COSTA BRAVA

The 'Costa Brava' is a coastal region of northeastern Catalonia, Spain, in the ''comarques'' of Alt Empordà, Baix Empordà and La Selva, in the province of Girona. ''Costa'' is the Catalan and Spanish word for 'coast', and ''Brava'' means 'rugged' or 'wild'. The Costa Brava stretches from Blanes, 60km northeast of Barcelona, to the French border.
In the 1950s the Costa Brava was identified by Spain’s Franco government as being suitable for substantial development as a holiday destination, mainly for package holiday tourists from Northern Europe and especially the United Kingdom. The combination of a very good summer climate and excellent beaches was exploited by the construction of large numbers of hotels and apartments in such seaside resorts as Blanes, Tossa de Mar, Lloret de Mar and l'Estartit. Tourism rapidly took over from fishing as the principal business of the area.

Whilst part of the Costa Brava coastline leant itself to tourist developments on a very large scale other parts have retained a more traditional look and have become "hidden gems" for visitors who want a little more than sun, sand and sangria. Small towns like Cadaqués (close to the French border and close to the foothills of the Pyrenees) have attracted artists such as Salvador Dalí and Pablo Picasso and are now fashionable resorts. The coast between Roses and Tossa de Mar has many delightful small coastal towns such as Pals, Begur, Tamariu, Llafranc, Aigua Blava, Fornells, Calella de Palafrugell and Sant Feliu de Guixols.

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Environmental protection

External links

Environmental protection

In 1998 coastal towns of the Costa Brava signed a charter the ''Carta de Tossa'' which undertook to pursue environmental protection along with tourism. This recognised the value of the region's wide range of natural habitats and micro-climates [1]. The 'Illes Medes' off the coast of L'Estartit is Spain's first maritime nature reserve and it provides a home to a wide range of fish and acquatic flora. The nearby wildfowl reserve on marshlands at 'l'Emporda' also saved land from the potential ravages of development.

External links

★ The official site for Costa Brava Pirineu de Girona Tourism