The 3 Best Places to Visit in Catalonia

Besalu town in Catalonia

Catalonia is the Region to which Barcelona belongs, in Spain. Such a region is amazing since it has a combination of mountains, sea and hills with mild temperatures almost all the year.

Catalonia's most famous city is Barcelona, however the best places to visit and see are outside the city, deeply embedded in the nature.

I have made a list of 3 that you should not miss: Siurana, Rupit i Pruit, and Besalu all of them are small medieval villages immersed in nature at 1 and half hour away from Barcelona.


Siurana
Siurana is a wonderful medieval town located in Catalonia near to Tarragona city where history and outdoors activities perfectly combine together.
The village is known to be the last bastion of Christian recapture in Catalonia.

Siurana village

Legend tells that the moorish queen Abdelazia preferred to jump down the cliff with her horse rather than being captured by the Christians. Her horse tried to resist in vain, leaving its footprints of the on the rock which is still visible nowadays.

From the village you can see the Siurana’s reservoir which is located in a magnificent setting, surrounded by the Serra de Montsant and Muntanyes de Prades. In the lake you can do sporting activities like canoeing and kayaking. 

Siuriana´s reservoir

From the lake it starts a wonderful trial that leads you on the Siurana river and immerges you in the wild nature with its gorges, waterfall, and panoramic spots.

Here are some suggestions of activities that you can do: http://www.turismesiurana.org/en/what-to-do


Rupit I Pruit
Rupit i Pruit is another must go place at just 1 hour and a half from Barcelona.
Streets and houses of Rupit are made of stones and all of them are from XVI and XVII centuries. This give to the town a rustic atmosphere and a medieval touch.

Rocks are everywhere in the village, interestingly the word rocks comes from the latin "rupes", which give the name to the village.

Rupit i Pruit village

From Rupit i Pruit you can take a 3 km trail and arrive to the beautiful “Salt del Sallent” Waterfall. 

It’s a 80 meters height, the highest in Catalonia. Autumn is definitely to best season to visit it due to the rains that allow the river Rupit to become bigger and increase the power and beauty of the waterfall.

Salt del Sallent

Here some interesting ideas to do in Rupit i Pruit: http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ca&hl=en&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rupitpruit.cat

Besalu
Besalu is another stone made Medieval town located in a beautiful landscape, in this case in the Garrotxa volcanic region inside Catalunya. 

Besalu  overview

The most amazing and emblemating thing there is the bridge a 12th-century Romanesque bridge over the Fluvià river which features a gateway at its midpoint.

The part of the town nearest to the bridge shows many narrow streets that belong to the ancient Jewish quarter. In this area where you will find the Miqvé, the purification baths, which date from XII Century and demonstrate the presence of an important Jewish community.

The street from the medieval bridge leads to the Town Square “Plaça Major” which used to be the centre of the medieval town.

Other Important buildings are the Local Government “Ajuntament” dating from XVII Century and the Royal Curia “Cúria Reial” (XIV Century).

Here some nice idea to things to do there: http://en.turismegarrotxa.com/municipality/besalu/


What are you still waiting for?

Rent a car from Barcelona and go and discover Catalonia!