North from here, the coast is at its best. With one or two exceptions, the chic Baix Emporda never succumbed to the tourist boom. Here, electric-green pines cluster at the edge of crystalline turquoise coves that are perfect for swimming or snorkelling. Many well-heeled Catalans own second homes here, and the towns, including Palamos, Palafrugell and Begur, are a haven of sophisticated elegance, housing some of the finest restaurants and terrace bars anywhere in Spain. With enormous contracts between the laid-back charm of Calella de Palafrugell, Llafranc, Tamariu and S'Agaro, the lively chic of Platja d'Aro or Sant Feliu de Guixols and the unspoilt splendour of Sa Tuna and Aiguablava, the one constant is an air of refined hedonism.
 
Further north, the Alt Emporda has two markedly different areas. The southern part is dominated by the sweeping sands of the Golf de Roses, flanked at one extreme by the Classical ruins of Empuries and at the other by the full-on beach culture of Roses itself. A short distance inland lies the county town of Figueres. Dali’s home town and dominated by a museum dedicated to him. North of roses, at the Cap de Creus headland, the scenery suddenly changes to become bleak and barren, where the few pines clinging on for dear life above grey-sand coves are bent almost double in the wind. The beautiful seafront village of Cadaques is the main draw, very near Dali’s one-time waterfront residence, beyond which a string of attractive, little-developed coves reaches north along the corrugated coast to Portbou on the French border. Inland, the protected Serra de l’Albera offers a cool, green and peaceful mountain retreat from the coast.

The River Onyar divides the city from west to eat, most visitors spend their time on the east side in the old medieval part of the city. The Rambla, the main shopping street, bursts into bloom on Sunday mornings for the flower market. Shops and cafés bustle beneath the great arches. To the right is the labyrinth of lanes, alleys and stone steps of the Jewish quarter. We had a very enjoyable climb up the steps in the the narrow streets behind the cathedral within the city walls. The view over the city, and indeed the whole plain, is breathtaking. There are plenty of bars and restaurants and we had a very strong Carejelio (black coffee, usually served in a small glass, with alcohol which is like rocket fuel) in a simple cafe on the way back to the car. A great spot for some photography.

Inland Costa Brava

The region inland from Girona is deepest Catalonia, where medieval cities and hilltop villages gaze towards jagged mountain peads and muted jade and terracotta tones stand in cool contrast to the turquoise and cobalt colours of the coast. Very few non-Spanish tourists find their way here, yet the area offers and excellent base away from the bustle of the resorts.
North of Girona as the altitude gently rises towards the foothills of the Pyrenees, the town of Banyoles sits on a small, fetile plain, dominated by its distinctive figure-of-eight lake fed by underground streams. The prehistoric Coves de Serinya caverns are set among evergreen oaks nearby. Neighbouring Besalu is famous for its disjointed eleventh-century bridge and warren of ancient streets. High iin the mountains further west, the stunning La Garrotxa is ideal country for rambling, horse riding or even ballooning over the dormant volcanoes of the region. At the heart of the park lie the county town of Olot and neaby mediaval village of Santa Pau.

South Baix Emporda

The South Baix Emporda is the stretch of coast which prompted local writer Ferran Agullo to coin the term Costa Brava (Rugged Coast) in the early 1900s. The southern part of the region is charactized by the vivid turquoises and greens of idtllic pine-clad coves strung out along the shore, broken only by long  stretches of golden sandy beaches. Sophisticated towns and villages nestle by the water's edge or ramain aloof inland, unblighted by mass tourism. Separated from La Selva not only by a serpentine cliffhugging road, but also by a leap in perception is the genteel fishing port of Sant Feliu de Guixols, with its neighbour S'Agaro, founded in the 1930s as a Modernist utopia for the rich and famous.

Many coastal towns in the Baix Emporda developed as the maritime extension of older inland settlements. The Catalan system of inheritance dictated that the best land be bequeathed to the older children, the younger ones getting the least fertile tracts along the coastal strip. When tourism took hold, the latter suddenly found themselves wealthy by simply selling their landm while their older siblings were left working the fields.

Parallels of the rivalry this created can be seen in the relationship between sedate inland towns and thriving coastal upstarts - none more so than bustling Platja d'Aro, which has come to eclipse in size and clout its medieval neighbour Castell d'Aro. A similar reversals is underway Sant Antoni de Calonge, which is beginning to overshadow the village of Calonge that spawned it. An expection to the rule is the market town of Palafrugell, which has maintained its parental position at the hub of its three beautiful coastal offshoots - Calella de Palafrugell, Llafranc and Tamariu. Meanwhile, Palamos, with its busy fishing port and commercial centre, has all the feel of a thriving Catalan county town, making the most of its seaside location withoutletting the Mediterranean rule its fate.

North Baix Emporda

The Northern Baix Emporda marks an abrupt change in scenery and style from the southern end of the Costa Brava. By day, the rugged coves around the stylish hilltop town of Begur are a favourite haunt of of well-to-do locals, who by night exchange looks in the chic bars & restaurants beneath the eleventh-century castle. North lies the long, sweeping beach of Platja de Pals, while inland the restored medieval town of Pals stands in contrast to delightful Peratallada, with its own barand of rural-chic and upmarket eateries. Nearby is the country town of La Bisbal d'Emporda, famed for its ceramics.

