terrilyn2827

2 couples staying in Barcelona 6 nights end of April. Would love to check out area - Cava Wineries, etc. Any suggestions on where we should go? I know we must make reservations. We love to drive so a couple of hours away won't concern us. We are, however, spending 2 nights in Beget after we leave Barcelona, so I'm thinking we might want to go west, south, or east?

PalenQ

Figueras is a nice enough but unstunning town bugt with the Dali Museum and all its weirdness - worth the drive and you can also hit some nearby neat coastal towns.

Montserrat is a must - a popular pilgrimage spot and church with the holy relic the Black Madonna (or some such thing) - very popular and the monks here brew up a very potent elixir you can sample and of course buy.

Girona is a nice old town.

And in 2 hours you could drive into France - just over the border and see the cute coastal resort villages like famous Coulieres.

Don't go too far east or you'll get wet!

texasbookworm

We loved Tarragona--Roman ruins, medieval lanes, lovely Mediterranean views. We did spend two nights, and saw lots of stuff including the nearby aqueduct, but it COULD be a long day trip.

Montserrat was a nice stop, too, if it's a pretty day for views (like we were glad to have)--we left Barcelona early and spent a while there before driving on to Tarragona.

Graziella5b

Girona is a great place to drive to, it is very easy to go by train though.

Rubicund

San Sadurni d'Anoia is the Cava centre for Spain and the place is filled with Cava producers who offer tours, Freixenet, Codornui etc. These places make lots of cheap Cava that isn't very good and some very good Cava that stays in Spain.

We were there last year and did a tour with Juve y Camps, who produce some of the best Cava around, but you would have to e-mail them ahead of time to book a visit. They are my personal favourite producer and you should try the "Reserva de la Familia" or the "Gran". Better than most Champagne! There were only 12 people on our tour and we had lots of time to look around and walk through the millions of bottles on racks that were maturing.

http://www.juveycamps.com/ingles/

It's an easy 40/50 minutes from Barcelona if you have a car.

We combined the visit with a trip to the monastery at Monserrat which is well worth the trip. The train from Barcelona stops right by the monastery if you don't have a car.

http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.c...rat-spain.html

terrilyn2827

Thank you so much for the suggestions! I will email juveycamps and set up a tour for us!

jm19t

I think that If you like the wine you should go to Priorat region, one of the zones that produces the best wine in Spain. When we stay here we visited a winery called :Celler de Capcanes, this visit was very intersting. I recommend it totally.

http://www.turismepriorat.org/en/wha...er-de-capcanes

Also there's a region in south of Catalonia called Delta de Ebre, good to visit with car. In this region is where the rice for the paellas grows. Also it's a very singular region because this is totally diferent than rest of Catalonia,this place is a totally natural region. I recommend it too

Renee777

We loved Tarragona and it was less than 2 hours by train from Barcelona, should you not feel like driving. The town itself is very pleasant and it you're into Roman civilization, ruins, etc. there's a lot to see here. My personal favorite was the archaeological museum which overlooks the Mediterranean--really lovely. Here's the website:

http://www.mnat.cat/

And here's the Tarragona tourism website:

http://www.tarragonaturisme.cat/en/

The Dali museum is amazing and unlike anything you will ever see anywhere. I highly recommend it even if you're not a huge Dali fan because the place is just fun. Don't expect much from the town it's in (Figueres) though.

http://thedali.org/home.php

If you like gardens, here are a couple I wish I'd known about before I went to Barcelona--Santa Clotilde and Marimurtra. I'm not sure how far they are from the city, but you said you don't mind the driving. Plus both of them overlook the Mediterranean.

http://lloretdemar.org/en/what-to-se...lde-gardens-en

http://www.spain.info/en_US/que-quie..._i_murtra.html

danon

On fast AVE train one can get to Tarragona in about 35 min and to Figueres In less than an hour.

Robert2533

If you do head to the Priorat DO, be sure you have reservations to do your wine touring. Touring the Penedès is a lot easier (www.dopenedes.cat/en) on your own.

opaldog

We took the train to San Sadurni d'Anoia and really enjoyed the tour at Codorniu. That was also a small tour. There were two other couples, we were from all different countries and at the end sat at the tasting table and enjoyed the cava and some snacks while the tour guide continued to answer our questions and just enjoy a chat with everyone. It was a fun experience, however time it so you do not get there looking for a place to eat when the town has shut down from 2 to 5. We ended up walking around and taking the train back to Barcelona to find tapas, which is also not a bad alternative.

lilyclaire

Bookmarking

Alan_CT

In May we drove a round trip from Barcelona to Tarragona (stopping briefly at Sitges), then back through the Penedes. Unfortunately, it was May 1 and wineries were closed or had limited hours. Still a very interesting and easy trip. I'd do an overnight if possible. Here's a blog post: http://tinyurl.com/nd2hedq
Montserrat is a great day trip, best done by train from the Espanya station.

TheSauls

saving!