The Costa Dorada, on the east side of Spain, runs from north of Barcelona to Tarragona and encompasses about 150 miles of golden beaches, hence its name 'the Gold Coast'. The safe, shallow waters found in Salou and Cambrils are perfect for the small children.
Compared to much of coastal Spain this area is not as intensively developed and it benefits from abundent evidence of it's huge history dating back to Roman times and beyond. The climate is warmer than the south of france but it rarely gets unbearably hot like many Southern Spanish destinations.
There is a fantastic amount of activities for children and adults in the area of the Costa Dorada around Miami Playa. Salou-Cambrils-Mont-roig-Miami Platja offer beautiful long, wide beaches of fine golden sand where you can enjoy everything the sea has to offer including a number of seaside resorts and excellent beaches with water sports.
Sitiated in the middle of the region is Tarragona (for 400 years the Roman Capital of Spain) and to the south the nature reserve of the Ebre Delta,. There are historic castles and monasteries and there are superb seafood restaurants and fine local wines such as Torres and Freixenet. Family attractions include Universal Studio's Port Aventura,Costa Caribe, water parks, dolphinarium, and Barcelona with all it has to offer is accessible via a cheap and efficient train ride from Hospitalet or by road.
It is possible to see how prehistoric man lived via a visit to the Cova de la Font Major, and learn about the world of the Iberian people in the Ciutadella of Calafell, or get a great idea of the size of the Roman Empire and Roman Life and architecture from Tarragona and its surroundings. Nature lovers can enjoy the fabulous landscapes - the majesty of the Tortosa-Beseit mountains, or the beauty of the Montsant and Prades Mountains. The Mountains are ideal for Climbing, and Mountain Biking and are also an international destination for climbing.
Attractions
Port
Aventura and Costa caribe are very close and Aqualeon
and Aquopolis, with its new
dolphinarium are within a short drive. Universal Port Aventura
is between the towns
of Vila seca and
Salou, and has various themed
areas Mexico, China, the Mediterranean, Polynesia, and the Wild West. In each
one, there are live shows and rides to take your breath away, like Dragon Khan
and the Temple of Fire. There are also a number of restaurants that let you
travel to other continents through their cooking and if the water rides are not
enough you can cool off further in
Costa Caribe.
The area has many other attractions and activities including a
large go-kart track at Salo and many 4x4 and quad bike excursions.If
you enjoy cycling is your favourite sport, then you’ll love the itineraries
organised from the Mont-Roig Mountain Bike Centre.
Coastal Towns and Beaches
The largest resort is Salou with nearby resorts like Miami Playa and Cambrils offering a quieter place to stay with the family. Salou history dates back to, King Jaume I the Conqueror who left a feast in anger one evening and immediately only to discover Majorca some 12 hours later(incidentally he was also the first Christian king to write his own autobiographypublished over 700 years ago).
Salou is about 25 min North of Miami. It has a very attractive sea front but the beach is often packed as it is a fairly major package holiday destination. It has many bars and nightclubs. The restaurants are more expensive and the standard of food, and service, is in our experience, generally disappointing. There are two large beaches to Salou and you need to park in the car parks, (can be expensive) or a walk away from the beach itself.
Cambrils is situated immediately north of Miami Playa. Smaller and less intensively developed than Salou it is also a fishing village and has also a very pleasant and long seafront and beaches with many good bars and restaurants. There is also a small port with boat trips along the coast and again the walk along the beach is a pleasant one. There are children’s play areas on the beach and this beach is more populated than the one in Miami playa. The restaurants are slightly more expensive than in Miami but are of good quality.
Miami Playa is where Villa Bonmont, Miami Sol and Casa Lyse are situated. It is the smallest of the resorts and though being developed planning restrictions mean the development is much less intensive than nearby and is a world away from the Spain of 'Costa del Sol'. On the front it has many coves in addition to the large open beach Playa Crystal.
There are
many other pleasant villages in the area spread throughout the landscape from
the Mountains to the coast. From Cunit, in the Baix Peneda region, to Alcanar, in the Montsia, there
are literally hundreds of shallow beaches and coves. Punta de la Mora
situated north of Tarragona is notable for Cala Fonda,
otherwise known as Waikiki, dominated by a 16th-century watchtower and flanked
by dunes and cliffs covered with pine, olive and carob trees. If you like
unspoilt beaches, it is well worth the 15-minute walk to get there.
Very close by, on top of the cliffs, is Tamarit castle.
Alternatively
Cala Llarga has a beach of about
600 meters long. It is an attractive beach, surrounded by pine trees and in a
beautiful natural setting. The best way to reach it is by the street
C./Replanells (Carrer Replanells), along the coastal road from Salou to
Tarragona.
A little further up, is Torrembarra, with a lovely sixteenth century Renaissance castle. Further on still, there are even older remains the Arc de Bers, which was built by the Romans over the Via Augusta and probably showed the northern limits of Tarraco, the imperial city. Nearby in Calafell, there's the Iberian settlement of Toixoneres.
