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Costa Brava

[kos-tuh brah-vuh, kaw-stuh, koh-; Sp. kaws-tah brah-vah]

The Costa Brava is a coastal region of northeastern Catalonia, Spain, in the comarques of Alt Empordà, Baix Empordà and La Selva, in the province of Girona. Costa is the Catalan and Spanish word for 'coast', and Brava means 'rugged' or 'wild'. The Costa Brava stretches from Blanes, 60km northeast of Barcelona, to the French border.

In the 1950s the Costa Brava was identified by Spain’s Franco government as being suitable for substantial development as a holiday destination, mainly for package holiday tourists from Northern Europe and especially the United Kingdom and France. The combination of a very good summer climate, nature and excellent beaches was exploited by the construction of large numbers of hotels and apartments in such seaside resorts as Blanes, Tossa de Mar, and Lloret de Mar. Tourism rapidly took over from fishing as the principal business of the area.

Whilst part of the Costa Brava coastline lent itself to tourist developments on a very large scale other parts have retained a more traditional look and have become "hidden gems" for visitors who want a little more than sun, sand and sangria. Small towns like Cadaqués (close to the French border and close to the foothills of the Pyrenees) have attracted artists such as Salvador Dalí (Dalí's Museum at Figueres is one of the most important and visited museums in Catalonia) and Pablo Picasso and are now fashionable resorts. The coast between Roses and Tossa de Mar has many delightful small coastal towns such as Pals, Begur, Tamariu, Llafranc, L'Estartit, Aigua Blava, Fornells, Calella de Palafrugell, Palamós and Sant Feliu de Guixols.

Environmental protection

In 1998 coastal towns of the Costa Brava signed a charter the Carta de Tossa which undertook to pursue environmental protection along with tourism. This recognised the value of the region's wide range of natural habitats and micro-climates

The Illes Medes off the coast of L'Estartit is Spain's first maritime nature reserve and it provides a home to a wide range of fish and acquatic flora. The nearby wildfowl reserve on marshlands at l'Emporda also saved land from the potential ravages of development.