Best museums and sites to visit on the Costa Brava

Wine tourism

And if you are interested in wine culture, high quality wines are produced in the whole area of Empordà, thanks to the land where the vineyards are located.

These are wines with the Designation of Origin status [DO] Empordà, which is over 30 years old and caters for 55 municipalities in the Baix Empordà. Favoured by the north wind, blowing every day in the two regions, the vineyards are immaculately maintained throughout the year, while the resulting wines are characterized by being sweet and natural.

It is highly recommended to visit one of the many vineyards in the area, where for an affordable price you can have lunch in the vineyard, take a guided tour and, finally sample the wines to taste this special Designation of Origin.

Detail of the facade of the Dalí museum in Figueras

The "dalian triangle"

The Dalí Theatre-Museum, the House of Salvador Dalí in Portlligat, and the Castell Gala- Dalí House-Museum in Púbol make up the Dalian Triangle, a must-see for art lovers.

The Dalí Theatre -museum was conceived entirely by Salvador Dalí in the old main theatre of Figueres, a space that he himself defined as " the first and only surrealist art museum in the world"
For its part, the House of Salvador Dalí in Portlligat, is the most personal space of the three, and that gives us a closer and intimate perspective of Gala and Dalí. It contains a maze-like structure, from where you can visit the library, workshop, garden and private rooms
.Finally, the Castell Gala – Dalí House- Museum of Púbol is a medieval building which Dali gave to his wife Gala in 1970. During the visit you can see the drawings and paintings that were used to decorate it and the amazing elephant sculptures in the garden

Sant Ferran castle

Sant Ferran Castle, the largest monument in Catalonia by size is located a few metres from the historic centre of Figueres, is an essential and impressive visit to what used to be a military fortress to protect the border in a bygone era.

The guided tour includes a visit to the castle´s inner moat by jeep and a visit to the water tanks located underneath the parade ground by Zodiac boat.

A good option to ensure not missing any detail, is to skirt the castle by the walkway, where you can enjoy exceptional panoramic views over the Empordà plain, the sea and the Pyrenees.

Museo del Joguet de Catalunya (Toy Museum)

This museum offers a journey through the history of games and toys from our childhood and from previous generations. The museum exhibits almost 4,000 pieces from a collection made up of more than 17,000 games and toys, including the one most loved by Salvador Dalí and other prominent personalities.

www.mjc.cat

Museo de l’Empordà

The Museum of Empordà, located in the center of Figueres, capital of l'Alt Empordà, has one of the main art collections in the region. Created in 1946, its collections date back to the late nineteenth century and come from donations and bequests from illustrious figures of the city, as well as from the Prado Museum in Madrid. The current building dates from 1971 and houses pieces of archeology, history and art from the city and the region, thanks to the important donation of the collector Frederic Marès.

The Museum of Empordà is a multidisciplinary institution dedicated to the search, conservation and dissemination of local and regional cultural heritage through the organization of exhibitions and activities, notably oriented to contemporary artistic creation.

www.museuemporda.org

Dalí theater museum entrance in Figueras

Museo Dalí

The Dalí Theater-Museum, inaugurated in 1974, was built on the remains of the old theater in Figueres and contains a wide range of works that describe the artistic career of Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) from his first artistic experiences and his surrealist creations to the works of his last years of life.

It is worth highlighting the set of works made by the artist exclusively for the Theater-Museum, such as the Mae West Room, the Palau del Vent Room, the Monument to Francesc Pujols and the Rainy Cadillac. Likewise, works by other artists that Dalí wanted to include are shown: El Greco, Marià Fortuny, Modest Urgell, Ernest Meissonier, Marcel Duchamp, Wolf Vostell, Antoni Pitxot and Evarist Vallès, among others. The Dalí Theater-Museum should be seen as a whole, as the great work of Salvador Dalí, since it was conceived and designed by the artist in order to offer the visitor a true experience and enter his captivating and unique world.

www.salvador-dali.org

Museu de la Tècnica de l’Empordà (Technique Museum)

The Empordà Technique Museum offers the visitor an exhibition of more than 3,000 mechanical antiquities from the 18th-19th centuries. The first sewing machines from the year 1830, typewriters unique in the world, telephones and switchboards, Comtoise watches of magnificent beauty or a Hispano-Suiza car from the year 1908, are some of the pieces that have lead the collection to be considered one of the best of tools and inventions on display to the public.

A space where memory projects us to a past in which social, cultural and economic changes evolve history and help us understand how we have arrived at the present.

www.mte.cat

Ciutadella de Roses

The space occupied by the Citadel of Roses includes the archaeological site of just over 12 hectares and the history museum that chronologically explains the evolution of the town during the last 2,500 years.

The first to settle were the Greeks who were looking for a safe natural port to establish their commercial activities, later the Romans came and in medieval times, the town underwent a great moment of expansion under the tutelage of the Monastery of Santa María. In modern times the walls were built and the square became more military in order to protect its strategic location. In contemporary times, after the last military occupation and a partial demolition, the citadel overcame the danger of urbanization of the land and became a National Historic Monument in 1961.

Today it is a heritage space, open to the public, with a museum inaugurated in 2004 and an archaeological site where you can walk through the history of the last centuries of our country.

Sculpture in the ruins of Ampurias overlooking the Mediterranean

Sant Pere de Rodes Monastery

If there is an adjective that fits the Monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes like a ring on the finger, it would be "majestic". Because, as the dictionary says, it impresses with its solemnity and elegance. This 10th-century Benedictine monastery appears to dominate the Cap de Creus Natural Park from the highest point of Port de la Selva. Declared a Cultural Asset of National Interest, it is one of the greatest exponents of Romanesque in Girona, and highlights the church, the bell tower and the defense tower.

Since its construction in the 10th century, the monastery has seen many changes. A few centuries of splendor - when it dominated territories on both sides of the Pyrenees -, and the decline from the seventeenth century, constant looting, etc., until it became one of the essential tourist attractions of the Costa Brava.