The most beautiful medieval towns and villages in Catalonia

One of the reasons I wanted to rent a car in Barcelona and venture out of the metropolis was to visit the medieval villages. I absolutely loved them and really wanted to see them, which was simply not an option without a car as their accessibility is not exactly ideal. I've already shared our itinerary, including a tip on renting a car, in my previous article 7 Top Trips from Barcelona and you can take it as a kind of inspiration on how to manage your time in this area. 

But for now, let's take a look at the specific places that I think are not to be missed in Catalonia. Just a note that today I'll let the photos do the talking, rather than going into any historical details. Of course I'll try to mention the practicalities, but I like to get lost in these types of towns and villages rather than ticking off a list somewhere in my head to see if we've seen everything.

1. Besalú

Let's start with the area near Girona, where you will find several such medieval beauties. One of the most famous is certainly Besalú in the opening photo with its magnificent fortified bridge.

Practical: I recommend entering the free and conveniently located parking lot Aparcament gratuït Besalú P1 into the navigation system, because you get off right at the beautiful bridge (Pont de Besalú), which when you cross, you will find yourself right in the historic centre. At the car park you can also ask for details at the information centre + the tourist train has a platform here. Inside the town, you'll find plenty of diverse restaurants, bars, souvenir shops but also a few viewpoints that will put the bridge in the palm of your hand. 

TIP: Because of the early wake-up time, we arrived here first thing in the morning, which was great in itself because we had the bridge and the streets to ourselves before the tourist buses arrived. Unfortunately in December mornings are not exactly a win in terms of temperature and after a while we were knocking down a nice cold. Fortunately, there was a rescue in the form of the 10 del Pont cafe - you walk down the steps to a viewing point and there you'll find it. Very nice service, great cakes and as a bonus a few toys for the kids, which I appreciated.

Tio de Nadal - xmas log in Catalonia

2. Castellfollit de la Rocca

Just a few minutes drive from Besalú is the typically rolling volcanic area of Garrotxa, where you will find more than 40 extinct volcanoes! I'm a bit disappointed that we couldn't explore more here, as this particular part of Catalonia isn't exactly touristy, nor can you Google much information about it. So we didn't manage to climb any volcanoes, but luckily there was time to check out a town stuck on a 50m high basalt cliff - Castellfollit de Rocca.

TIP: Be sure to go behind (or under) the town to see the huge rock wall. You can stop at the Mont-Rock hotel/restaurant, for example. Then, in the centre, definitely run to the old church at the very tip of Castellfollito for a view from the Mirador Placa de Josep Pla. Plus, on the way, I recommend the Mirador Placa del Cingle, where you'll get a view of the church in reverse.

3. Rupit

The next two towns - Rupit and Tavertet - are already a bit far from Girona and Barcelona, but it's still worth a detour. The roads to both are full of curves, so watch out who gets carsick, but on the plus side you'll also come across plenty of sightseeing spots... which is only a positive if you're luckier with the weather than we were and actually see something :)

In Rupit we were caught in a real downpour, plus big crowds as it was a holiday in Spain. But aside from that, the town itself is really very beautiful, very well preserved and full of stone streets. It is crossed by the not very big Riera de Rupit river, which you can even cross on a suspension bridge! A little further on, this river forms the impressive Sallent waterfall (Salt de Sallent), which can be reached by a walk of about half an hour from the town. In general there are plenty of hiking trails around Rupit, I recommend mapy.cz where you can see it better than on google maps.

Practical: You can't drive inside the town, but there is a large paid parking lot (5€/day) right at the beginning of the town. On our visit, however, it was completely full and traffic was regulated by the local authorities, who directed cars to the free parking spaces between the football field and the cemetery. Both can be seen on the maps to the left before arriving in Rupit. There is a bit of a walk afterwards, but nothing dramatic, so if you want to save on parking fees, this may be the way to go (just beware, it is an unpaved surface).

4. Tavertet

In this small town near Rupit, our luck with the weather had a clear stoppage. It was really cold and the fog was too much. Tavertet is situated on high cliffs, so the reasons for visiting are clear - beautiful views. But they didn't really happen in our case, see the photos when we were glad to hit back to the car :)

Practical: Again, you must leave your car in the parking lot before entering the city. You have to pay €2 in cash. I had planned to walk to the beautiful Salt del Molí Bernat waterfall, which can be reached (more like descended - watch out for the elevation gain!) directly from Tavertet. Unfortunately, the weather was as it was, so... if you can make it there, send me a photo :) for now I'll give you at least this one with the source:

Source: Catalunya Turisme - https://catalunyaturisme.cat/es/salt-del-moli-bernat/

Where to stay?

