Loop from Girona

01 Church

Girona Cathedral

Catedral de Santa María de Gerona

At the top of Girona, the cathedral houses the widest Gothic nave in the world, 22.98 metres in a single span. Climb the 1607 staircase thinking of 1417: the experts favoured three naves, but the chapter chose just one. A Romanesque bell tower and cloister survive from the first building.

02 Castle

Castillo de Tosa de Mar

Climb the ramp of the Vila Vella along a 14th-century wall with seven towers, which closes off the headland of Mont Guardí. In 1951, this setting featured in the film Pandora, starring Ava Gardner, whose bronze statue now gazes out to sea. The Torre de les Hores, the tallest, still keeps its battlements.

03 Garden  · Family

Jardín Botánico de Cap Roig

Walk down the terraces of Cap Roig, clinging to a cliff above the Cala d'en Massoni, among stone pines and some 800 species sheltered from the tramontane. Around the bends in the paths, a dozen monumental sculptures appear, by artists including Jaume Plensa, Jorge Oteiza and Xavier Corberó. Between the beds, the sea is always there below.

04 Village

Llafranc

Llafranch

In Roman times, Llafranc produced wine and amphorae, and remains of a press survive near the church of Santa Rosa. Its 360-metre golden beach closes off a rocky bay where the writer Tom Sharpe lived. Climb up to the Cap de Sant Sebastià, where an 1857 lighthouse stands beside a 15th-century watchtower and a hermitage.

05 Castle

Castell de Begur

Climb up to this rock, which towers over Begur and opens a wide view of the coast. Mentioned as early as 1019, the castle was razed in 1694 on the orders of the Duke of Noailles, then blown up in 1810 by Admiral Doyle. What remains is the base of a battered round tower, a few walls and later stepped battlements.

06 Castle

Castillo de Pals

Look for the Torre de les Hores, the keep of the castle of Pals, recorded as early as 889. This 12th-century cylinder, about 15 metres tall, had its door 7 metres above the ground. Topped in the 15th century by a small clock tower, hence its name, it remained standing when, in 1478, the castle was used as a quarry for the town walls.

07 Castle

Castillo de Peratallada

Mentioned as early as 1065, this castle occupies the heart of Peratallada, on the plains of the Empordà. Its builders cut the rock vertically to gain height, and the kings of Aragon stayed here, including John I in 1390. From the square, take in the details of the palace façade, its paired windows and its door dated 1745.

08 Archaeology

Iberian town of Ullastret

Ciudad íbera de Ullastret

On the Puig de Sant Andreu stood the largest Iberian town known in Catalonia, founded in the 6th century BC. Walk along its wall, still largely standing, then pick out cisterns, silos and temple foundations. It was abandoned without any trace of violence at the start of the 2nd century BC, within the Roman orbit of Empúries.

09 Archaeology

Empúries

Ruïnes Grecorromanes d'Empúries

Settlers from Phocaea founded Emporion, the market, here in 575 BC, where Rome later landed its legions. The ruins of the Greek town, and then those of the Roman city on the higher ground, are terraced along the Gulf of Roses. Walk to the nearby beach to see the site as approaching ships once did.

10 Museum

Dalí Theatre and Museum

Teatro-Museo Dalí

Dalí chose the ruins of the Figueres municipal theatre, burned in 1939, to house his museum opposite the church where he was baptised. He had held his first exhibition there, in the foyer, and a glass dome now crowns the former stage. You can recognise from afar the giant eggs topping its walls.

11 Museum

Salvador Dalí House Museum

Casa-Museo Salvador Dalí

At Portlligat, near Cadaqués, Dalí settled in 1930 in a fisherman's hut that he extended over forty years. Wander through a labyrinth of small rooms and narrow corridors, where each opening frames the bay in a different shape. He lived here with Gala until her death in 1982, then never came back.

12 Village

Cadaqués

Cadaqués, the easternmost town on the Iberian Peninsula, long lived facing the sea, cut off by the mountains. Dalí settled in the cove of Portlligat in 1948, and Marcel Duchamp spent his summers here from 1958. Climb the slate-paved lanes to the church of Santa Maria, white at the top of the old town.

13 Abbey

Sant Pere de Rodes

Monestir de Sant Pere de Rodes

Below the castle of Sant Salvador, on the Verdera mountain, the Benedictine monastery rises in terraces facing the sea. Turn north and follow the coast beyond Cap de Creus, to the bays of El Port de la Selva and Llançà. In the Romanesque church, columns on two levels support large carved capitals.

14 Village

Besalú

Grown up around the hill of the comital castle, Besalú stands where the Riera de Capellades joins the Fluvià. Cross the river on the medieval bridge, then look on the bank for the mikveh, the ritual bath of the old Jewish quarter. The monastery of Sant Pere and the church of Sant Vicenç punctuate this town, listed in 1979.