Costa Brava Escapes - Begur and Pals

heartbcn
Jul 12, 2018
3 min read

The coastline that lies to the northeast of Barcelona is called the Costa Brava - the “Wild Coast,” aptly named given it's stunning and rugged scenery. Scattered with beautiful coves, beaches and sleepy towns its a great place to escape to from the city. Whilst this area is best explored by car, I wanted to see how accessible and easy it was to travel and explore via public transport being that not everyone has access to a car. The train route is not well connected to the smaller towns on the immediate coast so therefore we opted for the bus route. Sarfa have buses on several routes that serve the coast line very well and at reasonable prices. Of course this is a little bit slower than the train or car but you will pass right along the coast and see a lot of beautiful scenery on the way.

View over Begur and the Castle

After doing some research on the coastline and surrounding area we decided to base our selves in Begur. It was a mid week break for us and we were looking for a relaxing time away from the city where we could explore at our own pace. Begur seemed the perfect place. Around 2.5 hours from Barcelona (by bus) Begur, part of the Baix Empordà area, is a beautiful town with many important historical remnants. From the medieval castle ruins perched on-top of the hill over looking the town (stunning 360º views from the top)! to the colonial “indie ” style houses. These were built by the townsfolk returning from the Americas after having made their fortunes in the 19th century. Much of the area has defence towers too which were built in order to defend their towns and shores against possible attacks from pirates sailing the Mediterranean.

Defense Tower from the 16th Century

Church in the main square

Quiet street in Begur

There are also no shortage of stunning beaches as-well, approximately 8 around the Begur area. The more well known probably being Sa Tuna, Sa Riera, and Aiugablava, although there are many more. Begur is on top of a hill, so how were we going to make it to the beach? Well, Sarfa runs a local bus service to most of the beaches at only €1 each way or an all day pass for €4 meaning you can visit a few in a day! We made a trip to Sa Tuna and then walked the coastal path to Aiugafreda. The scenery really is wildly beautiful and you could sit looking out to sea for hours. There are a lot of coastal paths for pleasant walks or hikes which are great for taking photos, or simply seeing the area from a different view point. The Begur website is great for researching the beaches in the areas and also for what else Begur has to offer.

Sa Tuna beach

Aiugafreda beach

The "Wild Coast"

Close by to Begur is the stunning medieval historic town of Pals. Also on-top of a hill, we visited for a morning and stayed for lunch. It's extremely well preserved with a Romanesque tower dating from the 11th century and the town walls which date from the 4th century, with much more to wander round and look at including some lovely artisan shops, cafes and restaurants. It was a very pleasant way to spend the morning. We took a taxi here as it’s only 10 mins from Begur and we wanted to make the most our time, but there is a bus service. A tip if you are there for lunch, steer away from the immediate old town and head to Antic Casino. The old casino of Pals, it retains a lot of its original charm and with service and food to match. I'm glad we found this hidden gem! Full of locals and with a menu of the day for €15 you cant go wrong!

Stunning Pals

Begur has a wide variety of restaurants and hotels as-well so you will be spoiled for choice. We ate at Diferent Restaurant (not a spelling mistake)! and Turnandot and would highly recommend them both. We stayed in Hostalet de Begur. The main reasons why I chose this beautiful B&B was that it is a close walk to town, literally only 2 minutes, it was small having only 7 rooms but also had a beautiful pool which I found to be quite rare in the area, the pool was great at the end of a hot days sight-seeing! There is also a lot of other lovely looking hotels in town to suit all tastes and budgets.