The Spanish Pyrenees Holiday
The Pyrenees area of Spain isn't the first that most holidaymakers think of, but there is many a rewarding treat to be found within.
A holiday in the Spanish Pyrenees is not a destination that immediately springs to mind, but the north eastern region of the country offers a wealth of activities for travellers.
We flew into Spain's second city Barcelona on one of the many cheap flights now available from across the UK and spent the first couple of days exploring the fascinating Catalan city and enjoying its vibrant nightlife.
Hiring a car we travelled to the Parc Nacional d'Aiguestortes in northwest Catalunya to start our journey along the Pyrenees. Driving through the breathtaking mountains, we stopped countless times to take photographs at the many viewing points and gaze across the largely unspoilt landscape.
The Pyrenees offer the ideal location for walkers and backpackers of all kinds and we chose to stay in the medieval village of Espot near the Aigues Tortes (Twisted Waters) National Park, close to the border with Andorra. Here we spent a couple of days exploring the surrounding mountains and valleys, including the impressive glacial Lake of Saint Maurici.
From Espot we continuing driving through the winding roads of the Pyrenees towards the north eastern coast of Spain, right by the French border. Managing to squeeze in a few days by the beach, we opted for the small resort of Port de la Selva in a pretty bay.
We stayed at the attractive Hotel Porto Cristo, which was a two minute walk from the town's main beach. After days of walking it was nice to be no more than a few hundred yards from anywhere, though we did take the opportunity to explore the pretty headland one afternoon.
The beach, which affords a view of the Pyrenees and the crystal waters of the Mediterranean provides the perfect location for lazing in the sun, reading and swimming.
The city of Figueras was close by and on a cloudy day, we drove in to see the famous Dali Theatre Museum there. Designed by the enigmatic artist himself, the building is the largest surrealistic object in the world and home to an amazing collection of some of his most famous works that is worth spending several hours browsing around despite the crowds.
We found that it was useful to have some Spanish whilst travelling around the region, as it receives far fewer UK tourists than the more popular Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca areas. Food in all the places we stayed was excellent and affordable, with both traditional Spanish and Catalan dishes on the menu.
By travelling to Catalonia, we enjoyed the best of all world with a holiday that combined a stylish and exciting city with breathtaking mountain walks and a chance to relax by a warm sea.
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