Tarragona
Tarragona, is on the coast about 25min north of Miami Playa. It is a famous roman town. The Roman remains, have been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. These remains include the Roman Circus, the amphitheatre, the forum, the Paleochris. tiannecropolis and the Tarragona National Archaeological Museum. There are also many other Roman Roman settlements and buildings like the aqueduct, known as the Pont de les Ferreres or Pont del Diable, quarry of Pedrera del Wool, the Torre dels Escipions tower, the Are de Bera and the Vila dels Munts, in Altaftilla.
On a more practical level the main road on the
way into Tarragona provides one of the largest shopping areas to stock up on
food and also anything else you may need. There is a very large Carrefour
Supermarket selling a large range of non-food items and also Decathlon for
sports wear and equipment. There is also a large marina with bars and
restaurants - follow signs for the commercial port and Sports port is
beyond a little further along the coast.
The area around Tarragona is the origin for the tradition of castellers . In particular Valls, the capital of the Alt Camp region, has the Vella and Jove castellers. Check the web sites and look out for competions and displays in Tarragona and the villages.
History and Historic sites:
It is thought that the
Iberians were the
first known people to live in most of the Iberian Peninsula between the seventh
and first century before Christ. They were divided into various tribal groups.
The Cossetans lived near Calafell, and spread throughout the rest of the
Peneda, the Camp de Tarragona and the Conca de Barbers regions.
Their ancestors were Neolithic and Bronze Age men and women."
L' Espluga de Francoli', has a
huge pre-historic cave - the Cova de
la Font Major, accessed through an entrance very near the source of the
river Francoli and Font Major. It's over 3,500 metres long and is thought to be
one of the six longest caves in the world. Its tunnels and galleries hide
underground currents of water which feed the Font Major. In the cave, there are
remains from Palaeolithic and Neolithic times, the Bronze Age and the Iberians.
There is a museum with life size reproductions of the men and women who lived
here thousands of years ago and you can explore the cave with a guide and
suitable safety equipment..
Montblanc, is full of medieval buildings and cobbled streets. It is also the setting for the legend of Saint George and the Dragon - there is a special festival during the second half of April, which turns the town into a thirteenth century village.
Tortosa was in
the Baix region has a castle of St John. The
monastery of Poblet, is in the Conca de Barberii region. Work started on this building
in the middle of the twelfth century, and with the monastery of Santes Creus,in the Alt Camp region, and the monastery of Vallbona de les Monges,
in the Urgell region in Lleida province, it formed the "Cistercian Route".
Leaving aside its architectural value, the monastery of Poblet is very
important historically. For many years, the kings of Catalonia and Aragon were
buried there, including King Jaume I the Conqueror, Pere III the Ceremonious, Alfons the Pure, Marti the Humane and
Alfons the Magnanimous.
King Jaume I used to hunt in the Montsant hills and gave named the region around the Carthusian monastery Priorat which is now an up and coming wine region.
Prades mountains
The village of
Prades is
famous for its potatoes and is where many buildings have a reddish tone because of
the stones they are built with. There is a
spherical Renaissance fountain in the gateway of the village. There is also the
church of Santa Maria, which has a lovely facade mixing the Romanic and
Gothic styles.
From here you can climb the Tossal de la Baltasana, going through oak, Holm oak and red pine forests. When you reach the top you can see great views of the Prades mountains.Nearby is the picturesque village of Siurana, located at the top of some cliffs giving a good view all around. Below it is the dam of the same name. Siurana has a very beautiful Romanesque church and a ruined Moorish castle and it is a meeting point for climbers, who take advantage of the rock formations around and go abseiling or climbing.
The Horta de Sant Joan in the Terra Alta region is where Picasso stayed and was enchanted by the square, the gateway and the renaissance facades of the town hall, and the Gothic ones of the church. Here is a Picasso centre and the Ecomuseu dels Ports ecological museum. In the next region, the Baix Ebre, is the highest peak in this range of mountains Mont Caro, at 1,447 metres. Magnificent views of the Ebro (Ebre)Delta can be seen from there.
Ebre Delta nature reserve
The
Ebre Delta natural Park is situated around the biggest river mouth in the Iberian Peninsula. It's also a true
natural paradise. Catalonia's most important wetland is made up of many
environments beaches, lagoons, water which are home to a wide variety of flora
and fauna (birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, crustaceans, insects) as well as
various activities like fishing or rice growing."
In the village of
Deltebre, there is the Park
Information Centre, as well as the Ecomuseum and the Park School.Nearby in Amposta is the Montsi
Museum, As well as
natural subjects, this museum also deals with some of the traditional ways of
earning a living that have taken place in the area over the years, like rice
growing.
Famous Catalan people
The most well known internationally
is Gaudi, the
architect, been born in
Reus /Riudoms.
Also of note are Poet
Olga Xirinacs and Cellist and conductor
Pau Casals (from
El Vendrell)