Castelló d’Empúries: a symbiosis between medieval past, tourist offer and natural heritage

In the heart of the Empordà plain and in the middle of the bay of Roses lies the municipality of Castelló d’Empúries, a town that brings together as its own and unique identity three different but complementary areas: the historic center of the count's town, the residential marina, and the Aiguamolls de l’Empordà. This symbiosis between the medieval and monumental past, the tourist offer, and the natural heritage represented by Castelló d’Empúries, Empuriabrava, and the Aiguamolls de l’Empordà makes the municipality a top-level family tourist destination, where visitors can equally enjoy culture, leisure and commerce, and nature.

A walk through the splendor of the ancient county of Empúries

To delve into the fabric of the narrow, cobbled streets and squares of the historic center of Castelló d'Empúries is to travel back in time to the medieval era, when the town was the capital of the county of Empúries and the counts resided in the castle of Puig Mercadal, a medieval splendor that the town relives every September at the Terra de Trobadors Festival. To tour the medieval wall, the Portal de la Gallarda, the Rec del Molí, the Pont Vell, the Casa Gran, the Llotja Comunal, the Rentador, the Convent of Santa Clara, the Convent of Sant Agustí, the Palau dels Comtes i Convent de Sant Domènec, the Jewish quarter, and the Synagogue of Puig Mercadal, among others, is one of the best ways to discover the monumental and lordly past of the town, with origins and archaeological antecedents from Roman times.

Castelló d’Empúries, furthermore, hosts three important museums: the Museum of Medieval History, located in the old medieval Curia-Prison, the best-preserved medieval prison in Catalonia, which preserves a notable collection of inscriptions and graffiti made by prisoners; the Farinera Ecomuseum, a flour mill from the late 19th century with medieval origins, and the Museum of the Treasure of the Basilica of Santa Maria, the imposing Cathedral of Empordà, one of the first Gothic churches in Catalonia. In addition, visitors can enjoy various cultural routes and guided tours, such as the Route of Carles Fages de Climent, the poet of Empordà.

Empuriabrava: 24 kilometers of navigable canals

Empuriabrava is a residential town crisscrossed by navigable canals and built according to the Venetian urban model. Currently, it has 24 kilometers of navigable inland canals, a true natural paradise for nautical lovers. Due to its nature, Empuriabrava is a very touristy town with a wide range of holiday homes to buy or rent.

Adventure sports enthusiasts also have a point of reference to consider, as the residential marina has a sports aerodrome with a wind tunnel where skydiving can be practiced. The Empordà Marshes, a paradise of flora and fauna

The Aiguamolls Natural Park is a paradise for nature and birdwatching lovers, a space made up of different freshwater ponds, marshes, and dunes where you can discover an abundance of migratory birds and an extraordinary richness of flora and fauna.

The Via Verda del riu la Muga natural path runs along the left bank of this river course and connects the historic center of Castelló d’Empúries with the urbanization of Empuriabrava. Its route through the municipality covers a total of 5 kilometers and is suitable for walking or by any non-motorized means. In this regard, the Via Verda is structured in two levels that allow for segregated passage for bicycles and walkers, on the one hand, and for horses, on the other. One of the main characteristics of this itinerary is that it allows for a close-up view of the riverbanks and the Muga riverbed, enjoying and observing in a privileged way all that is life in the river and its associated ecosystems: the islands and sandbanks where birds stop, the riparian forests dominated by willows, ash trees, alders, poplars and aspens, the fauna that uses the river course as a corridor through which to move.

Halfway, a wooden bridge crossing the Muga allows us to access the interior of the Aiguamolls Natural Park. There, next to the Empuriabrava treatment plant, we find Lake Europa, with different observatories that invite us to see the birdlife up close. If we follow the route, the path leads us to El Cortalet, the information center of the protected area and from where several itineraries of great interest depart for the observation of the landscape, flora and fauna. The last 2.5 kilometers of the route before reaching the sea are made along the Empuriabrava urbanization, where special care has been taken to incorporate native tree vegetation and typical of riverside areas along its banks. Castelló d'Empúries is, in short, one of the best destinations to enjoy the symbiosis between culture, leisure and nature.