Costa Brava Guide

The last resort on the Costa Brava before the French border, Cadaques is reached by a small winding road, twisting over the mountains from Roses, the nearest major center. Scenically, Cadaques is a knockout: crystal-blue water, fishing boats on the sandy beaches, old whitewashed houses, narrow twisting streets, and a 16th century parish up on a hill.

Cadaques is an up-market resort for arty adults rather than families. There's a lively cafe society at night with jazz bars, and you can take part in the sardana on Sundays at 10pm. In the old days the superstars of the avant guard - Picasso, Buñuel, Lorca - and their entourage came to visit Salvador Dalí's eccentric house in nearby Portlligat - follow signs from the main road into town. Recently opened to visitors, €5, Dali's house may be visited in small closely- monitored groups, so in summer they are often booked solid for the day. Call 972 25 80 63 for visitor information. To anyone familiar with Dalí's work, the windswept lunar landscapes around the bay of Portlligat are bound to ring a bell. In the same way that the architect Gaudi's work was influenced by the strange rock formations of his native Reus, Dalí's surreal landscapes are in fact quite faithful recreations of the weird topography of Portllitgat and nearby Cap de Creus. Portlligat has a scuba diving center open March - November. Call me for information.

Visitors early this century to Cadaques included Garcia Lorca, Man Ray, Eluard, Duchamp, Magritte, Breton, and Albeniz. Visitors in the late '40s included Walt Disney, the duke of Windsor, the ex-king of Italy Umberto de Savoy, and many, many millionaires. 

Hotel Playa Sol, Cadaques - Hotel Playa Sol staff is very nice and extremely hospitable. Breakfast is included, and you can go downstairs in the breakfast parlor between 8am and 11am. This may be different in the summer. The food is great, and the views from both the dining room and the parlor are unbelievable. You will be ...

Cadaques Walks - The small streets characterize Cadaques. There is a certain charm about them. I thought they were really cute. At one point, you will arrive in a spot where you can see the town from above. Beautiful view on the sea and the ...

Cadaques Downtown - The center of Cadaques, as all cities are hoped to be, is the soul of the place. Where typical American "downtowns" usually end up desolate and unkempt eventually, the downtown of Cadaques bustles. This is where you will stumble on fantastic restaurants with squid ink paellas and gorgeous ...

Cap De Creus Lighthouse - 8 km north east of Cadaques is the headland of Cap De Creus and it's famous lighthouse. It takes about 2 hours on foot following the well signposted coastal trail which is even more twisty and winding than the coasline itself. Along the way are breathtaking panoramic views, some wonderful little ...

Dali House, Portlligat - Salvador Dali owned a house in Cadaques. This is where he lived for most of the times. It was a pity that I didn't have time to visit it. I heard that he used to add something new to his house, whenever he felt that he has changed. So I guess the house must be full of interesting ...

Transportation - The only public transport we could find to or from Cadaques were the Sarfa buses. They run daily to and from... Barcelona (Estacio del Nord), Figueres ,Girona, Empuria Brava, Llanca and other destinations. In the winter months there are only two or three buses per day to each destination but up to ...

Cap de Creus - The last resort on the Costa Brava before the French border, Cadaques is reached by a small winding road, twisting over the mountains from Roses, the nearest major center. Scenically, Cadaques is a knockout: crystal-blue water, fishing boats on the sandy beaches, old whitewashed houses, narrow ...

Sant Pere de Rodes - Sant Pere de Rodes Intersting romanic church placed on the top of the mountain over Llanca and Port de la Selva. To arrive there you must arrive before to a small town named La Vall de Sta ...

Rent a Boat in Cadaques - One of the best things I did while staying in Cadaques was rent a boat. We waited days for the wind to calm before we were allowed to take one out, and not knowing what to expect, thought at least it would look like a Florida style rental- medium sized, with a ladder to crawl up to the steering ...

Sa Conca Beach - If you are in Cadaques during summer and would like to splash in the water and sunbath for a while there is a quite a small peeble beach ( all the beaches in Cadaques have peebles ) named Sa Conca. Once you are in the centre of Cadaques at the seafront just go all the way to the left around the ...