Artés



Artés is a town of 5,600 people (2018) in Barcelona (province) and is a stage in the Catalan Way of St. James. The town is near the Artés Formation, a unique geological formation that owes its name to its proximity with the town.

Understand
Administratively, Artés is part of the Bages county. Approximately 15 km from Manresa and 30 km from Vic, it is the most important population center located between the two cities along the Transversal Axis Road.

The town is bathed mainly by the Gavarresa creek and its tributary, the Malrubí creek, as well as by other minor streams. The Llobregat river, where it flows into the Gavarresa, marks the western limit of the term.

Artés is well known for its production of wine and cava. With other towns of the surrounding area, Artés had achieved the Denomination of Origin Pla de Bages for its wines. It also holds the denomination of the Cava of Artés.

By plane
The nearest airports are in Girona  and Barcelona.

By bus
Bus lines : Sagales lines in Artés
 * 712 Manresa - Monistrol de Calders
 * 714 Barcelona - Manresa - Prats de Lluçanès
 * 715 Manresa - Santa Maria d'Oló
 * 720 Artés - Vic (per Avinyó)
 * 722 Manresa - Moià - Castellterçol

By car
The main communication routes that cross the town are:


 * B-431, which communicates, to the south, with the Vista Pirineu Urbanization and with Calders to end at the N-141 and, to the north, with Horta d'Avinyó and Avinyó and the Lluçanès sub-region.
 * B-430, which links with Cabrianes and Sallent.
 * BV-4512, which communicates with Manresa.
 * C-25 (Transversal Axis), which runs through the term from west to east, and has one connection with Artés in the direction of Girona and two in the direction of Lleida.


 * The Terrassa-Manresa / Eix del Llobregat highway (C-16) is located a few kilometers from the town, connecting to it from exit 57 via the Eix Transversal.

See


On top of a hill, where the old centre of the town is, there are remains of the old castle and the walls and the Romanesque apse, part of the Gothic nave and the bell tower of the old parish church are still preserved there of Santa Maria In the modern part of the town there is the new church, of considerable size - it is the second largest in Bages - completed in 1912.

Also in the old town, next to the old castle and the walls, you can find the Pare Faura museum where you can see machines from the town's old factories, work tools, etc.; and you can also find small remains of the geology of the environment, such as some fossil and mineral remains. In addition, you can climb to the top of the old bell tower, where there are spectacular views of the town.

Among the farmhouses in the area, Les Torres stands out, the former residence of the bishops of Vic, which preserves a tower, a vaulted hall from the 13th century and a Gothic-Renaissance facade.

The Matacans site, located to the south-west of the town and close to the municipal boundary with Calders, contains remains of an Ibero-Roman town probably founded between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC.

In the natural area, the Alzina del Pujol stands out - whose scientific name is quercus ilex subsp ilex -; catalogued by the Generalitat de Catalunya as a Monumental Tree and located to the north of the municipality.

Fairs and festivities

 * Cavalcade of Kings - January 5
 * Feast of Sant Antoni - Last weekend of January
 * Carnivals - February or March
 * Fira d'Artés - Weekend after Easter
 * Cross country May 1 - May 1
 * Today is Culture - First weekend of May
 * Revetlla de Sant Joan - 23 June
 * Aplec de la Sardana - First weekend of July
 * Festa Major - First weekend of September
 * Bages Harvest Festival - First Sunday of October
 * Sarau Artesenc - December 8
 * Christmas parties / Caga Tió - December 24 and 25

Hiking

 * Two trails run within the municipal area: the PR-C 135 (Artés trail) and the PR-C 136 (Montcogul - La Gavarresa ), both with itineraries with departure and arrival within the
 * Catalan Way of St. James from El Port de la Selva to Montserrat (Spain) to Pina de Ebro passes the village.