Costa Brava Spain - Information on the Costa Brava

Costa Brava -

A popular coastal region in north-eastern Spain, the Costa Brava is located in the province of Girona (Gerona) within the autonomous region of Catalonia. The name mean ‘wild’ or ‘rugged’ coast and it stretches from Blanes in the south, right up to the Spanish border with France, a distance of approximately 200 kilometres. The Costa Brava has many areas of rocky hills and cliffs, interspersed with beautiful sandy beaches.

One of the earliest areas of Spain to become popular with sun-seeking holidaymakers, the Costa Brava grew from the 1950’s as a destination for tourists, the UK package holiday industry being one of the greatest contributers to this growth. A wonderful summer climate together with excellent sandy beaches and superb facilities attracted visitors in their thousands and then millions. Currently the area attracts something in the region of 4 million visitors each year, most of them heading for the popular seaside resorts.

Large number of hotels and apartment blocks were constructed in resorts along the Costa Brava to cater for this huge influx of tourist causing the region to become somewhat over-developed. Resorts such as Roses, Lloret de Mar, Tossa de Mar, L’Estartit, Blanes, Empuriabrava, Playa de Aro and Malgrat de Mar all developed as popular seaside resorts.

Despite this over-development there are still many unspoilt areas to be discovered on the Costa Brava and the adventurous tourist will find plenty to explore outside of the busy ‘fish-and-chip’ resorts. Some of the smaller towns which are well worth visiting include Calella, Pineda de Mar, Cadaqués, Roses, Llafranc, Pals and Palamós.

The Costa Brava still has a thriving fishing industry and there are still plenty of traditional fishing villages to explore. The gastronomy of the region is dominated by seafood and visitors can enjoy wonderful local dishes made with ingredients caught in the area.

Since 1998 many of the towns along the Costa Brava began a campaign to protect the area’s natural habitat and prevent it being destroyed in the name of tourism. Spain’s first maritime nature reserve (Illes Medes) has been created off the coast of L’Estartit, providing a safe environment for a huge diversity of fish and marine life. Another reserve, this time for wildfowl was created on the marshlands around L’Emporda an area which was previously threatened with development.

Away from the busy coastal resorts the Costa Brava has a rich historical and artistic heritage and has numerous interesting places to visit. The beautiful, rugged Catalonian coastline has attracted and inspired many famous artists including Picasso, Salvador Dali and Marc Chagall. Salvador Dali was born and died in Figueres and everywhere around the village visitors can see his influence, Dali not only made his mark here but also throughout the Costa Brava region.

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Related Links: Costa Brava Map - Costa Brava Weather

Barcelona Map - Barcelona Weather - Lloret de Mar Map - Tossa de Mar Map - Blanes Map - Palamos

Costa Brava Towns: Palafrugell - Begur - Figueres - Malgrat de Mar - L'Escala - Sant Antoni de Calonge

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Costa Brava

Spanish Regions - Costa Brava

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