Website Guide: Homepage ¦ Spain Holiday Rentals ¦ Costa Brava
Places of Interest near Estartit continued
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Calella
de Palafrugell
This
is the first of the three excellent beaches - the others are Llafranc and
Tamariu - which are reached over roads leading out of Palafrugell, a village a
few kilometres inland from the beach. Its surroundings are considered to be
among the finest scenery of Baix Emporda. As a cork production centre, it has
two very different parts: the old one with the Gothic church and buildings of
the 17C and 18C, and El Ensanche with modernist constructions from the beginning
of the 20C. This is the home town of Josep Pla, the great Emporda writer, to
whom the House of Culture is dedicated. In the vicinity, there are typical
Catalan country houses called masias or the typical rural homes at Santa
Margarita, which are extraordinary.
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Sant
Antoni de Calonge
Sant
Antoni de Calonge is a lovely village with a medieval layout crowding around the
castle of the Dukes of Sessa, which was built in the 12 Century. It has many
remarkable old buildings. The old maritime part, Sant Antoni de Calonge, has
developed considerably through tourism along the beach which continues as far as
Palamos.
Around Sant Antoni de Calonge there are attractive places such as Sa Cova, El
Comtat de Sant Jordi, Roque Planes, Torre Valentina and Treaumal. All are
located 1km from Sant Antoni de Calonge
Platja
d'Aro, Castell d'Aro and S'Agaro are the most touristic and commercial complex
on the Costa Brava.
Platja d'Aro is located in an enchanting spot in the heart of the Costa Brava,
next to a beach of golden sand, plentiful in small heavenly creeks which will
undoubtedly delight those who enjoy nature and fishing. Platja d'Aro owns an
infrastructure of services in accordance with nowadays' needs and requirements
regarding leisure, culture, cuisine and trade; in other words, this town
possesses all that is needed for enjoying your holidays.
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Figueres
In
the heart of Catalonia, Figueres once played a role in Spanish history. Philip V
wed Maria Luisa of Savoy here in 1701 in the church of San Pedro, thereby paving
the way for the War of the Spanish Succession. But that historical fact is
nearly forgotten today: The town is better known as the birthplace of surrealist
artist Salvador Dali in 1904.
There are two reasons for visiting Figueres: one of the best restaurants in
Spain and the Dali Museum.
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S’agaro
The dreary main road of shops and restaurants linking Sant Feliu de Guixols with Platja d'Aro gives little idea of the attractive Modernist architecture and peaceful setting of S'agaro. The area known as S'Agaro was originally a private community founded in the 1920s by Josep Ensesa Gubert as a community of seaside villas for the wealthy, and the design of all the mansions was entrusted to Rafael Maso, the architect responsible for many of Girona's most attractive buildings. Only select people were invited to buy land and they had to build houses in sympathy with the landscape. An inn, originally intended for guests of residents, quickly found itself playing host yo the likes of Charles Chaplin, Orson Welles, Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner, Bogart and Bacall. These large and expensive villas are still there (many now second homes for wealthy Spaniards) along with a small church and plenty of attractive, well-landscaped gardens. Access is still restricted ? no cars are allowed unless you're staying at the hotel or in a villa. The focus of the area is the beach of Sant Pol, backed by Modernist-style private villas; at the W end of the beach is a delightful, much-photographed Modernist villa (House of Needles or Torre de la Punxes) with 4 small, pointed, Gaudi-style towers. Modern, low-rise developments have sprung up around Sant Pol outside the restricted areas. The resort understandably gets crowded in July and Aug.
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