The Iberian town of Ullastret, on the Puig de Sant Andreu

What it is

On the Puig de Sant Andreu, a small hill on the outskirts of Ullastret, about 4 km from Peratallada, is the largest Iberian urban settlement discovered in Catalonia. Between the 6th and 2nd centuries BC it was the capital of the Indiketes and one of the largest pre-Roman population centres on the peninsula. It was a double town: the Puig de Sant Andreu and the Illa d’en Reixac, surrounded by a navigable lake that was drained in the second half of the 19th century to gain farmland. Today only the Puig de Sant Andreu can be visited, which houses one of the sites of the Museu d’Arqueologia de Catalunya (MAC).

The site was discovered in the early 1930s, but excavations did not begin until 1947. The Iberian town began to be built in the second half of the 6th century BC, was walled at the end of that century and was extended with a new enclosure in the first half of the 4th century BC.

What you see

The visit starts below, at the reception centre, and climbs the hill to the museum at the top. On the way:

• The wall, among the best-preserved of the Iron Age in Catalonia, with towers and gates. The town had at least four wide entrances for carts, and other secondary ones for pedestrians only.
• The streets, with main and secondary axes: a planned urban layout.
• A cistern cut into the rock, the best preserved of the three found, and bottle-shaped silos for grain. 200 have been found.
• An aristocratic house of more than 800 m², the only one with its own gate through the wall, and ordinary houses of 30 to 40 m².
• The temples, at the top of the hill, and the view over the Illa d’en Reixac and the Empordà plain.
• The remains of a Carolingian castle, the castellum Uellosos, one of the oldest in the Empordà, built on the Iberian ruins.
• The monographic museum, with the finds from the site.

The MAC recommends an hour and a half for the visit.

Opening hours

• 1 October to 31 May: Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00.
• 1 June to 30 September: Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 20:00.

The last entry is 30 minutes before closing. It is closed every Monday except Easter Monday, on 25 and 26 December and on 1 and 6 January. On 24 and 31 December it closes at 14:30.

Tickets

• General: €7. Reduced: €5, for over-65s and pensioners, large and single-parent families and other cards.
• Free: under-16s, unemployed people and people with disabilities, with their companion if they need one.
• Open days, free for everyone: the first Sunday of every month and other special dates, such as 18 May or 11 September.

The ticket includes the site and the permanent exhibition. It is bought online or at the ticket office. Guided tours are for groups, in Catalan, Spanish, French or English, and are paid separately: for example, the 90-minute guided visit costs €80 for a group of fewer than 20. They are booked at [email protected].

Getting there and parking

The museum is on Carrer Afores, s/n, in Ullastret. From Peratallada it is about 4 km by car. It has free parking with 50 spaces for cars and 4 for coaches, and three spaces for people with reduced mobility. By bus, the Moventis line between La Bisbal d’Empordà and Torroella de Montgrí.

Accessibility, dogs and children

The route round the site is partly adapted; ask at the ticket office for someone to accompany you and for the map. The museum is adapted and has an accessible toilet. There are rest areas along the way. Dogs can enter the site on a lead, but not the museum. Food and drink may not be taken into the museum; there are drinks machines.

It works well with children: it is outdoors, entry is free up to age 16 and the audio guide, when it is working, has a children’s version. In summer, some rooms in the museum are hot and it is best to go first thing.