The best routes through Catalonia

All the routes through Catalonia They allow you to get to know this territory and enjoy it to the fullest. You can choose nature tours that will allow you to discover unique landscapes or bicycle or car routes with which you can discover beautiful locations.

But you also have the option of knowing places full of history y spectacular monuments. From the Cap de Creus until Ebro delta and from the Lleida-Aragó strip to Barcelona, you have magnificent routes in Catalonia with which you will enjoy the wonders that this autonomous community offers you. Next, we are going to show you some of the best ones that we offer you in our tourism company. Catalunya.com.

Hiking trails

Catalonia has about nine thousand kilometers of long and short-distance trails, to which other locations are added. Among the first you have the GR-11 or Pyrenees Trail, which crosses this mountain range transversally from the aforementioned Cap de Creus to the Cantabrian Sea.

Likewise, if you are a mountain lover, you can also choose shorter routes such as the so-called route of the Carros de Foc, which passes through the wonderful natural park of Aigüestortes and the Estany de San Maurici. Another possibility is the Cinquè Llac route, which is one hundred kilometers long, but is done in five stages. It allows you to discover places as spectacular as the Manyanet valley or the Pla de Corts.

However, perhaps you prefer landscapes near the sea. In this case, you can go through the walkways that connect a good part of the coast of Catalonia. But you also have easier routes. For example, the one that surrounds the precious Bañoles lake, in the province of Girona. It is only 6,5 kilometers long and is flat, so you can even do it with your children, who can also swim in the lake or take a boat trip.

Another possibility is the route that leads to the Enchanted Roques, in the Barcelona municipality of Osona. You can start it at the Sanctuary of Health, near Vic, and it is also simple. On the other hand, the promotion to the Turó de l'Home, highest peak of the Montseny massif. It is a little more difficult because of the slope, although not too complicated.

Anyway, another of the most famous routes in Catalonia to explore on foot is the one that leads to the Llobregat fountains. It is barely two kilometers long, although part of it involves slopes and stairs. It starts from Castellar de n'Hug and has about a hundred meters of elevation gain.

Routes through Catalonia by bicycle

You also have in Catalonia magnificent routes to discover by bicycle. You will find them both by the sea and in the mountains, as well as of different difficulties, from proposals for family walks to more demanding routes. In fact, you can choose to crown ports, travel through forests that seem magical or stroll along old railway lines converted into Greenways.

They will all allow you discover unique landscapes and charming towns, as well as, enjoy the exquisite gastronomy of Catalonia. As a sample of the bicycle routes in Catalonia we will present you the call Cambrils Sea and Mountain, which starts from this town in the province of Tarragona in the direction of Mont-roig del Camp and is circular. Through this route you will have the opportunity to discover several mountain passes such as Colldejou and Coll de Falset, as well as passing through charming towns such as Marçà or Porrera.

If you prefer routes to discover the Catalan coast, we suggest the route that goes from Sant Feliu de Guíxols to Tossa de Mar along the Mediterranean coast. It is approximately forty-five kilometers long and of medium difficulty. Throughout the tour you will be able to enjoy the wonderful views of the unique landscapes of the Costa Brava.

Finally, perhaps you are looking for an easy route to take with your young children. In this case, we recommend the Petit Train route, which connects Palafrugell and Palamós and is only six kilometers long. It owes its name to the fact that it runs along the greenway left by the railway of the same name, which ran from the last town mentioned to Gerona. The landscapes that this route offers you are wonderful, among them, those of the Aubí plain, surrounded by the Gavarres massif and the Begur mountain.

Routes full of history

As we told you at the beginning, you have routes in Catalonia that stand out for their historical, spiritual and cultural value. One of the variants of the the Camino de Santiago. Its length is about eight hundred kilometers to the town of Compostela and it was chosen by many pilgrims from the south of France. In fact, it enters Catalonia through the Pyrenees, and just passes by the Benedictine monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes, from which we have impressive views of the eastern Pyrenees and the Empordà region. Then it continues crossing Catalonia until joining, now outside the community, the French Way.

