Calella de Palafrugell
Calella de Palafrugell is an undiscovered gem of the Costa Brava and is less than half an hour’s drive from La Gavina. Surrounded by stunning natural scenery it feels like a Catalan take on Mykonos with its whitewashed bars and seafood restaurants spilling out directly onto Port Bo, a sandy cove awash with colourful fishermen’s boats. With its maze of narrow streets and sheltered bays it perfectly preserves the charm of a bygone era, before the advent of mass tourism on the Costa Brava. Calella, whose townscape is refreshingly low-rise, has moved steadily upmarket in recent years and offers a refined selection of fine dining establishments, tapas bars and café’s alongside a smattering of chic boutiques which add to a distinctly BoHo vibe.
Girona
Not only is it one of the main airports serving the Costa Brava alongside Barcelona, but Girona has made a name for itself in the past decade as a gastronomic centre. While it plays host to three Michelin starred El Celler de Can Roca, twice crowned The World’s Best Restaurant, the city offers a mouthwatering variety of culinary experiences, which not only reflect the refined palates, but high expectations of its local Gironin clientele. La Gavina can arrange bespoke food tours of the city allowing guests the chance to sample the flavours of local delicacies like l’Escala anchovies and Girona beef tenderloin, not forgetting Jordi Roca’s divine craft chocolate and D.O. Empordà wines. Delight at Girona’s picture postcard image, the colourful houses which overlook the River Onyar with Pont de les Peixateries Velles, a vivid red Gustave Eiffel designed bridge connecting the two banks. One of the top attractions of the Costa Brava, its stunning Barri Vell (Old town) not only plays host to one of the finest Jewish Quarters in Europe but also the Banys Àrabs (Arabic baths) which rank among the best preserved public baths in the world, built in Romanesque style way back in 1194. The city’s majestic Cathedral proudly boasts the second largest single nave in the world, only surpassed by that of St. Peter’s in the Vatican City.