41.98° N · 3.09° E
Stone streets inside a moat dug into the living rock, a castle-palace and an arcaded square. It can be explored in two hours and is the best base for seeing the inland Baix Empordà.
Part of Empordà
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
A self-guided walk of one to two hours through Peratallada’s medieval centre: the 1065 castle-palace, Plaça de les Voltes, the moat and Sant Esteve.
The moat cut into the rock that gives Peratallada its name, 7 to 8 m deep, with 12th- and 13th-century walls and three towers. A self-guided walk.
The largest Iberian town in Catalonia, with a wall and museum on top of the hill, 4 km from Peratallada. Tuesday to Sunday; entry €7.
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 spring and in September and October, with good light and without the August crush. In summer and at Easter the car park is paid and fills up on Sundays. In winter it is quiet, but some restaurants open fewer days.
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.
With a car, Peratallada is the centre of a half-hour circle: Ullastret, the Gavarres, Pals and the coves of the Costa Brava.
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.
For small children, Peratallada is a real castle with a moat, in a village that can be walked in a short time.
With children of different ages, Peratallada can fill a weekend if you add what is around it.
A medieval village bores a teenager quickly. It works if there is height, a real route or history you can walk on.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: A small hotel in a 16th-century house on Carrer del Forn, inside Peratallada’s centre, with breakfast included and free parking.
Why we like it: A rural guesthouse on Carrer de la Roca in Peratallada, with seven rooms, breakfast included, a shared kitchen and a garden.
Why we like it: A four-star hotel for over-14s only, 400 metres from Peratallada, with three hectares of gardens and two saltwater pools.
Why we like it: A two-star hotel in an 18th-century Catalan house on Carrer Hospital, in the centre of Peratallada, with a courtyard restaurant.
Why we like it: A sustainable rural hotel in Fonteta, near Peratallada, with a naturalistic garden, an organic vegetable garden and a garden-cuisine restaurant.
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: sharing plates made with local produce; the menu changes with the market.
What to order: seasonal Catalan cooking with local produce.
What to order: local produce with flavours from elsewhere, according to the menu of the day.
What to order: lunch or dinner in the courtyard, between rock and walnut trees, inside the centre.
What to order: Neapolitan wood-fired pizza, on the courtyard terrace.
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 outside the wall you understand the name: the rock is cut sheer.
The restaurants in the old town are small and fill up on Sundays.
The Medieval Fair, in early October, changes the village: more atmosphere and more people.
Sleep in the old town: you don't pay for parking and at night, when the visitors leave, the streets are yours.
The Romanesque church can't be visited inside. Look at it from outside and spend that time on the wall.
You can't drive into the medieval old town. There are three big car parks around it, with about 440 spaces in all: de Dalt, to the west, de l'Església, opposite Sant Esteve, and de Baix, to the east, which also has an area for coaches and caravans. Dalt and Baix have toilets.
In 2026, the car park is a blue zone from 2 to 6 April, from 14 June to 14 September and on the weekend of the Medieval Fair (3 and 4 October), from 9:00 to 22:30: the first half hour is free, one hour €1.50, two hours €2.50 and the whole day €6. Those who sleep in the old town don't pay.
The old town takes two or three hours at an easy pace, meals aside. From Girona it is about 50 minutes by car, from Barcelona a little under 2 hours, from Tarragona about 2 h 45 and from Lleida over 3. On summer Sundays and long weekends the Plaça de les Voltes fills up at midday: arrive before eleven or come for dinner.
Questions
From the Latin petra taiata, cut stone, documented since the 10th century: the moat that surrounds the village is dug into sandstone rock.
In high season, €1.50 an hour and €6 a day, with the first half hour free. Outside those periods, the council does not publish a tariff.
The streets are stone and uneven. A baby carrier is better; the pushchair is fine in the car parks and on the road.
The Iberian city of Ullastret, about 4 km away, the Fitor dolmens in the Gavarres and the Costa Brava beaches, a quarter of an hour away.
At Plaça del Castell 3. It is open from 10:30 to 13:30 and from 16:00 to 20:00; telephone 872 987 030.
Half and half: the old town can be seen in a short while and the restaurants are small. Combine it with a visit to the covered museum at Ullastret.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/peratallada