Another route that, like the previous one, is between the historical and the religious is the so-called Ignatian Way. It goes from the house where he was born San Ignacio, in Loyola (Guipúzcoa) to the Cova de Sant Ignasi in Manresa, also passing through the Montserrat Mountain. The saint took refuge in this cave after his spiritual conversion when he was on his way to Barcelona, ​​where he planned to take a boat to Jerusalem on his pilgrimage trip in the 16th century.

This route is divided into 27 stages that cover 650 kilometers through five autonomous communities. Enter Catalonia through Alcarras coming from Fraga and passing through Lérida, Verdú, Tárrega or Igualada. It also passes through the Montserrat mountain, which is not only a natural park, but one of the great spiritual centers of Europe. In the sanctuary of this magical place you can see the famous Moreneta, figure of the patron saint of Catalonia.

Finally, we propose the Rock Art Route. The Catalan autonomous community has sixty declared sites of this type Heritage. Likewise, many of them are located in spectacular landscapes. Among the points that you should visit on this route are the Prades mountain grottoes, in the Tarragona municipality of Montblanc; the Tobacco cave in Camarasa; that of the Vilasos in Os de Balaguer; the Pietat Hermitage to Ulldecona and the cave paintings of the Coco de la Gralla.

Cultural routes

These cultural routes are directly linked to the proposals for historical routes that we previously proposed. They combine the return to the past with the visit to monuments as spectacular as they are valuable. They also include authentic time travel that will take you to different eras and artistic styles. There are many that we could mention to you, but we advise you to visit the website of Catalunya.com where you can find a wide variety of tourist proposals and cultural routes to discover the most outstanding heritage of the Autonomous Community.

Route of the Romanesque

The so-called Catalan Romanesque route also has impressive examples of the cistercian art, which marks the transition from that style to Gothic. There are many Romanesque buildings that you can visit in Catalonia and they are found in the four provinces of the autonomous community.

But this route must include the monastery of Sant Cugat del Vallès, whose origins date back to the 9th century and in which its spectacular cloister stands out. You also have to go through that of Sant Pere de Galligants, a former Benedictine abbey from the 10th century that is also one of the headquarters of the Archaeological Museum of Catalonia.

However, one of the great treasures of this route is the set of Romanesque churches in the Vall de Boí, declared Heritage. In the heart of the Lleida Pyrenees, you will find these nine temples. The most spectacular are those of San Clemente and Santa Maria de Taüll, Sant Joan de Boí, Santa Eulàlia de Erill la Vall, Sant Fèlix de Barruera and Nativitat de Durro.

Also another point of this route has been declared Heritage. It is the imposing poblet monastery, in the province of Tarragona, which combines Romanesque and Gothic architectural styles. Don't miss the cloister, the sacristy or the altarpiece created by Damien Forment. In short, authentic medieval towns like Besalú o Pals They complete the Romanesque route of Catalonia.

modernist routes

On the other hand, you also have several routes in Catalonia that will allow you to discover modernist wonders. Perhaps the most important of them is Barcelona, which includes the numerous jewels created by Antonio Gaudi. For example, him Park Güell, Casa Batllo or own Sagrada Familia.

But there are many other routes through Catalonia that will allow you to enjoy this artistic style from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Also the town of Reus, precisely where Gaudí was born, has more than eighty buildings of this style. But, curiously, most of them are not due to him, but to other architects such as Domènech and Montaner o Caselles i Tarrats. Example of these buildings are the Pere Mata Institute, the Piñol, Rull and Navàs houses or Fortuny theater.

Another modernist route is the one you can do in the town of Begur, in the province of Gerona, where the Indians built numerous modernist houses upon returning from emigration. Finally, also populations like Olot They have a rich modernist heritage, with buildings such as the Solà Morales, Pujador or Escubós houses.

In conclusion, we have proposed routes through Catalonia for every taste. Some are perfect for enjoying nature on foot or by bike, while others are cultural. In any case, in Catalonia you can discover endless itineraries that will allow you to get to know this beautiful autonomous community that has a lot to offer better.