Hostal Blanes La Barca is in Blanes

The Costa Brava ends (or begins) in Blanes. Sa Palomera, a jagged rock between the port and the beach is the symbolic milestone. This seafaring town with a long- standing tradition of coastal shipping developed in a semi-circular bay dominated by a hill upon which the ruins of the Sant Joan Castle stand. The town has a seafront promenade and interesting historic monuments including Gothic buildings erected by the lineage of Viscounts of Cabrera, such as the mansion or the fountain on the Carrer Ample, a remarkable octagonal-shaped fountain dating from the 15th century. The Fishing Research Institute has an interesting aquarium with Mediterranean fauna.

Surrounded by the Vilar Hill (269 meters) and the San Joan Mountain (166 meters), its center lies near the end of the Tordera river. Blanes also has some of the most important beaches and coves of the Costa Brava.

Undoubtedly one of the main attractions of the city are its botanical gardens. If you love this kind of gardens or want to see its beautiful and exotic plants you should know that Blanes has two botanical gardens of great importance. The first is Marimurtra, which contains more than 3,000 species from all continents. Likewise you can also visit the Botanical Garden Pinya de Rosa, which owns, among other natural treasures, a large collection of cactus.

The historical legacy of Blanes is really interesting. In this village lived Iberians, Romans (the old place name comes from them: Blandae), feudal lords and, above all, from XIXth century the Catalan bourgeoisie, who took advantage of this excellent coastal not far from Barcelona to build some interesting villas near the sea.

However Blanes has been traditionally a fishing village. A tour through the old part of the town shows a significant architectural heritage, such as Casa de la Vila (Town Hall), dating from the XIXth century, the Fountain of the Mina Cristalina (from 1854), the Gothic Fountain (fifteenth century, the best preserved of Catalan Gothic architecture), the Plaza dels Feiners Dies (the square where the market took place in medieval times). Nor has to miss the Palace of the Viscounts of Cabrera (from the fourteenth century) and the Castle of Sant Joan, located at the top of the mountain of the same name, which also offers magnificent views of the south coast of Blanes.

Just from the top of the castle you get magnificent views of the longest sandy beach of Blanes: S'Abanell. The promontory in the middle of the beach is Sa Palomera, the first big rock that welcomes the Costa Brava, and to his right extends a long seaside boulevard which stretches almost to the end of the Tordera river. This is the most tourist area of Blanes, and offers a wide range of services to its visitors.

On the other side, behind the port, you find the cove of Santa Anna, Cala Treumal (the smallest cove, close to the botanical garden Pinya Rosa), and the Beach Sant Francesc, surrounded by an idyllic pine forest that provides easy access. Next to it is the Sant Francesc Hermitage.

Blanes, is also an interesting city that maintains an active calendar of cultural events throughout the year. The most important ones are the Interacional Fireworks Competition, the Carpets of Flowers Day (when mosaics of flowers are set up on many streets in June), the Local Festival Blanes Day (in August) and the Carnival Parade (in February).