Hotel Costa Brava

Oasis on Costa Brava

by summer26

"One of the nicest beaches on Costa Brava"

Tossa de Mar is one of a few places on Costa Brava where you can spend nice relaxing holiday without noise from clubs, pubs and party people...but i prefer it the other way around....:)

"calm and peaceful atmosphere"

it´s really worth it to make a trip to tossa even if it lies in quite remote bay. the beaches are less crowded and whole atmoshere is very relaxed almost meditating...(well, everything seems meditating when you come there from lloret the mar, trust me!)

"The Beach"

it was a bit cloudy that day, but that even somehow strenghten my good impression of this place

Nice place at the Costa Brava

by blumia

"Tossa de mar by night"

Tossa de mar is a very nice old town at the coast. There is a historical part named Vila Vella with an interesting defences.

"nice places around"

Costa Brava

by edwis

"Tossa de Mar:"

We landed in Barcelona, picked up a rental car, and drove 2 ½ hours up the coast to the Costa Brava area of Spain. Our base was in Tossa de Mar, a tourist village on the Mediterranean Sea. Our hotel, Hotel Capri, is a family owned/operated place on the beach in the old part of Tossa. We could sit on our balcony and view the picturesque scenes in front of us. The weather was in the mid 80s, with no humidity. We slept with the windows open and listened to the waves because there was no street noise after 9:00 PM. Much to our surprise, the swimming water was very cold, but most invigorating.

Tossa is quaint, with no cars allowed on the narrow streets of the old town. We had to park our Citroen C2 about 10 blocks away from the hotel in a newer residential section. Tossa has maintained its Spanish identity by allowing no Hiltons, no MacDonald’s, no corporate chain operations in the inner town. We loved roaming through the small shops and eating/drinking in the outdoor sidewalk cafes. Orange and black dominate clothing colors for the locals.

We walked around the old walled ruins of the original city, climbed on cliff paths overlooking the beaches, and swam at the topless beach. Prices were reasonable, and the local wines were a pleasure to drink. We found having a ½ litre with lunch and full litre with dinner just perfect for us. There are lots of artesian pizza places, tapas cafes and gift shops. Why are the 10-inch pizzas throughout Europe so much better than any pizza in the States? After dinner, we learned to drink a ‘cortal’ – espresso with cream. We ate some wonderful tapas for light breaks, such as anchovies over green tomatoes. We were served a bowl of olives at one place and Joan, being a lover of olives, stated these were probably the best olives she has ever tasted.

We didn’t encounter any Americans in Tossa, which added to uniqueness. We were asked if we were Germans or New Zealanders.

The oddest element of this part of Spain was the language. We both are familiar with Spanish. However, the Catalonia region of Spain has its own Catalunya language. It is on the signs, used in local speech, and is on all menus. Castilian Spanish, used in the rest of Spain, does not compute in this Catalunya region. Most menus have multiple language pages: German, Italian, British, French, Castilian, and Catalunya. We were totally lost with menus that only had Catalonian. For example: bread in Spanish is pan, Catalonian is pa; beach in Spanish is la playa, Catalonian is la platja; river in Spanish is rio’, Catalonia is riera. Only Hola, Si, and gracias were the same.
Tossa offers a relaxed pace, where the biggest decisions are whether to eat and drink the local specialties, watch the fishermen work their boats, swim, explore the ruins or walk the boardwalk. It is a mixture of Amalfi and the Cinque Terra, which is right across the sea on the Italian side.

GIRONA

by DanielF

The province of Girona occupies the North-eastern part of Catalonia. It is extremely varied and one of the best destinations in the world for a holiday: it is much more than the famous beach ressorts like Lloret de Mar; it has beatiful scenrey, wonderful villages and towns, excellent country hotels, some of the best restaurants in Spain, culture, an incredebly beautiful coast, high mountains, natural parks, and many other things.

The main areas in Girona are:

- L'Empordà, La Selva and the Costa Brava. This is the best known for the European tourists. It is popular since many decades for the beautiful beaches, the well preserved medieval towns and the picturesque landscape. Many tourists just come looking for sun, sand and sangría in Lloret de Mar. That's a pity since they are missing a very special area.

- Girona and the Plà de l'Estany. The capital, Girona, is very beautiful and well preserved. Take a stroll in the old misterious judish quarter and admire the colourful houses from the bridge. The cathedral is in a beautiful setting and its interior is worth a visit. It's not a wonder that this town is considered to have one of the highest living standards in Spain. Clo to this area, you can visit the lake of Banyoles and its calm and pleasant beauty.

- La Garrotxa: the main volcanic area in Spain is full of forests and old towns.

- El Ripollès: It is famous for the Romanesque churches, the pork sausages and the beautiful mountains.

- La Cerdanya: this region is shared by the province of Lleida. Unfortunately I've never been there, so I just can say that I hope to be there soon.

This is a view of the beautiful medieval village of Besalú, near Girona.

View of the beach in Tossa de Mar.

"Pals"

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"Santa Maria de Ripoll"

This is a view of one of the most important Romanesque monasteries in Catalonia. It is situated in a small town called Ripoll.

"La Garrotxa"

La Garrotxa is the main volcanic area in mainland Spain (not comparable to the Canary islands, of course). This is a picture of Castellfollit de la Roca. The first settlers of this little town couldn't have chosen a more scenic location for it: on top of these volcanic rocks.

"Besalù, Romanesque bridge"

"The Costa Brava"

"Cadaquès"

Cadaquès is the most famous town in the costa Brava. In this picture you can see why it is so loved by visitors. In this area you can visit the places where the famous painter Dalí lived.

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"Cap de Creus"

This is the Easternmost point in the Iberian peninsula.

"Llançà"

Another picturesque white village in the Costa Brava

"Tossa de Mar"

Tossa de Mar (La Selva) is one of the most beautiful villages in the Costa Brava. Its bay has a perfect shell form and the castle in the old town is very scenic.