Figueres

Figueres is a small city in Catalonia, Spain with a population of 40,000. It is the seat of the Alt Empordà county in the Girona Province and has a wealth of history spanning many centuries that has been preserved and shown in several museums in the area and in the compact Old Town. Being the last major town before the Spanish/French border, it serves as a fantastic base to explore the upper Empordá region that is awash in great food, wines, and beaches that represent the Catalan culture. It is a stage in the Catalan Way of St. James.

Understand
The city's main attraction is the world famous museum of native son, Salvador Dalí. After the Prado in Madrid, it is the most visited museum in all of Spain. It is often seen as part of a day-trip from Barcelona or the packaged hotels of Costa Brava. But beyond the museum, Figueres can be a pleasant place to spend a night or two. The town, much like Girona, is a relaxed alternative to Barcelona with cafés on side streets, and a compact Old Town core. The Empordà region in general will appeal to those interested in the history and/or burgeoning viticulture and gastronomy of Northern Catalonia. Figueres works well as a base for day trips to these destinations. Figueres is also 15 minutes by car or 25 minutes by train from the beaches of the Costa Brava.

The name of the town means 'fig trees' as they used to grow in great abundance around the area. Local youth often refer to the town as 'Figui' for short.

History
Figueres descended from two Roman towns, Juncària and Figàries, but the establishment of the town really started to happen in the 10th century as stated in records from the Sant Pere Monastery that was located where the Sant Pere church is today. As it was not an outpost border town in the Marca Hispanica (such as neighboring Besalú or Peralada), it was of little significance until it was made a Royal Town in 1267 and then much later, when the Sant Ferran castle was built from 1753 to 1766.

Once the castle was finished, fortunes changed a great deal for Figueres as it became the supply base for the castle. The population grew and it started its course towards being the major town of the region, despite occupation by Napoleon's forces from 1808–1814. Between 1831 and 1840, the Rambla was created by covering a dry riverbed, and became a center for the town. The shade trees that stand on the Rambla were planted in 1864. In 1877, the railway station was opened. In 1904, the town's most famous resident, one Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech was born.

The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) was quite hard on the town. The castle became the last outpost for Republican Spain and Franco's forces bombed the town with great ferocity. As was the case with a lot of the surrounding area, many structures were lost in the war, including the main theater, which stood in ruin for several decades.

Upon attaining critical and financial success around the world, Dalí bought the old theater in his home town and converted it in to the museum that we see today, and which is a major draw of tourism to the town.

Talk
As Figueres is in Catalonia and Catalonia is an autonomous part of Spain, everybody in Figueres can speak Spanish, albeit to varying degrees. Although Catalan was banned by the Franco regime and Spanish was the only language, the older generation above 60, when speaking Spanish, will often speak a form of "Spatalan", which is mostly Spanish but with a lot of Catalan tossed in. It can be difficult to understand at times for foreigners. Catalan is as separate a language from Spanish as French and Italian are. It is not a Spanish dialect.

Northern Catalan, which is spoken here, is strongly influenced by French through the interchange with French and Catalan speakers across the border. Such dishes as 'pa amb tomaquet' (bread with tomato) become 'pa amb tomate' with a soft 'uh' sound at the end. There are many more examples and one of the most difficult is when they say words that end with 'o' and say it with a long 'u' sound. If you make the effort to say neighboring town names in Catalan, make sure you understand the pronunciation and if you say Barcelona pronouncing the Castillian 'th' sound for the 'c', people will assume that you are speaking Spanish.

The generation under 35 will generally speak some if not a good deal of English and French. Some people may speak a little Italian and oddly enough, there is a large Russian-speaking community in Figueres.

By plane
Girona Costa Brava Airport has budget flights by Ryanair. It's 13 km south of that city: either take the local bus downtown then the train to Figueres, or the Barcelona airport bus which calls here then in Girona and Figueres.

Barcelona El Prat Airport has a much greater choice of flights. Take the direct bus to Figueres, or go downtown for trains.

