Catalonia, from the Pyrenees to the sea.

Which part of Catalonia should I choose?

Catalonia fits into a long weekend per area, not into a single one. From Barcelona almost everything is under two hours away, but in opposite directions: to the north the Empordà and the Garrotxa, inland Montserrat and the Plana de Vic, to the south the Priorat and the Prades mountains. Choose one direction per trip.

• Stone villages and coves: the Empordà. The area that best combines a medieval village with the sea. Peratallada is surrounded by a moat cut into the rock; Pals has a Gothic old town on a hill, rice fields and a beach of almost three kilometres. They are ten minutes apart and a quarter of an hour from the Costa Brava. For two or three nights.
• Romanesque bridges and volcanoes: the Garrotxa. Besalú has the fortified bridge and the Jewish quarter with its ritual bath, and the volcanic zone twenty minutes away. Half a day for the town; a weekend with the surroundings.
• Forest and waterfalls: the Collsacabra and the Montseny. Rupit is entered over a suspension bridge and has the Salt de Sallent waterfall an hour and a quarter's walk away. The Montseny is the beech forest closest to Barcelona. Vic, with its arcaded square, is a good stop on the way.
• Mountains without a car: Montserrat. You get there by train and rack railway from Barcelona. For a day.
• Pre-Pyrenees and mountain cooking: Berga. With the Pedraforca in the background and wild mushrooms in autumn.
• Red rock and climbing: the south. Siurana, on a cliff in the Priorat, with a reservoir and climbing walls; Prades, a red-stone village at 950 metres, with dark skies for stargazing. An hour from Tarragona.
• Sea and wine near Barcelona. Sitges for the seafront promenade, the Garraf coves for a short swim and the Penedès for cava cellar visits.

If it's your first time, the Empordà. If you already know it, the south: Siurana and Prades have fewer people and a different landscape.

How do I get there and how do I get around?

From the rest of Spain, by high-speed train to Barcelona Sants from Madrid, Zaragoza, Andalusia and the Mediterranean coast; the journey from Madrid takes around three hours, more when there are speed restrictions for works, as in 2026. The same line continues to Girona and Figueres. By plane, Barcelona-El Prat has flights from almost every Spanish airport; Girona and Reus are closer to the Costa Brava and the south.

By car you enter along the A-2 from Zaragoza and the AP-7 from Valencia. The AP-7 between Tarragona and La Jonquera and the AP-2 between Zaragoza and El Vendrell have had no tolls since September 2021, but the AP-7 is very busy on Fridays and Sunday afternoons.

Once there, a car is the practical choice for the villages. From Girona, Peratallada and Pals are about 50 minutes away and Besalú 35. From Barcelona, Rupit is a little under two hours; Siurana and Prades about two. There are buses to almost all of them (Sarfa to the Empordà, TEISA to the Garrotxa, Sagalés to Rupit), but with few departures.

Without a car, Montserrat is the excursion that works best: FGC's R5 train from Plaça d'Espanya to Monistrol and the rack railway up to the monastery, about 90 minutes in all. Vic (Rodalies line R3) and Sitges (R2 Sud) also have direct trains from Barcelona.

What about a Sunday from Barcelona?

Six destinations can be done in a day without staying overnight, and each has an activity that shapes the day:

• Montserrat: go up on the Aeri, hear the Escolania boys' choir at 13:00 on weekdays and walk to Sant Jeroni with the Sant Joan funicular. For lunch, the sanctuary's buffet is open every day.
• Montseny: the Santa Fe beech forest in the morning and, on the Arbúcies side, the free guided visit to Montsoriu castle at weekends. In autumn, park at the Fogars welcome point.
• Penedès: the train tour through the Codorníu cava cellars, from €25, and lunch on the same estate or in Vilafranca. The R4 train saves you driving after the tasting.
• Garraf: the beach of the beach huts and, from March to October, the kayak crossing from Garraf to Sitges on Sundays at 9:00.
• Vic: Sert's cathedral and the MEV museum in the morning, and kayaking on the Sau reservoir in the afternoon. There is no market on Sunday.
• Berga: Queralt and a via ferrata in Vallcebre, or kayaking on the Baells reservoir in summer.

Almost all the restaurants in these places open at Sunday lunchtime and close in the evening: book lunch and don't count on having dinner there.

When should I go and what will I spend?

The best time is April and May, with the countryside green, and September and October, with the sea still warm and the villages back to calm. In July and August, the Empordà and the coast are full and village car parks are paid; inland, the midday heat is heavy. In winter, the inland villages are quiet, although some restaurants open fewer days, and the Pyrenees have snow.

The budget is mid-range. Sleeping in a medieval village in the Empordà in summer is what pushes the bill up most; in the south and inland, accommodation and food cost less. Bear in mind the seasonal paid car parks at Peratallada, Rupit and Siurana: a few euros, but they add up if you do several villages in a day.