The Catalan Pyrenees
With its tangle of slender cobbled lanes leading past flower-filled corners and pottery workshops to the attractive colonnaded Plaça Major, medieval Santa Pau is arguably La Garrotxa's most ravishing village. A 13th-century castle looms over the main square.
Santa Pau is 10km southeast of Olot, and several good hikes start nearby.
21.66 MILES
The first name that pops into your head when you lay eyes on this red castle-like building, topped with giant eggs and stylised Oscar-like statues and…
28.17 MILES
The evocative seaside archaeological site of Empúries, 1.5km northwest of central L'Escala, immerses you in a strategic Greek, and later Roman, trading…
22.99 MILES
If you’re intrigued by artist Salvador Dalí, the Castell de Púbol is an essential piece of the puzzle. Between Girona and Palafrugell (22km northwest of…
25.23 MILES
Roussillon had its artistic heyday around the turn of the 20th century, when Fauvist and cubist artists flocked here, attracted by the searing colours and…
16.99 MILES
Towering over a flight of 86 steps rising from Plaça de la Catedral, Girona's imposing cathedral is far more ancient than its billowing baroque facade…
19.96 MILES
Consecrated in CE 888, Ripoll's monastery was Catalonia’s spiritual and cultural heart from the mid-10th to mid-11th century. The five-naved basilica was…
17.03 MILES
Until 1492, Girona was home to Catalonia’s second-most important medieval Jewish community, after Barcelona, and one of the country's finest Jewish…
Monestir de Sant Joan de les Abadesses
15.87 MILES
Who gallops through the hills around Sant Joan de les Abadesses on stormy nights, on a horse engulfed in flames and accompanied by ravenous black dogs? If…
4.92 MILES
On the 3rd floor of a grand former hospice building, this smart, modern museum unpacks the evolution of La Garrotxa's industry, history, culture, art and…
5.05 MILES
In the middle of verdant Parc Nou (a botanical garden of Olot-area flora), this schoolroom-like museum has detailed displays on volcanoes, tremors,…
5.29 MILES
Aside from the hills, one of La Garrotxa's most remarkable geological sights is the town of Castellfollit de la Roca (10km northeast of Olot), teetering…
5.68 MILES
Some 6km northeast of Olot, Sant Joan les Fonts has some lovely forest just beyond the village centre. From the Oficina de Turisme, you can pick up…
5. Monestir de Sant Joan les Fonts
5.82 MILES
Dating to the 12th century, this broad Romanesque riverside monastery is squirrelled away at the northern end of Sant Joan les Fonts, 6km northeast of…
7.48 MILES
Prepare to squint with increasing intensity as you enter this peculiar 2000-item museum. Peer through a magnifying glass at jewellery, figurines and tiny…
7.5 MILES
This Romanesque monastery dates from the 11th century and has an unusual ambulatory (walkway) with floral-motif capitals behind the altar.
7.52 MILES
The Romanesque Església de Sant Vicenç dates to the 10th century, though it has a few Gothic flourishes. It's normally closed, but you can peek in by…