Barcelona & Costa Brava Walking Tour

Day 1: Barcelona

Barcelona is one of Europe's most beautiful and distinctive cities, as we’ll see on a leisurely walk from our hotel through the city’s medieval heart, the Gothic Quarter. You feel as if you've literally stepped back into time as we wander the maze of tightly packed medieval streets. 

Day 2: Barcelona / Vic

This morning, we leave behind Barcelona for a drive of about an hour to the village of Rupit, located in the rolling hills of Northern Catalonia. Here you have the option to explore the picturesque village or join our guide for a remarkably scenic waterside walk to a dramatic waterfall. Along the way, we see how various Mediterranean cultures have populated and used the land in similar ways. The villages and scattered gray and pink stone maslas (farmhouses) may well remind you of Tuscany or even Provence. 

Day 3: Vic / Santa Pau

Garrotxa Volcanic Park is Europe's largest region of extinct volcanoes. A short drive drops us there for a morning walk through beech forests and meadows carpeted in wild flowers and herbs. Here, you'll understand why we always feel as if time has almost stood still, so untouched are the villages, castles and abbeys that perch on surrounding crags. 

Day 4: Girona / Aiguablava

This morning's footpath passes through oaks and wild flowers with water views, right from our front door to the monastery of Sant Pere de Casserres, a remarkable example of Catalonian Romanesque architecture. After a visit, we continue on the scenic route to the ancient walled city of Girona. Delightfully hidden, except to the locals, its full of narrow streets, cool churches and rows of orange-colored houses leaning over the banks of the River Onyar. 

Day 5: Empurias / Figueres

Our scenic walk this morning ends at the fabulous Greek and Roman ruins of Empuries, a city built by Greek merchants on the Mediterranean seashore more than 25 centuries ago, and later occupied by the Roman legions, who then established a town around 100 BC. In both the Greek and the Roman sites, we can admire the layouts of public and private houses, some with amazingly well preserved floors with Roman mosaics, the outline of the main streets lined with shops, public baths, gardens and temples; all surrounded by huge city walls. As we explore with our guide, and with the blue Mediterranean in the backdrop, the ruins grow in our imagination into the great city it once was, when Europe and the world were still taking shape and the Mediterranean was considered the Medi (center) of the Terra (Earth). The region's most famous son was Salvador Dalí, and this afternoon we visit his hometown of Figueres. 

Day 6: Costa Brava

Today we dedicate the entire day to exploring the coastal villages that dot the Costa Brava, taking in the breathtaking sea views, cliffs and coves. We begin in Cap Roig where a lush botanical garden carved into the rock overlooks the luminous blue Mediterranean. If you've ever walked the Cinque Terre, you'll feel right at home here. The path takes in white sand beaches, secluded coves ringed by umbrella pines, and hillside villas painted in glowing ochre and cream. Along the way, we'll pause in Calella, a red-tiled fishing village with a simple white church tower. 

Day 7: Barcelona

After breakfast, we return to Barcelona where we part company. Extend your visit in this charming city to do more exploring or as a convenient base for excursions to Montserrat, the wineries of Alt Penedès and the popular beach resort of Sitges. Meals: B