The famous painter Salvador Dalí was born and died in Figueres, where he also staged some of his Surrealist anecdotes, such as parading down the Rambla with an omelette in his breast pocket or taking his pet tiger and baby elephant for walks on a leash. These things belong to the past, but Dalí’s

Guifré el Pilós, Abbot Oliva, Abbess Emma, and Count Arnau are legendary figures in Catalan history. They all lived in the medieval age, a crucial period that witnessed the rise in autonomy of the so-called Catalan counties, essential for understanding the emergence of Catalonia as a nation.

A small treasure lies in the heart of the best-conserved medieval town of Catalonia, one of only five of its kind in Europe. The old Jewish mikveh (bathhouse) was used for purifying the soul by total immersion of the body. Stroll around the town, and the Jewish quarter in particular, along narrow

In the foreground: one of the most impressive and best-conserved Romanesque sites in Catalonia. The surrounding area: a rugged, deep green landscape of rocks, copses, and brushwood thickets moulded by the force of the Tramuntana north wind. In the background: the immensity of the Mediterranean Sea

One of the oldest pharmacies in Europe is found in the small town of Llívia, a Catalan enclave within French territory. Now converted into a museum, this is a real discovery for all lovers of history and antiques. The ceramic jars and polychrome Renaissance boxes used for storing remedies, the

Majestic, imposing, solemn, impressive. The Cathedral of Santa Maria d’Urgell is the greatest Romanesque temple in the Catalan Pyrenees and the only Romanesque cathedral in Catalonia. Today, eight hundred years after it was built in the 12th century, it continues to be a special place of peace and