Figueres

Luidger via Wikimedia Commons

Figueres is the home of Salvador Dalí and where you can visit his extraordinary egg and bread festooned Dalí Theatre-Museum . It's also where you'll find Europe's largest fortress - the Castle of Sant Ferran and a couple of specialty museums, including the Empordà Museum (local and regional cultural heritage) and Catalan Toy Museum which has a section devoted to, you guessed it - Dalí's childhood...

But being here is also a chance to sample life in a Catalan town away from the bustle of Barcelona and only a few minutes from France. If you want to pick up local produce, or just gaze at what will be served in restaurants that evening, there's a market on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays between the Plaça del Gra to the Plaça Catalunya.

Incidentally, Figueres is also the birthplace of of Narcís Monturiol , inventor of the first successful machine-powered submarine whose remarkable story I explored during my visit to Cadaqués , which by some bizarre symmetry is also where you can visit Dalí's beloved seaside home and studio.

Highlights

Immerse yourself in the Dalí Theatre Museum - a flamboyant, fun and totally surreal museum and final resting place of the master showman. Before you go in, or if you are short of time, check out my film / article below on the 'museum outside Dalí's museum'.
Have an alternative Catalan experience without Barcelona's hoards - take a stroll down Figueres' La Rambla and around it's historic centre and the 1000 year old Romanesque Church of San Pere (see film/article below)
Visit the huge Castle of Sant Ferran which has an interesting irregular pentagonal layout and great views of Figueres and the Empordà region

Station stroll ideas

Changing trains? Waiting for a train? Got an hour or two to spare? Why not try one of these walks?

3km route which takes you from Figueres-Villafant to (the other) Figueres station and after a slow start goes past pretty much all the sights of the town (a great way to change stations)
1km stroll starting from Figueres station and taking you to the morbidity-obsessed Salvador's family vault.
2km walk to the largest bastion fortress in Europe and around it's 3km of walls

Here is a link to a google map that has some suggested walks.

Guided tours

If you are looking for a guided tour, I'd recommend getting in touch with Anna .

Luggage

If you want to stroll without a care in the world, including your luggage, you could try using the nannybag app to find a place that will take your bags.

Map

Tourist infomation

Here's a link to tourist information: Tourist info website

Plan your own trip

Why not plan your own trip one hop at a time with Trip-Hop:

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