A Weekend in Tossa de Mar

Tossa de Mar is a very popular beach town on the Costa Brava of Spain, famous for its medieval castle towering over the beautiful beach. Years ago, I saw a photo of this castle in a travel book, and vowed to someday visit. So when we planned our road trip through Spain, I made sure that Tossa was one of our stops.

TRAVEL

Tossa de Mar is about an hour and 20 minutes north of the Barcelona airport, and there are inexpensive, direct flights to Barcelona from anywhere in Europe. You will most likely need to rent a car, as there isn’t much in the way of public transportation up the Costa Brava. Tossa was our third and final stop on our road trip through Spain, so we drove up the coast from Sitges, which was about an hour and 40 minutes, and flew out of the Barcelona airport.

EAT

Tapas del Mar  |  Overlooking the Playa Grande, this restaurant has great seafood, and delicious tapas. Definitely the best tapas we had in Spain. We actually went there a few times, it was that good.

La Terraza del Diana  |  The restaurant at the Hotel Diana has a surprisingly good restaurant. We ate breakfast there every morning, and dinner one night. The upstairs terrace is perfect, with a slight breeze and an amazing view of Playa Grande. I enjoyed the terrace so much that I snuck away during nap time to sit there and get some work done.

Can Pini  | A great location, right below the entrance to the castle, and one of the most kid-friendly restaurants we ate at in Spain. But the real draw is the fresh fish. If you go early, there is a very reasonably priced 3 course dinner menu.

Natural Helado  |  There are ice cream stands about every 10 meters all over town. But the best place is right around the corner from the Hotel Diana, called Natural. Try the mango or coconut ice cream!

SLEEP

Hotel Diana  |  In a town a bit overrun with tourists and characterless vacation apartments, Hotel Diana is the place to stay. It is located right on the Platja Gran, between numerous restaurants and bars, and features beautiful architectural details and stained glass windows and doors. Built in 1906 by Antoni de Falguera i Sivilla, a disciple of Antoni Gaudí, the modernist building is an attraction in and of itself. Based on all of this, we should have loved it! Unfortunately, the hotel is being renovated in phases, and we didn’t luck out with one of the new, fabulous rooms. If you go, try to book one of the suites, which have been renovated and have an amazing ocean view.

Check the latest prices on:  Booking  |  Hotels.com  |  Agoda

Read reviews on:  TripAdvisor

SEE & DO

Vila Vella  |  The ancient castle Vila Vella is the only remaining fortified medieval town on the Catalan coast. It is believed to have been built sometime in the 12th century, and to this day is still occupied with museums, restaurants, shops and residences. Spend some time wandering through the narrow, winding pathways of this charming walled-in old town.

Beaches  |  The main beach in Tossa de Mar is the Platja Gran, which lies right in front of the promenade and has a great view of the Vila Vella. Unlike the calm, sandy beaches of Valencia and Sitges, the Platja Gran is a pebble beach, and gets quite deep just a few feet past the water line. So although the beach was packed with families, we didn’t find it ideal for little kids. We much preferred the Platja d’es Codolar, hidden behind the walls of the Vila Vella. It is still pebbles, but much smaller and calmer than the Platja Gran. Plus, my kids thought it was really fun to climb through a little passageway in the castle to get to this more secluded beach.

Hike  |  The hiking trails leading from the Vila Vella out along the dramatic coastline of the Costa Brava offer some of the most amazing views you will ever see. Get up there early to beat the heat, and enjoy the peace and tranquility away from the crowds in town.

MORE

Read more about our road trip through Spain.

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