Cadaqués & Dalí's House Museum in Portlligat

About Cadaqués & Dalí's House Museum in Portlligat

Cadaqués is a town that is considered to be the jewel of the Costa Brava and is set in a natural bay on the south side of the Cap de Creus headland.

Cadaqués History

Historic records from 74 AD and 1030AD list the towns main activities as farming and fishing. The town was a fishing and trading port visited by Greek, Sardinian, Egyptian and other Mediterranean vessels. The town is very remote and located on a very rocky and barren peninsula called Cap de Creus so the local population were worried about pirates and Corsairs. However Cadaqués does not have any fortifications.

By the nineteenth century, Cadaqués had industries such as anchovy and tuna processing as well as winemaking, cork, olive oil and soap production. These industries declined at the start of the twentieth century with some 1200 residents from the town, about a third of the population emigrating to Cuba to seek their fortunes. The returning migrants from Cuba, who made small fortunes, built grand houses. An example is Casa Blava in the centre of town overlooking the port area.

in the 1960's the town became a popular tourist location and fishing and agriculture has all but been abandoned.

Many painters and writers moved to Cadaqués for short or long stays because of the Inspirational rocky and rugged landscape. Joan Miró, Federico Garcia Lorca, Pablo Picasso and Andrè have all spent time in Cadaqués. The town is most famous because Salvador Dalí had a house in the adjacent village of Port Lligat which is today the Dalí house museum.

Cadaqués retains its old world charm, even today.

Cadaques History

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Visiting Cadaqués & Dalí's House Museum in Portlligat

The town centre has narrow streets with whitewashed buildings and many small boutique clothes stores and artian gift shops. Many of the buildings have purple and pink flowering vines, Bougainvillea Creepers, growing up the façades which is especially beautiful in the spring and early summer.

The Santa Maria de Cadaqués church is also worth a visit because it is built in the highest part of the town and is a great vantage point and has a the simple beauty of a village church inside with an impressive 18th century altar.

Inside the town and along the seafront are many restaurants specialising in seafood and fish dishes and local wines. I don't have a favourite restaurant in Cadaqués because they are all amazing but last time I was there I ate in talla Restaurant.

Cadaqués Beaches

Platja Gran: is the main beach of the town and is only 150 metres long.
Platja Port d'Algueris a small beach south of Platja Gran in the centre of town.
Platja des Llané Gran: walking south of the main beach along the front you will find this beach with great views across the bay of Cadaqués.
Platja es Sortell d'en Ter and Platja des Sortell: are stoney beaches in front of Casa Pitxot.

Hiking near to Cadaqués

The most popular route is to follow the coastline north from the centre of Cadaqués passing via Port Lligat and many small coves to the Cap de Creus headland where you will find a light house and Cap de Creus Restaurant. The vegetation along this rocky coastline is mostly grasses and succulent plants such as aloe and cactus. It is very dry here so wear a hat, use plenty of sun cream and carry at least 4 litres of water. The route is marked and easy to follow with a round distance of about 14 km.

Accommodation in Cadaqués

Cadaqués is a small town with no high rise hotel complexes, what you will find are small hotels each with their own style and charm as well as apartments for rent. Use the Bookings widget to find your perfect accommodation.

Cadaqués Dali Tickets & Other Attractions

Cadaques Tourism Homepage Cadaques Church Homepage

What to take with you for Cadaqués & Dalí's House Museum in Portlligat

SarfaBus in general can provide bus access for people with reduced mobility and in wheelchairs if you advise them 48 hours in advance to sarfa@sarfa.es

Small 30L Hiking Rucksack

Includes high visibility fog and rain waterproof cover in zip compartment at bottom of rucksack.

Phone Case for watersports

IPX8 waterproof floating and submersible case & Lanyard. Permits photos and touchscreen use.

0.8L water bottle

Reusable, refillable 1L water bottle.

Beach Umbrella

UV blocking Compact Beach umbrella with carry bag.

Beach Towel

Large Cotton beach towel

Beach Sandals

Beach Sandals to protect against hot sand

Mid layer Top

Light weight cotton quick dry T-shirt

Trail shoes

Lightweight comfortable trail shoes

Convertible Trousers

Lightweight convertible trousers that zip down to shorts

High Factor Sun Cream

factor 50 non-polluting sun-cream to protect the oceans, lakes and rivers.

Summary of Prices

Train/Bus Fare Entry Ticket Additional Information Train/Bus Fare Entry Ticket Additional Information Adult € 49.00 FREE Child € 49.00 FREE Notes Beach is free, Return bus costs 49.00 Euros.

Getting to Cadaqués & Dalí's House Museum in Portlligat

Address: Estacion de Autobuses, Carrer de Sa Tarongeta 29, Cadaques. 17488

There are multiple ways to get to Cadaqués:

Moventis-Sarfa bus: from Barcelona airport or Estacion del Nord (near Arc de Triomf) to Cadaqués. This is a 2 hour and 45 minute bus ride.
Train to Figueres and Moventis-Sarfa bus use either a Regional train service (2 hours, 15 minutes) or High- speed train (50 minutes) to get from Barcelona to Figueres. At Figueres change onto a Moventis-Sarfa bus that takes an additional 1 hour to get to Cadaqués.
Note: The Figueres bus station is not next to the train stations but in the centre of town so a small walk is needed if you use the regional service to Figueres station. The high-speed Figueres-vilafant station is outside of the town centre on the outskirts so a long walk or taxi ride would be needed to get to interconnect with Figueres bus station.
By Car: Cadaqués is about a two and a half hour drive. Consider using the Hire car widget above for great deals.
By boat from Roses There are daily sailings from Roses in the mornings and afternoon.