41.97° N · 3.15° E
A Gothic stone old town on a hill, with the Torre de les Hores and a viewpoint over the Montgrí and the Medes. Below, the rice fields that give Pals rice its name and a beach of almost three kilometres.
Part of Empordà
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
A free walk round the walled quarter of Pals: the Romanesque Torre de les Hores, Sant Pere, the main square and the Josep Pla viewpoint at the top.
A free viewpoint at the top of the old town of Pals, above the Empordà plain, with the Montgrí and the Medes islands in the distance. A ten-minute visit.
Two open beaches with no buildings, the 1.7 km Platja Gran and the Grau, inside the natural park. Lifeguards from 15 June to 30 September.
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
In May, June, September and October: good weather, the beach is possible and the old town is free of crowds. In July and August the coast is full. From November to February the rice fields flood and fill with birds.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
The car links the three faces of Pals: the old town on the hill, the rice fields on the plain and the beach, about 5 km away.
Pals has five beach campsites within its municipality. Two, with direct access or a few metres from the sand, serve as a base for combining sea, rice fields and Gothic old town.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
With small children, Pals is beach in the morning and little train in the afternoon.
With children of different ages, Pals changes plan without taking to the road: old town, rice fields and beach are close.
For a teenager, Pals wins them over with the beach and with trying something new, such as golf.
In Pals the dog comes with you through the Gothic old town, up to the viewpoint and along the rice-field paths, always on a lead. For the beach, ask first: the tourist office does not publish whether dogs are allowed, and in the bathing season Catalan beaches usually restrict them.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: A four-star hotel in a 17th-century farmhouse in the Carmany of Pals, with a suite in a stone tower, two pools and a restaurant.
Why we like it: An adults-only hotel in a fortified 16th-century farmhouse on the outskirts of Pals, with nine rooms, a garden, a saltwater pool and a restaurant.
Why we like it: A campsite among pines 450 metres from Platja de Pals, with terraced pitches, two-bedroom bungalows, glamping and a pool with slides.
Why we like it: A family campsite with direct access to Platja del Grau, in Pals, with flat shaded pitches, bungalows, safari tents and a Splash Park.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: Pals rice, the house speciality, with home cooking from the Empordà.
What to order: one of its rice dishes, with local Empordà cooking.
What to order: contemporary cooking with produce from the Empordà, from sea and mountain.
Takeaway and markets
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
Tips
From there you can see the Empordà plain, the Montgrí and the Medes Islands.
Ask them which variety it is: Bomba, Carnaroli or the traditional round-grain ones.
From November to February the flooded fields attract migratory birds.
Do the rice route in the morning and eat rice afterwards: you have seen it grow and be milled.
Almost three kilometres of people and difficult parking. Go first thing or last thing.
Pals is about 50 minutes from Girona along the C-66 and a little over an hour and a half from Barcelona via the AP-7 and C-31; from Tarragona, about 2 h 40, and from Lleida, over 3 hours. The Gothic old town occupies the hill and is explored on foot: park below, in the car parks at the entrance to the village. The coach car park is on Carrer de l'Abeurador, where the rice train leaves from. The beach is about 5 km from the old town, with its own car park.
Sarfa buses run from Barcelona (Estació del Nord) and from Girona. To get around between the old town, the rice fields and the beach, use a car or a bike.
The old town takes an hour and a half. With the rice route and the beach, a full day. In July and August, the old town first thing or at dusk and the beach in between.
Questions
The old town, in an hour and a half. With the rice fields and beach, a day.
The fields are flooded from November to February. The rest of the year you can walk them along paths and on the little train route, with dates on the El Xiulet de Pals website.
Bahia, Tebre, JSendra, Loto or Nembo, Bomba, Carnaroli and a little organic Akita Komachi. Five producers sell under the Arròs de Pals brand.
The Platja Gran is 1,681 m long and 62 wide, with lifeguards from 15 June to 30 September, showers and toilets. To the north is the Platja del Grau, with shallow water.
Yes, Sarfa links Pals with Barcelona and Girona. Check the timetables on its website.
At Carrer de la Creu 7; telephone 972 63 73 80.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/pals