In the case of Rupit and Tavertet (and Besalú), you have to take into account that there are some accommodation facilities, but the prices are rather higher. The second thing: the available dates disappear very quickly, so if you want to sleep directly in these medieval villages, you have to book really early. Ironically, this is doubly true in the low season, as many accommodations are not open at all. As a nice price and distance compromise, I'd recommend the town of Olot, where you can sleep as follows:

• cheaper: Hotel Olot Centre or Hotel Riu Fluvia - well rated hotel rooms with a price slightly over €80/night
• more expensive: Hotel Mas la Ferreria or El Jardinet de Sant Esteve - beautiful rooms or apartments in country style

5. Vic

Or another in our series of good fortune :) I liked the town of Vic with its really pretty medieval centre when we were planning it, but little did we know it would be literally impassable and impassable! The annual December event Mercat Medieval (Medieval Fair) was just taking place here, so we thought we'd at least see some local festivities... well... But the Vic (and the whole wide area) was completely besieged by parked cars, and when we finally found a parking space, we were stuck in the crowds of people streaming through the narrow streets for a change. 

I was very, very surprised at the scale of this event. I have never seen anything like this before, where are our "Chodské slavnosti" etc... The historical centre and the embankment of the river Meder was full of stalls with beautiful handicraft goods, regional delicacies and fresh specialties. Many people really dressed up in medieval costumes, which added to the impression of a medieval town. The Mercat Medieval even takes place over three whole days, there is no entrance fee and you can count on a rich accompanying programme, including a really big number of attractions for children. 

Of course, the accommodation in Vic was hopelessly sold out, so we went to the next Manlleu, specifically to the Hotel Torres Manlleu. The price was inflated due to the date, but we really had no choice. As such, the hotel was totally fine, just pointing out the unnecessary charges - 10€ parking (not necessary, can be found nearby and walked to) and 10€ breakfast (not really worth the money in my opinion). Other accommodation in the area like this:

• cheaper: Seminari Allotjaments or Hotel Can Pamplona - both very nice with good rating and price up to €92/night
• more expensive: modern Up Room directly in Vic or the nearby beautiful renovated farmhouse Mas Albareda

From Manlleu, you can still take a short walk to the meander of the Riu Ter river, where you have a nice view of the Sant Pere de Casserres monastery. On google maps type straight into Pàrquing Mirador del Meandre del Ter, then go down and there are several viewpoints. Unfortunately we were again met with fog, rain... and a nearly dry river. You just can't plan something :)

6. Tossa de Mar

There is also a medieval town on the Costa Brava. In Tossa de Mar you will find, besides a beautiful wide beach, a 12th century fortress surrounded by walls. As a whole, it makes for a very nice spectacle, but I'm a little worried that it will be overcrowded in high season.

7. Siurana

And my last favourite was west of Barcelona - Siurana, which I was particularly impressed by its surroundings. It is built on high cliffs, so it provides really amazing views. This is a very popular location for climbers, where even in December the opposite cliffs were quite busy, but hikers will also find it very popular.

Practical: You'll need to leave your car at the car park for €3/day (card also available) and walk about 10 minutes to Siurana. On google maps you will see it as Parking 2 Siurana. But why parking lot 1 wasn't allowed I have no idea, so I don't quite know if it's standard. The village itself is tiny and you can get through it pretty quickly. Make sure you don't miss the main attraction and also a cool sightseeing spot - the little church of Santa Maria de Siurana.

After our visit to Siurana, we had a short drive to the town of Prades, where we stayed in the Can Llorenc apartments (recommended, everything was in perfect order). In the morning we made another detour from there to see the views and the pretty chapel wedged under the overhang - Ermita de L'Aballera, and then we headed to the Poblet Monastery, which you could read about in the previous post about trips from Barca. See more articles from Catalonia here:

• 7 TOP trips from Barcelona
• Co stihnete v Barceloně za 2 dny

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