Catalonia

Understand

Catalonia borders France and Andorra to the north along the Pyrenees, the Mediterranean Sea to the east, Valencia to the south and Aragon to the west. Its capital is the famous city of Barcelona. Catalonia is today an autonomous region within Spain, but in fact was part of the Crown of Aragon which predates Spain (the Crown of Catalonia-Aragon and the Crown of Castile-León united to form Spain). Even today, the flag of Catalonia uses the colours of standard of the Crown of Aragon. In 1714, after the War of the Spanish Succession, Catalonia had all its institutions, language and rights suppressed. The region gained its current autonomous status first during the era of the Second Spanish Republic (1930s), but would lose its autonomous status again following the rise of Francisco Franco to power in 1936. Franco was a fascist who desired a strong unified Spanish identity, and proceeded to ban expressions of regional cultures, as well as regional languages, thus making it illegal to speak the Catalan language from 1936–1975. Following Franco's death and the transition to democracy, the local languages and cultures were legalised once more. Catalonia once again gained autonomous status, and the Catalan language gained co-official status with Spanish within the region. It continues to press for more political and economic autonomy, mainly in defence of its culture and language and in the form of the right of the Catalan government to collect its own taxes and spend them as it sees fit. Catalonia has seen many demonstrations in favour of its independence from Spain; such as the 2013 Catalan Way, 400 km long. A consultation on independence was deemed illegal by Madrid in 2014. A referendum in 2017 got 90% vote in favour of independence on a low voter turnout, but this was again declared illegal by the Spanish government, which attempted to suppress it with police violence at various polling places, and by blocking access to websites with referendum information. After the ref

Getting there

By plane Barcelona El Prat Airport BCN IATA, about 15 km (9.3 mi) from the city centre of Barcelona, is the principal airport of the region. Other airports in Catalonia are:

Girona Airport GRO IATA, in the northeastern part of Catalonia, serves flights by budget airlines, notably Ryanair. Travel by bus to Barcelona takes about 90 minutes, and there is a bus service into Girona. Is the best option to get to Costa Brava. Reus Airport REU IATA, in the Tarragona region near Costa Daurada, would be of little note if it hadn't been marketed as being closer to Barcelona than it actually is. Don't be fooled: it is 103 km (64 mi) away, and the journey from here to Barcelona takes at least 2 hours by public transport. Lleida–Alguaire Airport ILD IATA, in Western Catalonia. Check the few flights in: Flights from ILD.

By train

The main train station in Barcelona is called Estació de Sants, but the most central ones are Plaça de Catalunya (most local and regional trains) and Passeig de Gràcia (serving some local and most long-distance lines). The Spanish train company is called RENFE. Barcelona is very well connected by train with Madrid, Valencia (City), Zaragoza and the Basque Country in particular and with the whole country in general. Inside Catalonia, there are frequent trains from the other three provincial capitals (Lleida, Tarragona and Girona). A few trains travel across the Pyrenees, but it's possible to reach the eastern part using the train to Tour de Carol (France). Going by train to the Costa Daurada beaches is the best choice, using the line to Tarragona. The Costa Brava isn't well connected by train. The Catalan train company Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) serves destinations near Barcelona, and some tourist routes. It also operates a funicular service in the Pyrenees.

By bus Buses and coaches connect the principal cities to many national and international locations, and it's the only public transport to get to many local places in C

Getting around

By car

Catalonia is quite mountainous terrain so try to use the main Motorways. Smaller roads usually have a lot of curves and continuous climbs and descends.

AP-7 is the main motorway connecting from France and going southwest until entering the Valencia and follows inland the Mediterranean coast. It passes by Girona, near Barcelona and near Tarragona. AP-2 goes west from AP-7 junction near Vilafranca del Penedès, pases by Lleida and enters Aragon. you can follow until Madrid or the Basque Country A-2 goes west from AP-2 junction near Martorell until Lleida and enters Aragon. Is a similar route to AP-2 by a little to the north of it. A-27 goes north from Tarragona and connects to AP-7 near Montblanc C-25 Transversal axis (Eix transversal) goes East-West from AP-7 junction near Girona to Vic, Manresa, Cervera until A-2 junction. if you go from France to Lleida it can save you to going close to Barcelona and all his road congestions. C-32 Goes from Blanes to Mataró, Barcelona, Sitges and Vilanova y la Geltrú until AP-7 junction in El Vendrell. Is a paid road in some segments south of Barcelona. It goes near the seaside NE to SW. C-16 to access Pyrenees mountains. Goes north from Barcelona to AP-7 junction in Sant Cugat del Vallès and then Manresa, Berga, Tunel de cadi, and ends in N-260 (eix Pirinenc). mainly a motorway with some tolls (including the tunel del cadi), and a mountain road near the mountains. N-260 (eix Pirinenc) starts in Portbou in the French border and goes west to Figueres, Olot, Ripoll, Puigcerdà, La Seu d'Urgell, Sort, Tremp, El Pont de Suert. Mainly is a mountain road.

See

Barcelona is a modern city with lots of historical heritage including magnificent examples of Gothic and Modernist architectures. Home of the Sagrada Familia and other Antoni Gaudí buildings such as Parc Guell and La Pedrera. Barcelona is also well known for its museums and cultural events. The Roman ruins including the complex and colosseum in Tarragona and the ruins in Castelló d'Empúries. Enjoy the long fine sand beaches of Costa Daurada and the grain beaches on Costa Brava Visit the Monastery of Montserrat, Catalonia's most important religious retreat, surrounded by wild nature perched in a mountain, with breathtaking views. See the volcanoes near the city of Olot, and La Fageda d'en Jordà, a very nice forest and extinct volcanoes. Castells, human towers made by castellers who stand on each other's shoulders, forming six, seven, eight, or even more layers of people. An incredible and distinctively Catalan tradition popular at festes and friendly competitions. Not often publicised for visitors, but if you have a Catalan friend or can puzzle through the online information in Catalan, it's well worth your while. Castells are UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Valls and Tarragona are two cities with a strong tradition on Castells competitions.

UNESCO listed sites

UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves:

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