Art and culture
Miro, Dali and Tapies – three of the great 20th-century painters, were all born in Catalonia, while Picasso spent one of his most prolific periods there.
Therefore there are many museums devoted to the life and work of these artists.
These include the Joan Miro Foundation, the Antoni Tapies Foundation, the Picasso Museum in Barcelona and the Dali Museum in Figueres.
Tarragona, situated in the south of Catalonia, is undoubtedly second to Barcelona for cultural highlights, with Roman remains and an archaeological museum.
Costa Brava
North of Barcelona is the Costa Brava, which when translated means ‘Wild Coast’ because of the rugged cliffs and rocky coves which line its shores.
There are 90 official beaches, ranging from sloping stretches to hidden coves.
Evenings on the Costa Brava are generally lively; shops stay open until well after dark and entertainment rocks into the small hours. There are plenty of music bars as well as traditional Spanish guitar music and flamenco dancers.
First Choice product director Kyle Houghton said:”People know the Costa Brava, they enjoy it and it’s at the cheaper end of the market.”
Main resorts include Lloret de Mar – a lively resort with plenty of bars, nightclubs, discos and casinos as well as good beaches. Calella, meanwhile, offers a blend of Spanish and British influences.
Barcelona
Over the last few years, Barcelona has become one of the most visited tourist destinations in Europe, with more than 3m tourists passing through the city last year.
The city is about a 2hr flight from the UK and since staging the Olympics in 1992, has improved its infrastructure and soared in popularity.
Most tour operators would rank it within the top five most popular cities in Europe, according to Mundi Color marketing consultant Tony Maniscalco.
The city is as cosmopolitan as London or New York and perhaps beats both for its chic designer stores, bars and restaurants.
Of course, Barcelona also has its own beach to laze around on.
But take a 5min taxi ride in any direction and you can visit pockets of different old towns, now absorbed into metropolitan Barcelona. Their narrow streets and old-world charm make you feel as though you have travelled through time.
Barcelona offers Gaudi’s unfinished cathedral, the Gothic Quarter with its twisting narrow streets and the stylish Ramblas area.
The underground is the fastest way to get around the city, although there are plenty of buses and taxis.
And while Barcelona is most often packaged as a weekend city break, it certainly does not have to be.
Airtours marketing manager mainland Spain Lawrence Marlor said:”We’re launching one and two-week holidays to Barcelona after their success last summer.”
Golf
There are no less than 30 golf courses in Catalonia, with four to five within the Costa Brava. The sport’s regional popularity has grown rapidly in recent years, with the mild climate allowing year-round play.
Around 44 courses are now open and more are under construction, including the 36-hole future European Professional Golf Association championship venue at Caldes de Montbui, tipped to be one of Europe’s finest. Courses are located along the coastline and in the foothills of the Pyrenees.
The Pyrenees
Like many Barcelonans, visitors are waking up to the charms of the Pyrenees.
Mundi Color marketing consultant Tony Maniscalco said: “The Pyrenees is a real ‘get away from it all holiday’ and appeals to people who want to go walking – it’s a different type of tourism.”
According to Unicorn Holidays managing director Jim Southon, most of its clients travel to Catalonia for the scenery of the Spanish Pyrenees. “The Pyrenees are easily accessible from Barcelona – about a 3hr drive to the foothills – and are ideal for those who enjoy scenery, walking and fine cuisine, as well as the highest level of comfort and service,” said Southon.
Unicorn offers stays in some of the paradores – countryside villas – of the area, including at Viella and Bielsa, in the heart of the Monte Perdido National Park and Arties, together with the four-star Hotel El Castell at Seu D’urgell.
Unicorn also features Mas De Torrent, an exclusive five-star hotel, with gourmet restaurant, just inland from the Costa Brava. A three-night stay starts at £650 per person.
In Jaca it is possible to go ice-skating in the Palacio de Hielo. A mountaineer’s paradise lies between the valleys of Tena and Benasque, with many peaks over 3,300metres.
The abundance of game and fish makes the Pyrenees ideal for hunting and fishing, while the scenery is ideal for walking and trekking through the Ordesa and Monte Perdido national parks and the area of Aigues Tortes and Lake Sant Maurici in Lleida.
The region tempts with hearty dishes of paella with saffron-cooked rice and a combination of seafood or zarzuela – a spicy Catalonian seafood stew.
There’s a wide choice of wines, from heavy Riojas to the still whites of the Penedes region and sparkling cava.
The Tarragona area is renowned for its unique cuisine, including its Romesco sauce – a mix of almonds, garlic and olive oil, which can be added to seafood or used as a dip.
The cuisine of the region is such a draw that Mundi Color now offers gastronomic tours and cookery courses which the operator may, in future, brochure separately.
Enthusiasts visit Casa Irene, take a trip over the border into France, visit a farm and select fruit and vegetables, and are shown how to prepare different local dishes.
Food
Visitors to Catalonia will discover a variety of rice and meat dishes, particularly with chicken. Famous to the region is Gerona veal and a rich collection of sausages, including butifarra, which is roasted or fried with mongetes – white beans – to make a modest but tasty dish.
A quintessentially Mediterranean cuisine, Catalan recipes are a legacy of prolonged contact with Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Sicilians – not to mention plenty of influences from southern France.
The region tempts with hearty dishes of paella with saffron-cooked rice and a combination of seafood or zarzuela – a spicy Catalonian seafood stew.
There’s a wide choice of wines, from heavy Riojas to the still whites of the Penedes region and sparkling cava.
The Tarragona area is renowned for its unique cuisine, including its Romesco sauce – a mix of almonds, garlic and olive oil, which can be added to seafood or used as a dip.
The cuisine of the region is such a draw that Mundi Color now offers gastronomic tours and cookery courses which the operator may, in future, brochure separately.
Enthusiasts visit Casa Irene, take a trip over the border into France, visit a farm and select fruit and vegetables, and are shown how to prepare different local dishes.