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The Llafranc and Palafrugell coastal stretch north of Platja d'Aro has an altogether more rural tourist feel than the Costa Brava's bustling resorts further south. Pretty beach bays, stunning coastal walking along marked coast paths, a choice of year round festivals and some superb restaurants are on the menu in this area (visit in December to sample some El Niu - a local casserole served up in Palafrugell's restaurants). Palafrugell has a historic heritage in cork production, explored in-depth in Museu del Suro on Carrer Tarongeta in the town (weblink right). Towns such as Palafrugell and Palamos were important world centres for cork production in the 19th century particularly. The biggest of the Costa Brava festivals - the Cantada de Havaneres takes place in Calella annually in June. The roots of this festival stem back to the Calella and Catalonia's links with Cuba. Local Costa Brava sailors brought back songs and festival ideas from their frequent contact with Cuba via trade routes. Palafrugell also lays on an extravaganza - the Carroussel Carnival parade held every year on Whit Sunday. Some sharp residents thought up the idea in 1962 to get round Franco's banning of the Shrovetide Carvival.
Calella de Palafrugell Tourist Information, Oficina de Turisme de Calella de Palafrugell, Les Voltes, 6 17210 Calella de Palafrugell, Costa Brava Spain. Tel. 972614475. (Checkout the webguide for Palafrugell right for more details). More tourist information offices in the area are at Palafrugell Centre, C.de Sta. Margarida, 1 - 17200 Palafrugell. Tel. 972 30 02 28. Entrada de Palafrugell (Sauleda), C.del Carrilet, 2 - 17200 Palafrugell. Tel. 972 30 02 28. See also Llafranc Tourist Infomation office on C.de Roger de Lluria, s/n - 17211 Llafranc. Tel. 972 30 5 08.
As well as the stunning coastal walking between Llafranc and Calella, (most point to the Palafrugell area as the most beautiful coastal stretch on the Costa Brava!) and over the hills towards Tamariu, there's also excellent diving opportunities off the rocky beach coves of Calella (see Nemrod Diving weblink right - Poseidon Nemrod Diving, Platja Port Pelegri s/n - 17210 Calella de Palafrugell Costa Brava. Tel. 00 34 972 615 345).
Calella de Palafrugell's beaches are one of the areas most stunning attractions. Most are small sandy coves, but beaches like Canadell offer a reasonably long stretch of sands. Beautiful rocky cove beaches such as Canyers and Port Pelegri beach are hidden gems to say the least. You're well away from tourist crowds here.
The Botanical Gardens of Cap Roig sit on top of the Cap Roig along the coastal path (reach it by taking the GR92 on the coastal path to Golfet then onto the Carrer dels Castellets and Avinguda de la Costa Brava. Tel. 00 34 972 61 45 82 for details). This stunning Mediterranean garden dates from 1927, created by the Woevodski family.
The Cork Museum in Palafrugell is rather special, digging deep into the Palafrugell area's heritage in cork production, how it was obtained and the workers who worked in the cork factories.
The museum tour begins with a film from the 1920s which serves as a superb overview and introduction. You're then taken through exhibits on the craft of cork manufacture, with machines and fascinating detail on for example the manufacture of cork paper used to wind cigarettes.
A choral movement - La Taponera - was formed by cork workers in 1859 and you can hear traditional songs of the Clave choirs and see their banner which is on display. The involvement of skilled Catalan blacksmiths who designed many of the cork industry's machinery - they were pushing technology to the limits from 1919 to 1936 and the beginning of the Civil War. Many of the cork trees once prevalent in the area, especially around Girona, have been cut down since the 19th century. During the First World War and Spanish Civil war many were cut down for coal production and the post war Franco project Plan Badajoz saw many of the cork woods turned into irrigation land areas. The archive of images - nearly 4000 images and 50 films - held here at Palafrugell's Cork Museum are particularly fascinating.
Museu del Suro de Palafrugell, Tarongeta Street, 31 - E17200 Palafrugell. Tel. (0034) 972 307 825. (see the Cork Museum's webguide right for opening times & directions.
"I want my museum to be like a single block, a labyrinth, a great surrealist object. It will be a totally theatrical museum. The people who come to see it will leave with the sensation of having had a theatrical dream". (Salvador Dali on the Dali Theatre Museum's creation, Figueres). The Dali Theatre Museum in Figueres, one of the highlights in the Northern Catalonia region, is a work of art in itself as Salvador Dali intended it to be. It's a tour of Dai's life, career and artistic work - a complete evolution of Dali himself as Antoni Ptxot and Montse Aguer suggest in their book on the Dali Theatre Museum well worth purchasing as the definitive guide and memory of your visit.
Prepare for a wowing of the senses even before you enter the Dali Theatre Museum in Figueres - the Diver in diving suit on the exterior walls is a symbol of immersion into the subconscious! You arrive through the Vestible straight into the spectacle of the Courtyard Garden welcomed by Art deco giant gilded Oscar type mannequins, the Rainy Taxi - a Cadillac with Mannequin and chauffeur that floods with water on the inside intermittently, plus a mix of grotesque monster carvings and twisted sculptures on the walls and the looming statue of Queen Esther by the Austrian artist Ernst Fuchs. The Garden Courtyard, one of the most spectacular introductions to an art gallery you're ever likely to encounter, holds a particular fascination for visitors, especially kids who clamour round the flooding Rainy Taxis. Adjacent to the Courtyard is the old Municipal Theatre's main stage - look up to see Dali's amazing geodesic cupola glass dome roof which creates a different effect by night. A nod to the great Spanish architect Herrera, creator of El Escorial north of Madrid. From Dali's homage to North American actress Mae West in his 'Mae West Room' to the ceiling of the Palace of the Wind, you do indeed exit with a sense that you've just experienced a theatrical dream. See the Dali Theatre Museum/Dali Foundation's weblink right for more examples of pieces in the Dali collection held here at the Dali Theatre Museum Figueres.
Dali Theatre Museum, Gala Dali Square, 5 E-17600 Figueres. Tel. (00 34) 972 677 500.
Two other Salvador Dali important sites in the area include his houses at Pubol and Portlligat. House Museum Gala Dali Castel, Gala Square Pubol, E 17120 La Pera. Tel. (00 34 972 488 655). House Museum Salvador Dalia, Portlligat E-17489 Cadaques. Tel. 972 251 015.
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