From The French Border, south to Cadaques

Our trip begins at the northeastern tip of Catalunya where the last piece of the Pyrenees falls into the Mediterranean.

Crossing the French/Spanish border, the first town we come to is Portbou. There is a good view from above the town which shows us the maze of railroad tracks which meet here. It's also here that the change of gauge takes place. The station was built in 1929, and have a look at the neo-Gothic Church of Santa Maria.

It may interest you to know that the gauge of standard European railroads is 4 feet 8.5 inches or 1,435.1 millimeters. In contrast, Spanish railroad gauge is 5 feet six inches or 1,676.4 millimeters. Concerning this difference, Douglas Puffert  of the University of Munich reports that "The 5'6" Spanish railways were turned down in their request for public funds (estimated at several billion dollars) to convert to the European standard, but they are reducing the cost of potential future conversion by installing cross ties with fittings for the narrower gauge whenever ties have to be replaced."

10 Kilometers south of Portbou is Colera which is an old fishing village. There are two beaches here; one is divided by the jetty and the second is a bit more than 1 kilometer southeast. We soon come to Llanca with various coves and its port which is a lively little resort. There are good water sports available here. Visit the 18th century parish church of Sant Vincenc. Just six kilometers from Llanca we come to the seafaring town of El Port de la Selva. High above the port you will find the monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes, a picture of which can be seen on our home page. It is one of the most notable Romanesque structures in Spain.

Sant Pere de Rodes. Click on this thumbnail to see a full-size picture. Return here with your browser's 'Back' button

Just a little further down the road we come to Cadaques which is one of the most visited towns on this piece of the coast. It is set at the head of a deep bay and natural harbour. various well-known people have been associated with cadaques, including Picasso, Chagall and Klein, but Salavor Dali is the one who brought it fame and prestige. He had a home at Port Lligat, just one kilometer away. There is an interesting Municipal Museum in Cadaques, and the Church of Santa Maria which was plundered in 1543 and rebuilt.

Information on this page retrieved from Turespana's 'Costa Brava' brochure.

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