10/11/2020
Singing the Praises of Calella
By Hotel Neptuno & Apartments,
Calella is the tourism capital of the Maresme region, long renowned for the beauty of its beaches. But the city has plenty of other attractions that make it a must-see place to visit in the regions of Barcelona. This essential guide, listing just seven of them, is just a little taster to whet your appetite for exploring the rest!
1. Les Torretes Watchtower and Calella Lighthouse Interpretation Centre
Let's start the trail from a commanding perspective! Climb up to the Les Torretes Watchtower to enjoy the most spectacular views of the coast, from the Barcelonès region to the Selva region! Any time of day is good, but dusk is very special, when the light turns violet and the sea breeze caresses your face. And, if you're taking the kids, make sure you visit Calella's Lighthouse, where you can discover the workings of an amazing feat of engineering.
2. Passeig Manuel Puigvert seafront promenade
Calella's seafront promenade is the ideal place to seek protection from the sun, thanks to the shade provided by its huge London planes. Designed at the end of the 19th century, is listed in the inventory of the Architectural Heritage of Catalonia and was as vibrant in the past as it is today. With pensioners chatting on benches, children enjoying ice creams and sports enthusiasts keeping fit, this sumptuous space is filled with colour, spontaneity and life.
3. Tourism Museum
The Tourism Museum is housed in a former textile factory built in the neoclassical style. Divided into four main rooms, its exhibits are related to the history of pleasure trips: from the routes of the first explorers to the ways in which travel enriches us.
4. Dalmau Park and its air-raid shelter
Would you like to take a walk through Calella's green lung? Leave the museum and enter the Dalmau Park: with an area of 18 hectares and the typical diversity of the Mediterranean forest, you will do sports while admiring the high crowns of the pines and the light flight of the birds. Once there, take the opportunity to see the refuge where the population went to protect themselves from aerial bombardments during the Civil War. A chapter from the past that we cannot let fade from the collective memory.
5. Calella Museum-Archive
Keeping with the historical theme, why not visit the Calella Museum-Archive? On the ground floor you'll find Iberian and Roman remains, along with collections of minerals, fossils, ceramics, tiles, tools of traditional trades, etc. Meanwhile, the second floor houses the old Barri pharmacy, dating from the modernista period, along with the reproduction of a 19th-century kitchen, including utensils, measuring units, earthenware containers and crockery.
6. Chapel of Sant Quirze and Santa Julita
One of the landmark buildings of Calella is located close by, on Carrer de Francesc Bartrina, namely the, built in 1476 and, until 1798, consecrated to Sant Elm, patron saint of seafarers and sailors. The baroque altarpiece was destroyed in the Spanish Civil War but the church lost none of its charm and is still one of the places most loved by the locals in Calella.
7. Noucentista municipal market
Are you feeling hungry? At the Municipal Market, a building designed in 1927 by the architect Jeroni Martorell, you can buy everything from Maresme peas to squid, cuttlefish, Mediterranean sand eels and the famous prawns of the region. But if you don't feel like cooking, don't worry! Within the market itself there's a bar with a very special service: you provide the ingredients and they'll prepare a delicious home-cooked style dish for you!
So, is your appetite ready to visit Calella?
Source: Barcelona És Molt Més