Castelló d'Empúries

The municipality of Castelló d'Empúries, in the Alt Empordà region, 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 enjoyment of 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'Empúries, the medieval capital of Empordà

The old town of Castelló d'Empúries preserves a rich architectural heritage, especially medieval, among which the Basilica of Santa Maria (12th-15th centuries) stands out. Built with great magnificence to reclaim the former episcopal seat of Empúries, the town also boasts the 14th- century Curia-Prison, now home to the Museum of Medieval History, and the Ecomuseum-Flour Mill, a perfectly preserved former flour mill. Other notable buildings include the new synagogue of Puig Mercadal, the Pont Vell (Old Bridge), the Lonja de Mar ( Maritime Exchange), the Casa Gran (Great House ), the Rec del Molí (Mill) wall, and the Portal de la Gallarda (Gallarda Gate ).

But Castelló d'Empúries also boasts a wide range of cultural offerings throughout the year, and you can't miss the Terra de Trobadors Medieval Festival (in September). It's the most important event in Castelló d'Empúries this year, a historical, medieval fair that commemorates the golden age of Castelló d'Empúries. The festival features a medieval market, a parade, lectures, and troubadour music concerts.

When it comes to gastronomy, some of the most outstanding ingredients in this area include duck, foie gras, fish, and local vegetables. For those with a sweet tooth, it's worth trying the Bruels, the troubadours' delights, 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, nestled in the heart of the Aiguamolls de l'Empordà Natural Park. Unique in its design and the only one of its kind in Europe, it boasts over 25 km of navigable canals, making it a dream destination for any sea lover and water sports enthusiast.

Empuriabrava offers a wide range of sporting activities on land, sea, and air: skydiving, wind tunnel tours, golf, sailing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, hiking, cycling, horseback riding, running, karting, tennis, padel tennis, and much more. It is undoubtedly the ideal destination for amateurs, professionals, or anyone interested in any type of sport or leisure activity.

If what we want is to relax, Empuriabrava has three distinct beaches of 7 km, the beach of Empuriabrava, La Rubina and Can Comes, wide and long, with transparent waters, shallow, ideal for enjoying 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 to do in the municipality of Castelló d'Empúries if you love nature is to visit the protected area of the Aiguamolls de l'Empordà Natural Park. Made up of various freshwater ponds and dunes, it's a reserve teeming with migratory birds—some 330 species—and flora characteristic of the region. It's a space for both adults and children, which can be explored on foot or by bicycle. You'll find routes like the Estanys Trail, perfect for families to discover these fascinating flora and fauna.

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

We recommend bringing binoculars or a camera with a telephoto lens to get a closer look at this natural spectacle!

For hiking enthusiasts, you can explore the section of the GR-92 long-distance trail that passes through this area.

Museums

Basilica of Saint Mary

The Basilica of Santa Maria 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 status it never achieved despite several attempts by the Counts of Empúries.

Construction, begun in the 13th century, continued throughout the 14th century and was completed at the beginning of the 15th, when the façade with its impressive marble portal was built. The interior, a paradigm of Mediterranean Gothic architecture, contains unique 14th-century baptismal fonts, as well as the remarkable 15th-century alabaster altarpiece, which likely inspired Antoni Gaudí to create the Sagrada Familia, and many other points 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 historical past of the municipality, 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 cemetery of the Jews.

It is located in the former prison built in 1336. Inside the building, you can visit an original prison with five cells and a courtyard where the marks left by prisoners on the walls are still preserved. The museum entrance is located in the former courthouse, the symbol of the jurisdictional power of the Counts of Empúries in their territory.

Ecomuseum-Flour Mill

The Ecomuseum-Farinera is built 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 preservation allows the entire flour manufacturing process to be shown.

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