Will be in Barcelona w/ friends next month.

Since they have never been in Catalonia / Spain before, they would also like to see some of the countryside. We will have a car available if needed.

Besides the "usual subjects", like Montserrat, are there any other destinations in an appr. 100km radius which you would recommend, like a tour through the Penedès region or the Cava cellars?

Thanks a lot in advance for any suggestions.

the cava cellars or other wineries in the area.
Cadaques and the small villages in la Costa Brava.
Sitges by night or day.
Vic up in the mountains , just 50 km away.
I like very much the drive via Vic to Campodron up in the Pyrenees, and then coming back through Olot in Girona.
About 220km the round trip.
Girona itself is a nice visit.

Another vote for driving in northeastern direction. Take the C32 (the coastal motorway) until exit 24 and then drive the scenic coast road between Lloret de Mar and Sant Feliu, not forgetting to stop in Tossa.

Then proceed on the fastest way to Figueres (Dali Museum). Drive to Cadaques (spectacular White Town and Dali's home in Port Lligat)and Cap de Creus (dramatic scenery).

This would be enough for a full day's trip. You will see scenery, architecture, art and culture.

Here our trip report on the area, recently amended:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35086408

I think Cadaques is too far for a comfortable day trip. If a beach destination is wanted, I'd pick Calella da Palafrugell.

But since Barcelona is on the beach, I would go for something inland and in the foothills of the Pyrenees.

I think doing the 220km loop that "car" outlined would bring into some of the most scenic parts of the interior, but if you stop to visit the towns like Girona and Vic -- which are rich in treasures -- you won't have much time to tour the countryside.

I found the best descriptions of that area to be in the Rough Guide to the Costa Brava, which is available through Amazon.

You might find this website listing towns useful, even though it is completely disorganized.

http://www.hostalaltagarrotxa.com/activitats-ing.html

For me, if I were focused on wine, I'd go in the direction of Tarragona -- and I've never been there, so I can't advise!

My favorite day trip from Barcelona goes to nearby Montserrat, one of Spain's holiest pilgrimage shrines - home of some kind of Black Madonna - but Montserrat's location - being perched on high up pinnacles is also part of the attraction.

Take a suburban train to Montserrat and from the station a cable way (i think replace or supplemented now by a mountain train) to the shrine. There are paths of the Cross to take thru a rugged landscape.

Very very famous in Spain - avoid weekends if you want to not wait in long snaking lines to glimpse the vaunted Black Madonna.

Monks (or nuns?) here sell a potent brew with a high alcoholic content in case you want to better contemplate the sacred feeling of the place.

Thanks a lot for all those great ideas!
I really appreciate it and will do more research re. the different suggestions.

Just got back from a month in Spain. We spent 8 days in total in barcelona. 4 at the beginning and 4 at the end. I would agree that Cadaques is worth a visit, but is too far of a drive to enjoy in one day. Coming back down from the basque region we spent the night in castelldefels (sp?). It is just about 30 min south of barcelona and the beach was amazing! The beaches in barcelona are ok, but nothing like the sandy beach at this resort. We stayed in a hotel right on the beach, a bit expensive (160E a night for 3 people, including breakfast).
Also really enjoyed Girona a great town to spend a day wandering through. We used it as our base for a few days and went to Cadaque one day, into the pyrennes another day and spent a third day in Girona.

The cistercian monastery of Poblet in Vimbodi (Prov. Tarragona) is on the world Heritage list and well worth a visit.

How many days do you have for the trip in total? You really need 3-4 days in Barcelona alone. Are you going to be there during La Merce festival?

In addition to the recommendations on Vic & Girona I'd recommend Tarragona. I spent 2 nights in Tarragona last fall and it was a very nice provencial city full of roman ruins - even a colesseum. It's about an hour south of Barcelona by train (frequent). Besalu is another thought. It's a small medieval village - very quaint. Depending on when you are traveling in September there are festivals in both Tarragona and Besalu also.

Sorry for not getting back sooner. Did not have access to PC the last 3 days.

I will be in Barcelona for one week, starting upcoming Saturday. My friends will be in Barcelona few days longer, but since they do not feel comfortable with driving, we planned to do the trips to the surrounding area during my stay.

Will check the local festivals to see if our trip coincides with them.

And thanks again for all the great ideas. I think we'll have a hard time picking one or two destinations..

We stayed at the Parador in Begur for a few nights and loved visiting Pals, Girona, and Empuries. Were disappointed with Figueres, but I'm not a big Dali fan, though I did like visiting his wife's house, Casa Gala.

If you do go to Monteserrat, try to catch the boys' choir (I believe they sing at 11???) and park and take the funicular to the top--drive is very scary (IMO).

Girona