As you venture further north towards the Alt Emporda, salvador Dali makes his presence felt in the sleepy inland hamlet of Pubol: the castle he bought and renovated for his Russian wife, Gala, now houses a museum. On the northern edge of the Baix Emporda and crowned by an unfinished medieval castle, the ancient town of Torroella de Montgri channels traffic to its rumbustious child L'Estartit, an unashamed tourist centre that serves as a gateway to the offshore nature reserve of the Medes Islands.

Alt Emporda

Comprising the wide, curving Golf de Roses and the lush Emporda plain, the long beachesand flat marshland of the southern Alt Emporda lie between the rocky coves and hills of the coast on either side. Fine sand beaches line the entire semicircle of the bay and the flat hinterland features lush fields and orchards.

The deep coves south of the smart fishing port L'Escala flatten out to much straighter sandy beaches north of town. There are superb Classical ruins ar Empuries, 2km north, while neighbouring Sant Marti d'Empuries is the oldest inhabited village in Catalonia. As the terrain becomes flatter, it opens out onto the marshlands of the Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l'Emporda, a haven for bird-watchers and walkers that also boasts a splendid beach. The park's main town, Sant Pere Pescador, lies 3km inland, a fact which saved it from the depredations of the tourist boom.

North of the park sits the fascinating Gothic town of Castello d'Empuries, dominated by its would-be cathedral and and cobbled alleys. The nearby modern development of Empuriabrava went up in the 1960s around a giant marina and 30km of canals, instantly turning it into a favourite with yachties. Finally, crowning its bay, the 3000-year-old town of Roses has thrown itself body and soul into tourism.

The northern part of the Alt Emporda region is much more rugged than its neighbour to the south, a landscape where the wild grey of the Pyrenees meets the clear turquoise of the Mediterranean. Enjoying comparatively low-key tourism, catering mainly for Catalans, the region is still characterized by small-scale development and untouched inland villages. Boat and beach enthusiasts will find plenty of choice in the perfect waters of the dozens of generally uncrowded coves in the area, while walkers will relish days in the mountains and exploring the shoreline.

Top draw is the arty, bohemian town of Cadaques, made famous by having been Salvador Dali's home for almost fifty years and still a magnet for artists and lotuseaters. separated from Cadaques by the desolately beautiful Cap de Creus headland, the genteel, whitewashed town of Port de la Selva sits quiet in a three-quarter-moon bay, while its inland parent of Selva de Mar remains unruffled by tourists. High on a mountain overlooking both is the Sant Pere de Rodes Monastery. At a crossroads between the coast and the Serra de l'Albera mountain range, the lively seaside town of Llanca is a curious split between its busy fishing port and sheltered inland settlement. The complexion changes with the tiny village of Colera, which has been all but missed out by tourism, nd the oldtrading town and railway terminus of Portbou, on the French border.

Calella de Palafrugell, Costa Brava

This is the first of the three excellent beaches - the others are Llafranc and Tamariu - which are reached over roads leading out of Palafrugell, a village a few kilometres inland from the beach. Its surroundings are considered to be among the finest scenery of Baix Emporda. As a cork production centre, it has two very different parts: the old one with the Gothic church and buildings of the 17C and 18C, and El Ensanche with modernist constructions from the beginning of the 20C. This is the home town of Josep Pla, the great Emporda writer, to whom the House of Culture is dedicated. In the vicinity, there are typical Catalan country houses called masias or the typical rural homes at Santa Margarita, which are extraordinary.

Calella Palafrugell - Costa Brava - Catalonia

Cadaques, Costa Brava

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.

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. Local hostelries proudly display evidence of their patronage. In the 60´s, Cadaques became a distinctly hip place, hosting an interesting floating community. There are still plenty of beautiful people around and more than a few Mercedes, but it all falls short of, say, Southern-France snobbery, and in the off-season, the local artistic community gives Cadaques a somewhat bohemian feel.

The sights in Cadaques are aimed at art lovers. The Perrott-Moore Museum, Vigilant 1, (€4) displays a collection of graphic art assembled by Dali's former secretary, and is a taster for the Figueres museum. You can admire several early sketches by the young Salvador, and read fan mail from the rich and famous. In keeping with the surreal subtext there is a vintage car with effigies of Dalí, Picasso, Buñuel, and Lorca. A small municipal Museu d'Art at Carrer Narcis Monturiol 15 (near restaurant La Galiota) has local paintings plus a sprinkling by big names such as Toulouse-Lautrec. The apse of the large and rather plain Santa Maria church has a splendid baroque retablo of 1763 by master Pau Costa. Santa María is also the site of a summer Baroque Music Festival.

Restaurant El Pescador on c/ Nemesio Llorens, which is around the harbourside, to the right as you face the water from Mulberry park, has very good paella, and you can eat indoors or out on the pavement. Es Baluard, built into an ancient fortified wall, also on Nemesio Llorens 2 (25 81 83), closed Thursdays, is highly recommended for fresh fish and grilled meats. Afterwards, have a ron cremat on the sea-front terrace at Marítim, Plaça Dr. Tremols, or if it´s early enough, at the busy local 'Casino' just beside where the dry riverbed, or rambla, flows into the sea. This is where locals and vacationers mix, with serious dominoes and card games serving as the ice-breaker. There's an interesting pottery shop at Costa Brava on the Passeig del Mar 12.