By rail
Four high speed international trains run daily from Barcelona Sants via Girona, taking 55 min to Figures Vilafant. They continue north to Perpignan and Narbonne, then fan out to Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Reservations are compulsory.

AVE fast domestic trains run every 30 min from Barcelona Sants, likewise taking 55 min via Girona to Figueres Vilafant.

Rodalies are the regional trains. R11 runs hourly from Barcelona Sants taking 90 min via Girona, then continues north via Figueres local station and multiple other stops to Portbou and Cerbère across the border. Until the high speed line opened in 2010 this was the railway route from France and you can still come this way.

By bus
The bus station is directly across Plaça de l'Estació from the local train station with regular connections to Barcelona and other destinations in Catalonia.

Get around
All the sites for the vast majority of tourists going to Figueres are easily reached on foot, and there are plenty of benches and public spaces for a rest in the shade if one gets tired while walking around.

For those looking to travel outside of Figueres to smaller, historic towns, castles, restaurants, or wineries, there are several car rental offices (Europcar, Enterprise, Avis) next to the train station, although it is strongly advised to book ahead online to get better rates than just showing up.

Museums




Landmarks




There is an informal but large vintage and classic car museum on the road from Figueres to Empuriabrava-beautiful cars some fully restored and some for sale going back to the 1910s.

City festivals
Every town in Spain, no matter what the size has a day of celebration for their patron saint known as the 'fiesta mayor' in Castellano or 'festa major' in Catalan. They are a celebration of the town with events that are free to the public such as concerts, art shows, and theater performances. While they make the centers very crowded, they are one of the most lively times to visit a town in Spain. Figueres happens to have two of these as well as 'parties of the street':


 * Festa Major de la Santa Creu On the 3rd of May.
 * Festa de Sant Baldiri On the 20th of May.
 * Festa Major de Sant Pere On the 29th of June

Other events

 * Festival Acústica A mostly free acoustic music festival at the end of August each year. It takes place in various squares and streets around the center of town.

Cycling
The Pirinexus and the EuroVelo EV8 long distance bike routes runs near the city, connected to Figueres by route 10

Long-range

 * Catalan Way of St. James from El Port de la Selva to Montserrat (Spain) to Alcarrás passes the city.

Dalí souvenirs
For anyone who is in the market for Dalí knickknacks, Figueres is the place to find them.

General shopping
It is quite common for the people living in the south of France to visit Figueres for shopping purposes as the taxes are lower than in France. Because of this and the large tourism pull due to the museums and beaches, a great number of large brands have shops in Figueres including: Zara, Benetton, La Coste, Pull & Bear, and Women's Secret. While not the level of shopping one finds in Barcelona, the selection is quite decent overall and for those who require larger sizes in clothing and shoes, it is often the case that they can be found easier in Figueres than in Barcelona.

Local shopping
Figueres also has a number of older, locally owned stores that haven't been swept away by the tide of massive chain stores.

Eat
Local Catalan specialties include: oxtail soup, butifarra, fuet, seafood, paella, and of course gaspatxo. If 'patatas de Olot' are on a menu, make sure to give them a try: they are a slice of potato wrapped around ground meat and fried. While not terribly healthy, they are incredibly delicious. There is also an onion from the Figueres area called the 'ceba de Figueres' which is sought after because it is a great deal sweeter than a regular white onion. It can be eaten raw in a number of dishes.

Avoid all the restaurants along Carrer de Jonquera from Perelada to Muralla. While edible, the restaurants on this stretch of street make sub-par food for beach tourists who don't want to walk far from the Dalí Museum. They are not a good representation of the food from the region.

Bars
Plaça del Sol is the main "scene" of Figueres at night. There are a number of bars along this square which is really just a parking lot with the town library on it as well. Some of the bars allow smoking and some not. Overall, the offer is much the same with one bar usually being the "hot bar" of that particular month. True to the name, it's a much more popular place in the summer. The other option is, Plaça de les Patates, which is a great deal more laid back.



