Tarragona.casa

with passion for Spain, Catalonia and Tarragona

excursions from Tarragona

The metropolis of Barcelona is only a 50-minute drive away with all the famous highlights such as la Segrada Familia, Park Güell, the Rambla, the Picasso museum, FC Barcelona, and much more. But don't forget to also visit the most beautiful villages, castles, monasteries, caves, mountains and nature nearby. Below are some suggestions.

Click on a photo for more info

Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona

Antonio Gaudí is one of the most remarkable and well-known architects of the 19th and 20th centuries. As the founder of Catalan modernism, he is an international legend who has lastingly changed our view of modern architecture. In Barcelona are his greatest masterpieces, a must to visit. Such as the Segrada Familia, Parc Güell, Casas Batlló, Milà, Vicens and many others. See link below for our Blog with route along all Gaudí masterpieces in Barcelona.

Las Ramblas, Barcelona

Las Ramblas is a well-known and popular street, over 1200 meters long. A wide, busy and pleasant boulevard with pedestrian only access in the middle and which runs in a southeasterly direction, from Plaça de Catalunya to Port Vell, the oldest part of the port of Barcelona.

FC Barcelona (Camp Nou)

Fútbol Club Barcelona is the most successful football club in Spain and in the world. The stadium of the club is Camp Nou, which is also the largest stadium in Europe.
FC Barcelona has more followers online than any other club, around 400 million worldwide.

Montserrat

The most important and mysterious mountain of Catalonia. It is located northwest of Barcelona and an hour's drive from Tarragona city. You can get to the mountain by car, but by far the fastest way to get to the top is by cable car.
The Monastery of Montserrat is located at an altitude of 720 meters and is known as a place of pilgrimage and tourist. A hotel is also located there. The monastery contains a library with nearly 300,000 works, including the 14th-century Llibre Vermell and a museum that houses work by El Greco, Picasso and Salvador Dalí.
The mountain also lends itself to a beautiful mountain walk.

Castle Route in Tarragona

In the Middle Ages - 10th and 11th centuries - the river Gaià (which flows through the country of Tarragona) played a very strategic role, as it acted as a natural border between the county of Barcelona and Al-Andalus.
For this reason, nearly fifty castles and some watchtowers were built along the route to stop the Muslim invasion to the north.

The castle route of Gaià is easily accessible by car and includes the castles of La Riera de Gaià, Tamarit, Torredembarra, Vespella, Altafulla, El Catllar, Clarà, Creixell, Ferran, La Nou de Gaià, La Pobla de Montornès and Renau.
See below link to website with more details.

Miravet (Tarragona)

In Miravet is the linear twelfth century Templar Castle, which was occupied by the Order of the Templars. Although originally built by the Moors, it is one of the best preserved examples of Order of the Knights Templar architecture in Europe.

Siurana (Tarragona)

Siurana village is often seen as the most beautiful place of the Costa Dorada. It was therefore declared a national historical heritage site in 1994. Located in the Montsant Nature Reserve, Siurana was founded in the 8th century and considered indestructible for centuries due to its unique location on the Serra de la Gritella plateau. Siurana is easily accessible by car (an hour from Tarragona city) and invites to beautiful mountain walks in the area.

Monestir de Santa Maria de Poblet

The Monastery of Poblet or the Monestir de Santa Maria de Poblet is a Cistercian monastery, half an hour's drive from the city. It was founded in 1151 by Cistercian monks from France. It is at once an abbey, military fortress, palace and pantheon. There are now about 50 monks living in the monastery, but it is open to visitors.

See also our Blog about the pilgrimage from Tarragona. It can be found here that Poblet, together with two other monasteries nearby (Santes Creus and Vallbona de les Monges), forms the 'sacred triangle'. All three are connected by the GR-175 Cistercian Route (la ruta cister) and are also worthwhile visiting.

Almond, peach and cherry trees in bloom

Every year, between late February and mid-April, depending on how warm it is, the almond, peach or cherry trees bloom. A beautiful sight and beautiful setting for a walk or picnic. The top 5 places to experience this are:
(1) Aitona, about an hour's drive from Tarragona town, contains more than 8,000 hectares of peach trees that transform the environment into a landscape of intense pink colors - see also the photo
(2) Arberca, an hour's drive from Tarragona town, contains one of the best fields of almond trees in all of Catalonia, which can be easily reached by car or on foot.
(3) Tivissa, half an hour's drive from town, with many fruit trees in bloom.
(4) Ulldecona, an hour's drive from the town, is best known for its ancient olive trees, but also contains large fields of almond trees
(5) Sant Climent de Llobregat, just below Barcelona, an hour's drive, contains immense fields of cherry trees and is one of the largest cherry producers in all of Catalonia.

Reus (Tarragona)

Reus is a beautiful authentic town just 10 minutes from Tarragona city. Take the beautiful central square of Plaça del Mercadal as a base for a visit. Reus was also the hometown of the famous architect Antonio Gaudí. The Gaudí route in Reus is therefore a great way to get to know the city (see link below to our Blog with the route and description).

