Which is the nicest town between Cadaques and Barcelona?
 

Hi,

I'm going to be spending time in Cadaques and taking a flight out of Barcelona. I would like to spend the last night on the coast about one hour's drive outside of Barcelona. (I'll be leaving in the morning after rush hour.)

Should I spend it in Begur? Or some other town? All suggestions appreciated.

I would like someplace on the Costa Brava that isn't completely overloaded with development. It can be a town in the mountains rather than on the coast if that is nicer.

A good restaurant in town would be great!

Muchas gracias

bon dia espagnabound.

Lucky you!
My husband and I have spent many holidays in the area and still haven't seen everything. But here are some suggestions.
Too bad you only have one night because if you had at least two I would recommend as first on my list the mountain retreat of Nuria. It's a lovely place. It would give you a different perspective of the varied province of Catalunya. However because you must travel to the village by cogwheel train and then from there by car from Ribes de Freser to Barcelona it may take awhile if you are catching a morning flight.
Tossa de Mar is probably too developed as per your post but the choice of restaurants,hotels is good.
Inland is the delightfully preserved medieval town of Besalu which was the ancient capital of the area. It's a lovely little town with amazing architecture.
The little village of Pubol is famous for being the home of Salvador Dali's wife Gala. It's a rather quiet place however.
On the coast we like the little village of St Marti, perched over the Med and near the remains of the ancient Greek and Roman settlement at Empuries.
For somewhere with fabulous restaurants and lots to see maybe Girona would be a good choice. It's a good size city but the old town has quite lovely architectural wonders in both its medieval area and its 16th C area.
Along the coast towards Barcelona, past Empuries and St Marti perhaps one of these coastal towns would suit. Aiguablava, Tamariu or Llafranc.
If you do have a bit of time drive the fabulous coastal road between St Feliu de Guixols to Tossa de mar.
I have mentioned lots of places (sorry..perhaps too many) but these are places you can return to on your subsequent trips to the area.
Have a great time! You will love Catalunya.
regards,

I'd recommend Hotel Santa Marta in Lloret de Mar. The town is quite busy, etc., but the hotel is away from the fray and very secluded with a private cove. We really enjoyed our stay there.

Here's the website:

http://www.hstamarta.com/

Thank you both very much. They are excellent recommendations.

keldar,

I am actually not flying out in the morning from wherever I stay. So I am quite interested in Nuria and will look it up on the web.

What do you think of Peratallada? Or Pals? I was looking at hotel in Pals named Mas Roig.

Do you have any specific recommendations for hotel/restaurant in Besalu? Or Tossa del Mar?

I'm rather drawn to the idea of being in the hills, away from the sea, since we will have spent 5 days right on the Med. But I also might enjoy a great meal even if it is not the most scenic town.

Thanks again to you both. You are giving me a lot of leads.

Hello Espagna:
Sorry I haven't replied to your questions sooner. If you haven't found any info yet on Nuria their website is found at http://www.valldenuria.com/indexing.html
The hotel there is very nice if not luxurious. There is also a hostel. The place is actually a religious retreat but you don't have to be going for this reason. It is a ski area in the winter and the perfect place to hike and get away from the crowds and heat in the summer. You can get a package which includes your room two or three meals daily and the return cogwheel (Cremallera) train tickets from Ribes de Freser to Nuria if you want. I am not sure when you are going but the weather from the coast to Nuria can drop considerably so make sure you have at least an all weather jacket or a fleece coverup etc. (we have been there in July ,left Tossa at 30 C and hit about 15 C in Nuria. (decidedly chilly) but the walking trails through the mountains , the coziness of the bar in the hotel in the evening are very enticing. There is a great shop which sells hiking paraphernelia, food, and some nice souvenirs.
If you decide on Nuria let me know and I will give you some different driving routes you could take from Cadaques.

Tossa de Mar is a built up coastal town but it has charm. The ruins of an ancient castle sits high overlooking the sea and tons of restaurants and shops and hotels complete the town. The diana Hotel is a pretty little place fronting the sea on the main beach. The Mar Menuda further along is on it's own beach and is not high class but has all the amenities. The Reymar is next to it and is the nicest hotel (IMHO) overlooking the sea. Both the Mar Menuda and the Reymar used to be (and may still be I'm not sure) able to be booked through Best Western.
I'm afraid I don't have any hotel recommendations in Besalu. It is a lovely old place reached by walking across the 11th Century bridge into the old town. There may be some hostels or B&B type places. Banyoles is nearby and is a larger place with more infrastructure for tourists but it doesn't have the ancient charm of Besalu.
Hope this helps, let me know if you have any more questions.

Thanks again, Keldar. You've really been a tremendous help.

From looking on the web, I found a couple of nice places to stay in Besalu. This one was particularly attractive:

http://www.lamartana.com/martana.htm

But your post opened up a whole new world to me, including the possibility of staying in some paradors in that area. Looking at a map, I'm thinking that Vic-Sau wouldn't be quite doable in terms of getting back to Barcelona. So I was thinking of visiting Besalu in the afternoon for lunch, and then moving on to spend a few nights in Vic. Do you agree about the distances? Any reasons NOT to stay in Vic?

I will have to steal a bit of time from other parts of my trip to do this, but it looks very interesting in that area. I did look at the webiste for Nuria, but it looks like it would be better as a nice long nature retreat rather than as part of some town hopping twixt beach and hills.

Thanks again, and if you think my plan won't really work -- too little time in Besalu? Vic is actually a poor second to better choices? -- please speak up!

Wait! I made a typo! I meant to write that Vic is quite doable in terms of being able to leave there and be in Barcelona in a few hours.

Do you agree?

I won't lose the chance to go to Nuria ..for me, it's the most wonderful place at the Pirineos. I just did it in a day, you go up in the morning with the train , do some walking, eat a wonderful lunch at the restaurant of the hotel and go down in the afternoon with the train. Just the views during the train trip are worthy enough for me.

kenderina, could you do this a day trip from Vic?