Tossa de Mar

Tossa de Mar is recognized worldwide as one of the icons of the Costa Brava. But despite this popularity, few know all the treasures it hides.

The postcard of Cape Tossa, with its walls, is one of the most repeated photographs of the Catalan coast. The pictorial beauty of the landscape, a source of inspiration for artists and the setting for Hollywood films, has made other attractions go unnoticed, both cultural and historical as well as those of its natural environment.

Tossa de Mar... and mountains

Tossa is one of the many municipalities on the Costa Brava that has sea and mountains at the same time. The town is protected within a valley that ends with its bay, but behind it we find the protected natural space of the Cadiretes or Ardenya Massif that reaches 520m in altitude. The municipal area offers numerous hiking routes both along the sea and through inland forests. At the same time, it is an ideal destination for mountain biking and also for cycle tourism.

The GR92 - Mediterranean Trail - crosses the municipality, offering a diversity of alpine landscape and Mediterranean forest that ends up merging with the coastal path that borders the coast.

Source of artistic and cultural inspiration

Tossa still preserves the charms of when it became the temporary residence of the most representative figures of the European avant-garde of the 1930s. Intellectuals and artists of the stature of Marc Chagall, Jean Metzinger, Georges Bataille, Francis Picabia and André Masson were seduced by Tossa. Here they found refuge and also inspiration.

Baptized by Chagall as " the blue paradise", Tossa was key in the introduction of the avant-garde in Catalonia. The museum, opened more than 85 years ago, was the first in the state to exhibit works by contemporary foreign artists. Today Tossa and its museum continue to preserve the cultural legacy that so many creators have left behind.

A Hollywood movie set

The definitive leap of Tossa de Mar as a global icon of the Costa Brava landscape is undoubtedly from the passage through the town, in 1950, of Ava Gardner, James Mason, Marius Cabré and Frank Sinatra during the filming of the film “Pandora and the Flying Dutchman” directed by Albert Lewin. The walls, the fishermen, the beach and the town of Tossa were part of the natural setting of the film and served as the set for several scenes already immortalized on celluloid.

In 2021, the 70th anniversary of the premiere of “ Pandora and the Flying Dutchman ” was celebrated and Tossa still has a thousand anecdotes from those moments. In Vila Vella, on a viewpoint with beautiful views of the beach, a bronze sculpture by Ava Gardner looking at the Mediterranean Sea reminds us of her stay.

Seaside town, history and gastronomy

La Vila Vella, with the walls next to the sea, the neighborhood of Sa Roqueta, with fortified houses on the bedrock and the rest of the town, with witnesses from the time of the Indians, make up a complex of special interest.

Tossa has the “ Villa Marinera ” distinction awarded by the Catalan Tourism Agency. The streets hide corners full of Mediterraneanism, with old facades, hanging clothes and flowers in the windows. Walking through it is a pleasure for the senses and an experience full of authenticity. The different guided routes allow you to learn about their stories, legends and traditions, as well as the glorious overseas past.

To top off your stay in Tossa you also have to know how to enjoy its gastronomy. You can find a good variety of high-end restaurants, specializing in seafood cuisine, Catalan cuisine, creative cuisine and traditional Tossenca cuisine. The campaign “ La Cocina de la Cumbre y Tumba ” stands out, the typical Tossian dish, and excellent fish cuisine.