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.

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.

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