Figueres

Figueres is famous for one of its most illustrious citizens: Salvador Dalí. But it is also the nerve centre of the Alt Empordà region and home to outstanding Neoclassical and Modernista heritage that is worth discovering.

La Rambla is the centre of Figueres, an avenue designed to allow people to stroll between Modernista houses, one of which, Casa Albert Terrades, is the home to the Toy Museum, one of the city’s must-see attractions. Plaça del Gra, whose wooden and iron structure still houses a fruit and vegetable market several days a week, and Plaça del Escriptor Josep Pla, home to the Modernista El Jardí Theatre-Cinema, are other points of interest.

Figueres still conserves a small Jewish quarter as a legacy of its past, in addition to the Church of Sant Pere, which is one of the city’s most interesting architectural elements. Sant Ferran Castle, from the 18th century, is Europe’s largest modern era fortress and contains an unfinished church.

But, without doubt, the main point of interest in Figueres is the Dalí Theatre and Museum, the museum dedicated to Salvador Dalí. It is a unique opportunity to explore Surrealism, learn about all the artist’s periods and see an impressive collection of jewels unlike any other in the world.

Another of Figueres’s attractions is its gastronomy. Two of the basic ingredients of Empordà cuisine have their own designation of origin: the Figueres onion and Empordà olive oil. The city is also the capital of Empordà wines, which are made with grape varieties like Carignan, Ull de Llebre, Syrah, white and red Grenache, Macabeu and Xarel·lo. Its typical foods include botifarra dolça (sweet pork sausages), bunyols (doughnuts) and flaones (a type of cake). These specialty dishes can be sampled at the Hotel Empordà, the region’s best-known motel-restaurant and one of the pioneers of the renewal of Catalan gastronomy.

Points of interest

• Dalí Theatre and Museum
• Toy Museum
• La Rambla
• Empordà Museum
• Sant Ferran Castle