Barcelonacapital of the autonomous region of Catalonia, is one of the main destinations for Argentines in Europe.
Its extraordinary architecture, the works of Gaudí, the Rambla, the markets, the port and its beaches are great attractions throughout the year.
But every stay in the city deserves a getaway to the surrounding area, populated by mountains and hills that create the most spectacular landscapes.
There, as if hanging from the Catalan mountains or carved into the rock, there are a large number of ancient towns that are worth enjoying. A wonder of history, landscapes and architecture.
Here, five Catalan towns near Barcelona that will leave you with your mouth open.
look at you
A kind of large rock that overlooks the Ebro River with a castle on top. For better, a Templar castle. And one walled citadel with buildings on different levels, as if descending the mountain towards the river.
Of course you can get there “from behind”, on the T-324 road, but the best view of Miravet is obtained by arriving on the C-12 (from Barcelona it is about 150 km).
The arrival is already surprising, because as soon as you see the fortress up there you have to detour to the bank of the Ebro to cross the last step of a boat without a motor. The raft drops you off at Plaza del Arenal and where you can leave your car in the side parking lot and start walking to the castle.
It is a delight to pass through old town of Cabo de la Villa, where the arch of the Moorish aljama and the Renaissance complex of the Old Church are located. You can also pass through the remains of an area devastated in the Battle of the Ebro, because in Miravet, as in Corbera d’Ebre or Belchite, you can still see the destruction left by the Spanish Civil War.
Then you reach the top of the rock and its imposing castle, which It was built on the remains of an ancient Moorish wall after the conquest of the lands by Ramón Berenguer IV. The castle was donated to the Templar order, which made it the headquarters of the Templar province of Catalonia and Aragon.
Declared a Historical Monument, it is considered one of the best examples of Catalan military architecture from the 12th and 13th centuries.
I climbed
The charterhouse of Santa María de Escaladei was the first of several that were later built throughout the Iberian Peninsula. And the legend says that it is there, in the Oliver Valley, at the foot of the Montsant mountain rangein the Priorat area, because that was the place that appeared in a dream to a shepherd who dreamed of angels climbing a ladder to heaven: the ladder to God, or Escaladei.
The monastery was founded in 1163 at the request of King Alfons I the Chaste, to Christianize this area of Catalonia, which had been in Muslim hands for so many years.
Today, the structures of the old Carthusian complex are preserved, and you can tour the exterior of the three cloisters (one of them rebuilt), the church, the refectory and a cell (also rebuilt). Are the remains of one of the most important medieval and modern monasteries in Cataloniain an imposing mountainous landscape with slopes covered with vines and olive trees.
Escaladei is 140 km southwest of Barcelona.
Siurana
Priorat is a land of surprises. Spectacular landscapes, dozens of trails to explore, natural parks and gems such as Siuranaabout 20 km from Escaladei and at the top of another hill from which you can see the nearby reservoir and the peaks, valleys and ravines of the Montsant mountain range and the Prades mountains.
Another legend surrounds Siurana. The one that says that the Moorish queen, Abdelazia, preferred to see herself subjected to the Christians jump into the abyss from a cliff with his horse, and the animal, in its desperation, left the imprint of its horseshoe on the rock.
Whoever visits today the charming little town with cobbled streets crowned by impressive cliffs and with the Romanesque church as the main construction, in addition to the remains of the Saracen fortress, probably does not suspect that tragic history that involved the last Saracen stronghold of Cataloniawhich recently It was conquered in 1153.
From that incredible location, the castle of Siurana defended an impassable border that went from the Balaguer hill to Tamarit de Gaià.
From Barcelona it is 140 km southwest.
Castellar de n’Hug
Of medieval origin, the town of Castellar de n’Hug (or Nuch) is in the north of Catalonia, in the heart of the Pyreneesnear Andorra and about 7 km from the border with France.
Located at 1,450 meters above sea level, within the “Cadí-Moixeró” Natural ParkCastellar is a town of cstone handles and shepherds traditionsince always: more than 300 dry stone constructions in the form of huts, screens or others, distributed throughout the nearby mountain, served as a refuge for the shepherds, and are a historical-cultural legacy of the area, its identity mark.
With many accommodations and a number of activities, it is a important mountain tourist centerthe town maintains the traditional structure and construction of houses, streets and squares in its historic center, which developed near the old Mataplana castle, of which some ruins are preserved today.
A whole sampler outdoors -one of the best preserved in all of Catalonia- Romanesque art in hermitages, churches, bridges, churches and houses. All about two hours from Barcelona (140 km) heading north.
Rupt
In 2022, it was recognized by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) as one of the best tourist towns in the worldand reasons are not lacking.
Located about 100 km north of Barcelona, near Girona, Rupit is a medieval town where cars are not allowed: you can explore it on foot. And the best thing is to enter via the suspension bridge over the stream, which gives access to a network of cobbled and stepped streets that are inserted between beautiful century-old facades of stone mansions steeped in history such as the emblematic Fossar street, with its ancient and wide staircases that seem carved in the rock.
Tips: go through the Main Square and enjoy mansions like the soler notary –it is said to date back to 1308, and for five centuries it was run by the same family- or, on Manyà Street, the apothecary’s house o to old blacksmith shop, with its voussoir portal. And climb to the top of the bell tower parish of Sant Miquel to enjoy from there the views of the town and the spectacular natural surroundings of Collsacabracrowned by its impressive massif.
Then, it is worth a walk through the forests of the natural environment to the Dels Bassis viewpoint or the Salt de Sallent viewpoint, a fantastic 115 meter waterfall, the highest in Catalonia.