 | Barcelona Day Trip Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 69 |  |
 | |  |  | Day Trip: Gastronomic route: El Xató | Tip Rating:   |  |  | |  |
The Xató is a salad. Someone can find funny that there is a region where people rave for a salad dish, to such extent that they made a gastronomic route about it. But it is not an usual salad, if made properly and with fresh ingredients it's delicious, and a fine example of true Mediterranean cuisine. Xató has only a secret: its sauce. Made with local products as almonds, hazelnuts, garlic, a special dried red pepper (nyora), some bread to thicken, and of course prime quality olive oil. All this is mixed by hand using a mortar. Like most popular dishes, each house has its own version. Spread this delicious sauce over a mix of lettuce leaves (typically curly sweet endives, even my family likes more roman lettuce), salty and oil-preserved fishes (cod, anchovies, tuna), olives and sometimes other vegetables. At my hometown, Vilanova i la Geltrú, xató is typically eaten at the Thursday of Carnival, with local sausages and ham, cod preserve and an assortment of omelettes (with potato, white beans, spinachs...). Yummy! You can eat it at many towns in the areas of Garraf and Penedés, easy to reach from Barcelona (see my above tips for transportation to Vilafranca del Penedés, Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, Vilanova i la Geltrú and Sitges). Have it as main or side dish, ideally accompanying other of the excellent products of the area: fresh fish, sausages, etc. And, of course, some local wine to drink. Ideally, a dry white Penedes or brut Cava. Cheers! Leave a Comment Website: http://www.rutadelxato.com/index_ang.asp
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| | | | Day Trip: Wine tours (3 - El Garraf) | Tip Rating: | | | | |
El Garraf area is less know than El Penedés, but it has excellent wines and cavas. - by train: take the C2 line from Sants or Passeig de Gracia stations to Vilanova I La Geltrú. It takes 45-55 minutes depending on the kind of train. The town of Sitges is the previous stop on the same line. - by car : you can take the C-32 highway (toll about 5 euros) or the toll-free C-31 (but be aware it's a really twisted road, very scenic but bordering high cliffs over the sea, I love it but it can be scary fo some, or very slow depending on the traffic) Once in Vilanova i la Geltru you can visit the Jaume Serra winery at El Padruell, the only winery in Spain from where one can enjoy a view of the Mediterranean. More info here: Jaume Serra The town has a other interesting sights apart from wineries, I'm trying to build my Vilanova VT page, but there is still lots to add there, do not hesitate to email me if you like more info. Visiting both Sitges and Vilanova can make a very interesting daytrip. However, plan carefully, as each one has much to offer and can fill a whole day. Leave a Comment
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| | | | Day Trip: Vic - pleasant Medaevil town near Barcelona | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Big cities can be tiring and it is often nice to take a trip to somewhere smaller. If you have already seen Girona (future tip), consider Vic. The market town of Vic has a small but well-preserved medaevil centre and a large market square flanked by buildings dating from the Middle Ages to the 17th century. A market is held there on Tuesday and Saturday mornings. If you like late 19th century romantic art, the Sert museum (exhibition of Sert's works) is certainly worth a visit. The leatherwork museum - despite its apparently prosaic subject - is a jewel. It has a remarkable collection of pieces from Europe, Africa, China, and from the earliest times. You should find enough to do and see for most of the day and it is only about an hour from Barcelona. Trains can be packed on Fridays and weekends, when hiking parties to the Pyrenees and students jam the carriages. The Baroque cathedral is a little dull but it does have a strange collection of 'reliquaries' - in this case, body parts made from wax - which were used to 'cure' the afflicted. Intriguingly, there are any number of arms, hands, legs, feet, etc. but none of the 'naughty bits'. Environmental note Don't drink the tap water. The county of Osona is famed for its pig farms - there are actually more swine (11 m) than people (7 m) in Catalonia. This fact, plus lack of environmental controls and a dry climate have led to the kind of nitrate levels you would expect in a guano colony rather than in the local water supply. Don't be surprised when farm lorries laden with pig slurry sneak out after dusk - it's an exercise in competitive (and highly anti-social) dumping. Message: stick to bottled water and don't swim in the rivers. Trains - roughly hourly throughout the day, incl. from Sants, Plaza Catalunya, and Arc de Triomf mainline [RENFE] stations. From Sants stn., earliest outbound train - 5-ish morning. Latest back from Vic, 9-ish evening. RENFE web: Leave a Comment Website: http://www.renfe.es/cercanias/barcelona/
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| | | | Day Trip: Vall de Nuria - Escaping to nature | Tip Rating: | | | | |
All-year round, Vall de Nuria is a very popular day or weekend leisure escape for us Barcelonins. In winter, it is a small-scale ski resort with 10 short runs. When the snow melts down, there are good hiking trails. From Barcelona you can easily reach Nuria by train: Renfe train to Ribes de Fresser and there a rack-train to Queralbs and Nuria's Monastery. Just the trip is worth it, very scenic. You can do it as a daytrip, but to make the full of it, overnight stay is advisable (and you’ll need at least a couple of nights if you want to do the longer trails). Once in Nuria, next to the Monastery you'll find an hotel, apartments and if you take a cable car you'll reach the hostel that's pretty nice (amazing views) and very good value. Be advised that it tends to be full booked, especially on weekends. Details of the hostel here: Alberg Pic de l'Aliga The Monastery is nothing to remember regarding architecture, but it had an important religious and political significance. There are great trails departing from there. The most famous are climbing El Puigmal and/or Pic de Finestrelles (quite difficult) but there are many easier (but beautiful) paths. You can ask for maps and itineraries at the visitors' centre next to the monastery. If you have only one day, or for the last day, a good option is walking down back to Queralbs (not so easy as it looks, most of the way is walking downhill but there at some parts you have to get up again, with lots of stairs. But the scenery is great). Next to the train station at Ribes de Fresser you'll find a very small bar/restaurant. Really basic, but excellent quality on local dishes and sandwiches, and very cheap. More info, pics and tips at my Vall de Nuria VT page Leave a Comment Phone: +34 972 73 20 20Website: http://www.valldenuria.com/ Other Contact: valldenuria@valldenuria.com
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