28 Sep 2020

TOURISM. – ROUTES AND EXCURSIONS FROM THE SEA TO THE PYRENEES.

Grand Tour of Catalonia.- A trip full of trips.

Catalonia’s tourist destination covers a vast territory between the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean Sea that offers great landscapes contrasts and a rich cultural history. There are amazing contrasts between the Costa Brava, the Ebro Delta, the Montserrat mountain range and the Pyrenees. On the coast side there are beautiful fishing towns and villages that have managed to preserve their authenticity over the years. In the inland area, the magnificent nature is another attraction gathered in its different natural spaces, a biosphere reserve and a National Park. These are natural areas of great beauty that can be visited in a single day and at a short distance from the capital Barcelona. There is a whole world to discover, as for lovers of hiking, cycling or nature tourism, weekend trips do not always have to be far away.

A tour of the villages of central Catalonia also allows you to review and learn about the country’s history. The traces of the ancestors have been erected in the form of castles, monasteries, old medieval towns and modernist and industrial buildings, and also in the form of popular festivals and traditions, some of which, such as Patum de Berga, are protected by Unesco. There are still intact medieval villages with cobbled streets and rustic houses, such as Rupit and Tavertet. In Vic, one of the oldest cities in Catalonia, you can visit the market of medieval origin and its exceptional porticoed market place.

Gastronomic tourism is another great attraction of the tourist destination, which is closely linked to the wine culture and has managed to maintain and recover the high-quality wine economy. There are twelve designations of origin linked to the territory, as well as the possibility of accessing the wineries in each area, which open their doors to visitors and allow them to enjoy activities linked to the countryside, the vineyards and the wine culture and to taste the local products of the different regions of the tourist destination. The whole package complements a tourist trip with the typical gastronomy of each region.

From the territory there are different proposals to make in groups or families:

– Natural parks

There are twenty protected natural parks in Catalonia that offer the possibility of getting in touch with nature throughout the year and doing all kinds of outdoor activities

– Wine Tourism

The Penedès and Priorat areas, for example, have been associated with wine for centuries. In the territory, the different denominations of origin allow to know the wine economy of the country in different enotourism proposals. A sector that has not stopped growing in recent years and innovating and evolving.

– Deltas

The Ebro and Llobregat Delta are the most significant. The Ebro Delta is the largest wetland area in Catalonia and has been a Natural Park since 1983. The Llobregat Delta is a natural space where it stands out for its ecological and landscape value and for the biodiversity it shelters.

– Modernism

There are up to nine Modernista routes to follow near Barcelona: jewels by the brilliant architect Antoni Gaudí and summer houses, palaces, factories, wineries and romantic gardens.

– Rural Romanesque

Hidden sanctuaries and hermitages, monasteries, medieval towns, paintings … Catalonia’s medieval past is still very much alive in the area around Barcelona.

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Grand Tour

The current campaign to promote the Catalan tourist destination launched by the Catalan Tourism Agency is the Grand Tour of Catalonia. An initiative that allows tourism to take place throughout the year due to a route distributed in nine different itineraries that cover the 42 natural regions of the territory. It is a circular route that can be divided into the different itineraries and that allows visitors to discover the main heritage, natural and gastronomic attractions. It is a project that revolves around the territorial diversity of Catalonia and aims to encourage responsible tourism and to promote accessibility, local products and respect for the environment in order to help market and promote this tourist destination abroad market.