Vilanova i la Geltru (Tarragona)

Vilanova i la Geltrú is a beautiful and authentic seaside resort exactly between Tarragona city and Barcelona (half an hour's drive). Plaça de la Vila is the main square in the center of the city.

Stargazing in the mountains

In the Prades Mountains (Tarragona) you can stargaze under the guidance of experienced guides with telescopes. It is a perfect place for stargazing because it is very dark (for those in the know: the brightness is about 21.4 mag/arcsec2). There is also a visitor center and planetarium.
See https://www.parcastronomicprades.cat/

It's really nice to spend the night in one of the spherical chalets, where the top is made of glass. Stargazing all night from your bed! See https://www.xaletdeprades.com/

Tortosa (Tarragona)

Tortosa contains a rich historical center with a unique combination of three cultures: At the time of the Romans the city was called Dertosa and it was an important junction of connecting roads. In the 8th-11th century it was an Islamic taifa. The city experienced its heyday in the 16th century, the time of the Renaissance. Eye-catchers are the Suda Castle (now a beautiful Parador hotel) once built by the Moors, and the 14th century cathedral Santa María.

Tortosa was also an important strategic city during the Spanish Civil War. During the bombing at the battle for the Ebro, it had a hard time, comparable to Rotterdam. See also our Blog about remains from the battle of the Ebro.

In the first week of July, Tortosa hosts one of the most important Jazz festivals in Catalonia, known as Mostra de Jazz de Tortosa.

Montblanc (Tarragona)

Characteristic of medieval Montblanc (Tarragona) is the almost completely preserved city wall with a circumference of 1.4 kilometers and a height of 6 meters. According to legend, St. George would have defeated the Dragon under this city wall.
The town is about half an hour's drive from Tarragona city.

The caves of L'Espluga

The caves of L'Espluga are natural cavities used by man since the Upper Paleolithic. The museum is inside. Outside is a large-scale Neolithic village. The tour lasts approximately 1 hour 15 minutes.
The caves are located near the medieval town of Montblanc (also half an hour's drive from the city).
See link to the museum below.

Santuario de la Mare de Déu de Montserrat

It took the city of Montferri (Tarragona) 73 years to finish the Mare de Déu de Montserrat sanctuary. The modernist architect Josep Maria Jujol, a follower of Antoni Gaudí, designed the building. In line with modernist philosophy, Jujol wanted to create a direct connection between the chapel and the earth.
Construction started in 1925 but was not opened until 1999 due to many problems such as lack of funds, the Spanish Civil War and damage from high winds.

The chapel is half an hour's drive from the city of Tarragona and can easily be combined with a nice walk.

The delta of the Ebro

80 km below Tarragona is the Parc Natural del Delta de l'Ebro, a beautiful small wetland area. The area was created by the arms of the River Ebro, which flows into the Mediterranean Sea here. Once it was an area where there were only swamps and rice fields. The Ebro Delta is still a prosperous rice-growing area, no fewer than 14 different rice varieties are produced. Ideal rice for the paella!

Flamingos in the Ebro Delta

The flamingo has successfully reproduced since 1993 and has now become one of the most emblematic species in the Ebro Delta Natural Park, the only place in Catalonia where it breeds, and one of the few stable places in the western Mediterranean.

Sea of olive trees

The Territorio Sénia is home to the world's largest concentration of ancient olive trees. A mosaic of trees and dry stone, known as the sea of olive trees.
In Tarragona, an open-air museum has been set up in Ulldecona. There are also some cycling and walking trails, working oil mills, guided tours and olive oil sales and tastings.
It is an hour's drive from the city of Tarragona, but near the Ebro and therefore easy to combine.
See link to more info below.

The cave paintings of Serra de Godall

The Serra de Godall cave paintings are the most important of Levantine cave paintings in Catalonia and are part of the Unesco World Heritage. Here, some 8,000 years ago, groups of hunters left their drawings in a series of rock shelters. The beautiful hunting scenes are clearly visible to the naked eye.
These caves are an hour from Tarragona city and can be easily combined with a visit to the Ebro.

Parc Natural de la Zona volcànica de la Garrotxa

The Zona Volcànica de la Garrotxa Natural Park is a Natural Park area that occupies a Holocene volcanic field in Catalonia. The volcanoes, of which there are about forty in the park, are no longer active. The last eruption was about 11,000 years ago.

The Pyrenees

A Catalan Pyrenees, with its rugged mountains, green valleys, deep ravines and medieval villages, can be reached in about two hours by car.

Valencia

Valencia (2 hours drive from Tarragona) is the third largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona and is the orange capital of Spain. But of course also birthplace of the Paella.
Here in the photo you can see the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, a cultural and architectural complex and one of the main tourist destinations in the city

Madrid

Madrid is the capital of Spain and can be reached from Tarragona by high-speed train AVE in just 2.5 hours