Castelló d'Empúries

The municipality of Castelló d'Empúries, in the Alt Empordà, is located near the mouth of the Muga river, in the Gulf of Roses. Its strategic location allows us to combine art, culture and history with sun and beach tourism and enjoy nature.

The municipality's leisure and free time offer is grouped into these three essentials: Vila Comtal, the coastal area of Empuriabrava and the Aiguamolls del Empordà Natural Park.

CASTELLÓ D'EMPURIES, THE MEDIEVAL CAPITAL OF EMPORDÀ

The old town of Castelló d'Empúries preserves a rich architectural heritage, especially medieval, of which we highlight the Basilica of Santa María (12th-15th centuries) built with great magnificence with the aim of recovering the old episcopal seat of Empúries. The town also has the 14th century Curia-Prison, today the site of the Museum of Medieval History and the Ecomuseo-Farinera, an old flour mill in perfect condition. Among the other buildings, the new synagogue of Puig Mercadal, the Pont Vell, the Lonja de Mar, the Casa Gran, the wall of the Rec del Molí and the Portal de la Gallarda stand out.

But Castelló d'Empúries also has a wide cultural offer throughout the year where you cannot miss the Terra de Trobadors Medieval Festival (in September), it is the most important event of the year in Castellón, a historical, medieval fair that recalls the most critical times of Castellón condal. There is a medieval market, a parade, conferences and troubadour music concerts.

If we talk about gastronomy, among the most outstanding ingredients in this area are duck, foie gras, fish and native vegetables. For those who prefer sweets, it is worth trying the Bruels, the delicias de trobadors or the rocs de Castelló.

EMPURIABRAVA, THE LARGEST MARINA IN EUROPE

Empuriabrava is the exclusive residential marina in the municipality of Castelló d'Empúries. It is located on the coast of the Bay of Roses, one of the most beautiful bays in the world, located in the heart of the Aiguamolls del Empordà Natural Park. Genuine for its design and unique in Europe, it has more than 25 km of navigable channels, thus becoming the dream of any lover of the sea and water sports.

Empuriabrava offers a wide range of sports activities by land , sea and air: skydiving, wind tunnel, golf, sailing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, routes on foot, by bicycle, on horseback, running, karting, tennis, paddle tennis..., among many other activities. It is, without a doubt, the ideal destination for amateurs, professionals or those interested in all kinds of sports or leisure activities.

If what we want is to relax, Empuriabrava has three differentiated 7 km beaches, Empuriabrava, La Rubina and Can Comes, wide and long, with clear, shallow waters, ideal for enjoying with the family and doing water sports.

Its wide range of restaurants, activities, shops and nightlife make it an ideal place to share experiences with both friends and family.

AIGUAMOLLS DEL EMPORDÀ, WATER, SOIL AND NATURE

One of the best things you can do in the municipality of Castelló d'Empúries if you are a nature lover is to visit the protected area of the Aiguamolls de l'Empordà Natural Park. Formed by different freshwater ponds and dunes where you can discover a reserve with an abundance of migratory birds, some 330 species, and flora characteristic of the area. A space for both adults and children that can be explored on foot or by bicycle. You will find routes such as the Estanys route, which allows you to see these wonders of fauna and flowers with your family.

The lookouts are strategically located around the marshes so as not to disturb the animals and allow us a direct approach to the privacy and daily nature of all the birds and mammals that have found their best habitat here throughout the year.

We advise you to bring binoculars or a camera with a telephoto lens, to get a closer look at this natural spectacle!

For lovers of hiking, you can walk the section of the GR-92 long-distance path that passes through this area.

museums

Basilica of Santa Maria

The Basilica of Santa María is the second most important church in the province of Girona and is one of the most interesting examples of Gothic religious architecture in Catalonia. It has a structure and dimensions typical of a cathedral, a dignity that it did not achieve despite the various attempts made in this regard by the Counts of Empúries.

The work, begun in the 13th century, continued throughout the 14th century and ended at the beginning of the 15th century, when the façade with the impressive marble portal was built. The interior space, a paradigm of Mediterranean Gothic, contains the unique baptismal fonts from the 14th century, such as the very remarkable 15th-century alabaster altarpiece, from which Antoni Gaudí was probably inspired to create the Sagrada Família, and many other elements of interest.

Museum of Medieval History of the Curia-Prison (14th century)

Museum collection open to the public that houses the most representative elements of the municipality's historical past, with special attention to the medieval period and the archaeological remains of the local Jewish community during the Middle Ages, such as the Hebrew lapidary collection from the old medieval Jewish cemetery.

It is located in the old prison built in 1336. In the building you can visit an original prison that has 5 cells and a patio where the marks that the prisoners carved on the walls are still preserved. The entrance to the museum is located in the old curia, the symbol of the jurisdictional power of the counts of Empúries in their territory.

Ecomuseum-Farinera

The Ecomuseo-Farinera stands on the old mill in the middle, one of the three mills that existed in the medieval town of Castelló d'Empúries.

Its current appearance, a large three-story building, and the machinery it contains, are the result of the industrialization process that, around the 1860s, involved the technical and construction transformation of the old mill, which became a factory.

Currently, its excellent state of conservation allows us to show the entire flour manufacturing process.

Since 1997, the Ecomuseo-Farinera has been one of the museums that make up the network of the Catalan Science and Technology Museum System, a group of spaces that reproduce the industrialization process in Catalonia.