Pals is a small medieval town lodged atop a hill in the heart of the Costa Brava, in the Baix Empordà region. The town has three cores – the town itself, where the medieval area and the commercial district of Samària are; Els Masos, with a great number of fortified rural farmhouses surrounded by rice fields; and the beach, full of dunes and where the natural reserve of les Basses d’en Coll lies.
The Baix Empordà region offers a wide range of places to visit and cultural activities to enjoy:
The city of Girona is a mere hour’s drive away, with its Jewish quarter, Gothic cathedral, the Arab baths, the Museum of Cinema or the Art Museum. The city of Banyoles is also nearby; its famous natural lake, a beautiful landscape of high geological and ecological value, is ideal to go rowing.
Pals is located in the Baix Empordà region, in the middle of the Costa Brava, a favourite of well-known painters such as Rusiñol and writers such as Josep Pla. The towns offers medieval remains as well as a beach and several tracks to hike or cycle.
The beach in Pals is remarkably long (3.5 km) and wide open to the sea, making it makes it ideal for sailing and windsurfing. The wind blowing on its fine sand creates the dunes which lie next to the Basses d’en Coll, a natural reserve of great ecological value. Right next to it stand the former premises of Radio Liberty, an old North American broadcasting station.
Apart from sailing and windsurfing, Pals has a golf course (Golf Platja de Pals) and several tracks to traverse the Ampurdanese prairie, as well as BTT routes. Pals lies so near the Medes Islands and the cape of Begur that it is easy to go diving or kayaking. There is also a horse-riding centre. Airplane and hot-air balloon rides are also available.
Pals is an agricultural town, the same as its surrounding areas. The restaurants’ kitchens are supplied by the local rice fields, cereal fields, vegetable gardens and orchards, thus offering elaborate homemade cooking based on local products. Each year several gastronomic campaigns are held to introduce the star product of each town – “Cuina de l’Arròs” for rice (Pals), “Cuina del Peix de Roca” for rock fish (Begur), “Cuina de la Garoina” for sea urchins (Palafrugell), and many others. Fine local wines accompany the local cuisine.
Tourists can also enjoy Iberian ruins, medieval towns, ethnographic museums, art galleries, classical and jazz music festivals, local festival balls, havaneres concerts (songs and music by the former seafarers who went to Cuba) and sardanes dancing (typical Catalan dance) .
Thanks to its exceptional geographical location, Pals offers the sea, prairie and mountains, as it lies in the middle of a natural park (Parc Natural del Baix Ter), right next to the Medes Islands and the cape of Begur, surrounded by rice fields, sand dunes, wetlands such as Les Basses d’en Coll and the Quermany Gros and Quermany Petit mountains.
Face the challenge set by one of the oldest golf fields in Catalonia – the Golf Platja de Pals, right next to the beach, with over fifty years’ experience.
Do any of these sports in the wide (3.5 km long) and open beach of Pals.
Discover the amazing seabed of the Medes Islands and the cape of Begur, two places of high ecological value which lie very close to the beach of Pals.
Discover hidden places among cliffs to get to the idyllic coves of the Costa Brava.
Follow the BTT tracks or by-roads and you will enjoy spectacular landscapes and visit small towns of the Ampurdanese prairie.
Ride along historical routes of the medieval Empordà.
Enjoy one of the most beautiful views in Catalonia from the air.
