
Volcanoes near the city of Olot, and La Fageda d’en Jordà, a very nice forest and extinct volcanoes.
Adventure sports (in a lot of places in Catalonia like Llavorsí in the Pirineus)
Barcelona
Figueres - The Dalí Museum
La Llacuna- Beautiful Mediterranean outback village, with typical gastronomy and landscapes.
Les Alexandrias - Rugged western hamlet located near the Aragonese mountain range. Famous for its bull fighting festivals in which the bull holds a red cape and bullfighters run after it.

Catalonia is today an autonomous region within Spain, but in fact has an older history as an independent territory of the Crown of Aragon which in some ways historically predates Spain itself. The region gained its current autonomous status after Franco’s death in 1975 and continues to press for more political and economic autonomy, mainly in the form of the right to collect and spend larger and larger portions of tax money locally. This has been the source of some conflict with other regions of Spain that don’t have these expectations.

Catalonia has hundreds of “festes” that go on around the region every week of the year. The closest word in English to translate “Festa” would be “Festival” but this is inadequate to describe the type of celebration that exists in Catalonia. “Festes” are ritual like celebrations that have been passed down through generations of people for more than 700 years. They are organized by the people of a town for their own enjoyment, and not for any commercial interest. “Festival” (which also exists in the Catalan and Castilian languages) denotes an event that is usually organized by a specific group of people for a particular market, and is often motivated by economic interest.

“Festes” have ritual like sequences of events that usually involve Giants, Devils, Human Castles and processions. A magical atmosphere is created at the “festa”, almost like a type of Catharsis. “Festes” stem from Medieval Times when fantastical dragons and Giants were created to instruct people about religion in church services. Shortly after the fantastical creatures became a part of the Corpus Christi processions that paraded through the town during the summer. The importance given to these folkloric elements has gradually increased over time and now they have assumed a national importance. Nowadays, these traditions are associated with Catalan identity as something that is individual and separate from the rest of Spain.

These “festes” are not greatly publicized by the Catalan government for foreign people. A new company that takes people on cultural tours of these festes has recently begun. culTOURa aims to show foreign visitors to Catalonia these special and defining traditions, without spoiling the festes and turning them into a commercial event.

Because of its geographical location and terrific range of habitats, including dryland steppes, rocky coastlines, mountains and some of the most important wetland sites in Europe, Catalonia has a greater variety of bird life than anywhere else on the peninsular, with 95% of Iberia’s and 50% of the whole Palearctic’s recorded bird species.

Some of the most sought-after are Lammergeier, Black Woodpecker, Wallcreeper, Bonelli’s Eagle, Lesser Grey Shrike, Dupont’s Lark (recognised as probably extinct in Catalonia in 2006), Little Bustard, Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Audouin’s Gull and Lesser Crested tern. The most important sites are Cap de Creus, Aiguamolls de L’Empordà, Barcelona’s Llobregat Delta, the Parc de Garraf, Ebro Delta, Steppes of Lleida and, of course, The Pyrenees.

There are a few companies that will organise tours for you, or even offer free advice, including Catalan Bird Tours and Oliva Rama Tours. There is also the Birdinginspain.com web site which offers birding sites and itineraries and lots of other useful information to help the visiting birder plan his or her trip to Catalonia.

Xanascat is the National Network of Youth Hostels for all of Catalonia. They have 46 different installations throughout the region. The best option for low priced accommodations.
Mas del Puig. Enjoy a stay in the Heart of Catalonia, far from the everyday life and near everywhere, in couple or with friends, in front of the mountain of Montserrat.
If on your trip in catalonia you wish to stay a few days in Barcelona, it’s worth looking at the website, Apartments BCN They offer you a wide range of luxury Apartments located in the center of Barcelona (eixample area) for a short stay. You can choose from the loft apartment up to 8 people to a fabulous studio with 2 terraces. Ask for frédéric that will give you any additional details about your stay.
Bungalow Park & Camping Sant Pol. Delicious and cosy bungalow park in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, just 350m from the beach of S’Agaró. Their excellent wooden houses will let you have a wonderful quiet holidays in a small resort for families with small children, on the Costa Brava.
Camping Neus in l’Escala. Peace and quiet in the middle of a forest, at only 850m from the beach of Cala Montgó. Huge pitches for caravans and special terraced pitches for small tents. Friendly staff and plentiful shade, on the Costa Brava. Swimming-pool & tennis too.