Cataluna is made up of four provinces - Barcelona, Girona,
Tarragona and Lleida (Lerida), each with a capital city of the
same name. Barcelona is the place people want to visit and the
capital is now very much an international city. The area enjoys
a varied landscape from the high sierras of the Pyrenees, to
the Mediterranean coast and the central lowlands. There are two
Cataluna coastlines - the Costa Brava with its cliffs and deep
coves (Costa is Catalan for coast and Brava means Rugged) - and
the Costa Dorada (Gold Coast) with long, wide and gentle beaches.
There are three airports - Barcelona, Girona and Tarragona. There
are two international rail stations at Estacion de Sants and
Estacion de Francia, both in Barcelona.
Lloret de Mar is adjacent to Blanes
and Tossa de Mar on the Costa Brava, and is 50 miles from Barcelona.
There is a scheduled, daily bus service to Barcelona, Girona
and various destinations inland, with links to the main cities
of Spain and Europe. Lloret is 70 miles from Barcelonas
airport.
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Lloret de Mar is a coastal town in
Cataluna and the most important resort on the Costa Brava. It
is one of the Mediterranean's most popular resorts and certainly
the liveliest on this stretch of the Spanish coastline. This
former fishermans village has five main beaches along 5 miles
of coastline, all awarded the blue flag by the EEC. Many consider
a bronze statue of a fisherman's wife overlooking the town to
be Lloret's symbol (see photo). The area is rich in history and
culture. Visit Sta Caleta, a ruined castle overlooking the beach,
from where you can take a magnificent cliff top walk offering
views of the rugged coastline. An ancient Iberian settlement,
dating back to around 250 BC, has been fully excavated at the
hilltop site of Puig de Castellet. Lloret is regarded as one
of the best-endowed tourist centres in terms of sports facilities,
shopping, leisure and cuisine, hotels, camping and apartments.
Within a radius of less than 60 miles, Tossa de Mar, Barcelona,
Girona, Figueres (with its Dalí museum) and Montserrat
can all be visited. |