A stay on the Costa Brava: when to go and which area to choose

This is the most classic stretch. From Begur, crowned by a ruined castle, you drop down to the coves of Sa Tuna, Aiguablava and Fornells. The cami de ronda links Calella de Palafrugell, Llafranc and Tamariu on foot in two to three hours, passing below the Sant Sebastia lighthouse. The Cap Roig botanical gardens, balconied over the sea, are visited in the late afternoon. Allow three days for this sector alone.

At the end of a mountain road, Cadaques has kept the look of a white fishing village, despite the artists who adopted it. Next door, Dali's house at Portlligat is visited by strict named booking. The Cap de Creus natural park ends the Iberian peninsula in a chaos of rock carved by the tramuntana wind, with a lighthouse and schist coves where the water is often rough. Two nights are enough.

The southern coast is more built up, but Tossa de Mar keeps the Vila Vella, the only fortified medieval town still standing on the Catalan shore, above the beach. Blanes has the Marimurtra botanical garden, terraced over the sea. Lloret de Mar, heavily geared to mass tourism, is passed through rather than visited. This sector is the best served by train and bus from Barcelona.

Less than twenty minutes from the coves, the Emporda lines up fortified golden-sandstone villages: Peratallada with its rock-cut moat, Pals and its watchtower, Monells and its arcaded square, Pubol and the castle Dali gave to Gala. The area produces wines under the Emporda label, tasted at the estates. It is the perfect fallback on tramuntana days, when the coast is not walkable.

Many trips start in Girona, 40 minutes from the beaches. The old town, its colourful houses over the Onyar, its Jewish quarter and its ramparts are seen in a day, and the cathedral steps stood in for scenes in Game of Thrones. In May, the Temps de Flors festival turns courtyards and monuments into gardens. Girona airport handles the low-cost flights to the region. See also Catalonia and its capital Barcelona.