Llafranc, Spain

Posted on October 1, 2017

During our trip to Catalonia, Spain in 2017, we decided to visit Llafranc as part of our round trip.

Llafranc doesn’t seem to be somewhere that’s on the radar for a lot of tourists. However, it’s said that Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, and Ernest Hemingway all vacationed in Llafranc, and it has also attracted artists over the years – Salvador Dali , in particular, was a regular, so if that says anything, it’s worth a stop.

It’s a beautiful coastal town, and we had no idea what to expect before we arrived as there is very little promotional material written about the village. In retrospect, I think Yim liked the name Llafranc – she pronounced it LaLa Franc. That said, we found it an absolute treasure, with wonderful restaurants and a beautiful beach with crystal clear waters, right in the centre of town. It’s about an hour and a half north of Barcelona. We rented a car in Barcelona to visit Catalonia so we got to tour the area a little bit during our three day stay.

We had come to Spain to visit Barcelona and do some hiking and came to Llafranc after hiking The Pyrenees, as we thought this would be a good village to base ourselves in to hike a couple of little sections of the Cami de Ronda.

Dating back to the 19th century, the Camí de Ronda originated as a series of small pathways connecting one cove to the next along the Costa Brava, enabling fisherman, smugglers, sailors, travellers, lighthouse keepers and traginers (cart and mule drivers), to navigate this once remote coastal territory. In the 20th century, the path emerged as a key route for border control and was patrolled by the Guardia Civil. As time went on and the path patrol ceased, the trail became a series of public footpaths connecting tourist beach towns.

We visited in September 2017 and it was just perfect.

The Town of Llafranc

Llafranc

The town of Llafranc is surrounded by natural beauty.

It is considered a luxury town and a small house overlooking the ocean can cost up to 4 million euros. While we were visiting, I heard it referred to as the “Laguna Beach” of Spain due to the amazing homes. We didn’t get that sense, although it was apparent there was significant wealth in the town. The small shops around town are quite laid back, offering a good selection of in-style clothes, great restaurants and good entertainment. The marina in town offered a wide range of snorkelling, scuba diving and fishing charters. We did manage to get out onto the Mediterranean for an afternoon on a snorkelling charter and I managed to find an Octopus hidden away in the rocks, but I was quite dismayed at how little sea-life there was. The bottom of the sea looked devastated..

Downtown Llafranc Promenade, which is also lovely at night

It was a sleepy town while we were there, but there were still a good number of people on the beach, however, the hours of the restaurants seemed limited. I assume that was due to seasonality since August is the busy travel month in Europe. We got the vibe that this is one of the nicer towns along the Costa Brava, which perhaps doesn’t attract a younger party scene, but rather older travellers (in a good way).We fit right in to that vibe…

We could wander down from our hotel and pass several good restaurants before ending up right in the centre of town in five minutes, se we were very centrally located.

I wish I could remember the names of the restaurants we visited but I didn’t keep records of where we ate but I do know that it was the first time in my life I had tried Monkfish, which did taste just like lobster. I do remember that there was a few open markets available and we bought some fresh fruits.

One thing that we both loved was that the Cami de Ronda trail started right along the beach at a staircase that wound up along the coast before entering a forested area that continued along towards Tamariu. The hike took us about 3 hours return and featured a serious climb up a series of switchbacks at Cala del Cau beach before winding its way through a forested section along the coast. It was nice to walk along the coast of the Mediterranean.

Mas Pastora Hotel

This hotel is amazingly well hidden just behind a roundabout on the edge of Llafranc, with high stone walls and large gardens. We passed it twice before doubling back on our Google Maps. We had booked one of the rooms in the main building and when we arrived, we were both stunned by how beautiful the entire complex was.

Their grounds are beautiful — green, pastoral, and both manicured and wild at the same time. After our first day wandering around the village, we came back home and enjoyed the lap pool. Did I mention this is an Adults Only Hotel – perfect. We ended our first day lounging in a chair reading a book and enjoying a drink, which the discreet staff made certain we had.

Sitting down to breakfast the next morning in a pea gravel courtyard, surrounded by greenery and listening to the birds chirping was pure heaven. While seated, we discovered that we could order whatever we wanted for dinner as the chef was a vegetarian specialist and would prepare whatever we would like, if possible. I seem to remember she also made a few suggestions and we chose to sample her specialities. Dinner was to perfection.

I think this may have been one of the best hotel experiences I have ever enjoyed. The room was exquisitely minimalist yet tastefully decorated with a large balcony.

If you visit Llafranc, stay in this hotel.

The Castle of Begur

One night, we decided we would visit the Castle of Begur (above), which dates back to the 11th century, when the feudal lord Arnust de Begur built it on the highest mountain, right in the centre of the town. It has since been declared a Cultural Asset of National Interest and offers incredible views over the Costa Brava.

The fortress was built on top of the rock and a large part of it has been preserved, especially the main tower, which is completely cylindrical and maintains its 15 foot walls. There is a road to it but from where I took the middle photo above, I had no idea how to get there but we plugged in something on Google Maps and within a half hour, just as the sun was beginning to set, we arrived at the foot of the hill which leads to the Castle and we parked the car and basically ran to the top.

Yim jumped up on the walls and I caught this shot of her beside the flagpole, which had stairs leading up to it so we felt that was cool.

Coastal Walk from Llafranc to Calella de Palafrugell

Bordering the rugged coastline of the Costa Brava, the coastal path section of the Cami de Ronda which runs from Llafranc to Palafrugell, is thousands of years old. Today it is a nicely kept walking path a few kilometres long, which allows you to stroll along the Mediterranean. This short section of the trail is remarkably beautiful and an obligatory walk after dinner, enjoying the sunset and the breeze off the Mediterranean Sea.

There are benches to sit down on to chat, viewpoints hanging over the sea to enjoy and an ice cream parlour in Palafrugell. Perfect.

The walk took about 30 – 45 minutes each way.

Peratallada

On our last day, we decided to go exploring and somehow ended up in the village of Peratallada and stopped to visit. From the road, we saw what looked like standing sections of a church, which we later discovered was The Sant Esteve church, an ancient medieval church dating back to the late 12th century.

Just across the road was the Portal de la Verge, one of the best-preserved medieval access gates in Catalan, to the village of Peratallada. We still had no idea where we were. We had simply stumbled upon this place.

Surrounded by a moat and walls, its main attractions included the ancient Plaza de les Voltes, a 13th century Romanesque church. The town walls and the charming buildings and towers that once formed part of a castle apparently gave the town its name. The town is one of the most important in terms of the medieval architecture and once inside the walls, we were completely captivated by it’s narrow cobbled streets and extraordinary medieval buildings.

A couple of hours later, we wandered back out and headed back to Llafranc.