Wines
There has been an extensive history of wine cultivation in the area around Figueres dating back 2,600 years. There is a resurgence of viticulture in the region, and is creating some of the most noteworthy wines in all of Catalonia, especially for the price.

As Figueres is the seat of Alt Empordà, it also houses the offices for the local DO Empordà region which can be found at Avinguda Marignane, 2. The office can provide more information, although the website is extremely helpful in locating wineries.

For those wishing to make a tour of the wineries, you will definitely need a car as they are in far-flung villages around the area. Closest to Figueres are the wineries of La Vinyeta and Perelada. The former is a very new, modern winery started by a young winemaker who is making some of the most exciting wines in the region neat the village of Mollets. The later is a much more established winery that sits next to the castle of Perelada, which is a small town about five minutes by car from Figueres. Their wines are rather pricey, but they have grown to carry a high pedigree whether deserved or not. Perelada also charges for tastings, which is rather uncommon.

Outside of these two regions, a drive up to the village Cantallops is recommended as in addition to being a delightful town, it houses the wineries of Vinyes dels Aspres and Masia Serra. Both of these wineries are making splendid wines, especially the sweet Garnatxas (Grenache) and Moscatells. You will need to call Masia Serra before visiting though as it is rarely open to the public.

Another village worth visiting for wine is Capmany which has Arché Pagès and about 10 other wineries.

Heading in the other direction, one can go to Vilajuïga which has Empordàlia which makes the Sinols brand. Additionally, they also have wine 'a granel' or in bulk that is of high quality and can be bought for less than €1.50 a liter.

The local wine shops in Figueres sell all these brands for those wishing to take back something from Figueres that isn't related to Dalí.

Sleep
Figueres provides a variety of hotels, with rates much cheaper than in Barcelona, but generally comparable to Girona. In addition to actual hotel and hostel establishments there are a great many 'masias' in the area which are farm houses that were converted over to rural guest houses. The prices can be quite good and the accommodations very nice, although the proprietors rarely speak English and thus they can be tricky to find at times.

Stay safe
Figueres is overall, a very safe town. Violent crime is extremely rare and most issues resolve around petty theft when they happen. As is the case in many places, beware of crowded areas and events as pickpockets can frequent these venues.

In the summer, it can get quite hot as is typical with coastal Catalonia. Make sure to drink plenty of water and cover your head if sensitive to heavy direct sunlight.

In the winter, it can be quite cold at times. While snow is exceptionally rare in Figueres proper, driving on the E-15 or the AP-7 north to France could very well require chains or snow tires near La Jonquera at certain times due to the pass often receiving a decent amount of snow. Likewise, driving west from Figueres, the mountain roads climb in elevation quite rapidly and snow is common, so plan car trips accordingly.

Connect
As of Jan 2024, Figueres and its approach highways have 5G from all Spanish carriers.

Go next

 * Barcelona - The capital and main city of Catalonia with a wealth of attractions.
 * Besalú - A very old town to the West of Figueres that has a historic bridge.
 * Blanes - A beach resort with two botanical gardens and modernist buildings is easily reachable by train.
 * Cadaqués - A nice seaside town that also houses one of Dalí's other homes for those wanting to see more Dalí history.
 * Cantallops - A compact mountain town with two wineries and some good restaurants.
 * Cap de Creus - The Eastern end of Spain. Incredibly windy, but worth a trip to experience it, the lighthouse and the view out the sea.
 * Castellfollit de la Roca - Further West than Besalú, but worth the trip as it's a striking town perched along a narrow sliver of rock jutting out in to a canyon.
 * Costa Brava - The coastal region that radiates out from Figueres and Girona starting at Blanes in the south and ending at the French border. Very popular in summer and renowned for its beaches, both sandy and stony.
 * Girona - While most people will do a day trip from Girona or Barcelona to Figueres, one can also do the opposite and make days trips to the wonderful town of Girona from Figueres.
 * Torroella de Montgrí - A pleasant old town that was once the capital of the Empúries kingdom. Now it sits at the base of a mountain that goes up to a castle. A good day hike for those inclined.