Your Catalonia Travel Guide: The 10 Best Catalonia Points of Interest Outside Barcelona

When you think of Spain, if you’re at all like me, you probably only think of the bigger cities such as Madrid. Whenever I thought of Spain, until I actually visited, volcanoes, wineries, and bountiful nature never crossed my mind. I think that my dreams of delicious paella blocked everything else out. However, there are so many other remarkable Spanish destinations that should be topping your list other than strictly the big cities and one of them is the gorgeous region of Catalonia.

There are actually 17 different regions (if you’re American, think of the regions as “states”) inside the country of Spain. Catalonia is in the northeast corner of the country and is home to the bustling city of Barcelona and there are plenty of coastal towns where you can have some fun in the sun. During my recent visit to Spain, I spent a few days falling in love with Catalonia’s capital city, Barcelona (read my extensive guide to Barcelona by clicking here), and about four days exploring the rest of Catalonia. The region blew past all of my expectations and captivated me in a short time. If you are dreaming of visiting Spain, be sure to add these Catalonia points of interest to your itinerary. I know you’ll love all of them just as much as I did. Here are 10 of the best things to do in Catalonia –

Catalonia Points of Interest

Lounge on the Beaches of Costa Brava

My favorite thing, probably in the entire world, is an accessible beach. I could lay out in the sun and watch the waves come in for hours. It’s incredibly peaceful to me, but accessible beaches are rather difficult to find. They are becoming more and more popular luckily, and I’ve found some excellent ones everywhere from Tel Aviv, Israel to Wilmington, North Carolina. However, as I learned during my time in Spain, Catalonia is way ahead of the rest of the pack when it comes to accessible beaches. One of the best areas to enjoy some beach time is Costa Brava!

I visited the Sa Conca Beach and the drive from Barcelona to here was less than two hours. This would be an easy day trip or weekend getaway whether you’re a tourist in Spain or live in Barcelona. Sa Conca was beautiful and fully accessible with a wooden walkway almost all the way to the water. I rolled toward the water in my powered wheelchair and the walkway worked like a charm. If you’d rather get in the water, amphibious beach wheelchairs are available to use for free. There are also adapted restrooms if you need one. I was tremendously impressed with the thought that went into making the beach possible for everyone, no matter what abilities someone may or may not have, and Sa Conca Beach was easily one of my favorite Catalonia points of interest.

“Hike” the Camino de Ronda

Only a short drive from Sa Conca Beach was an accessible portion of the Camino de Ronda. The Camino de Ronda is a stunning coastal trail that is actually about 135 miles long. While the entire trail isn’t doable with a wheelchair, a section of it is and I absolutely loved “hiking” the trail.

The wheelchair friendly trail starts at Plaça de la Gacela of S’Agaró. There was a long staircase to get down to the trail, but for wheelchair users, there is a lift in place. I rolled onto the lift and after about five minutes (it’s veeery slow, but at least it’s safe!), I was at the bottom and on the Camino de Ronda.

I rolled probably a mile or so on the Camino de Ronda and the views along the way were unbelievable. There were beautiful houses, picnic spots, and views of the sea the entire way. At some points, I just had to stop for a while and take it all in.

Along this accessible section of the coastal trail, there were ramps and overall it was very smooth. I never had a problem rolling along this part of the Camino de Ronda and I can’t recommend it enough! If you’re in the area, pack up some picnic supplies and plan a couple hours on the coastal trail.

Learn about the Catalonian art of fishing

In Catalonia, fishing isn’t just a hobby, it’s a way of life. On every restaurant’s menu you will see a variety of fresh fish, but how does the fish actually get to the plate? It’s quite a process and I gained a whole new respect for the fishermen of Catalonia at The Fishing Museum in Palamós.

The museum is fully accessible for wheelchair users and has an elevator. I thought the museum did a phenomenal job of explaining what exactly fishing is, what all it takes to catch fish, and it was cool to see how different fishing is today than it was fifty years ago. There were some great exhibits and it took a little less than an hour to see the whole museum. At only €3 for a general ticket, if you’re looking for Catalonia points of interest on the cheap, this is a steal.

If you want to go a bit more in-depth with the fishing process, you can visit the fish auction, which is next door to The Fishing Museum. It was interesting to see all of the vendors bidding on the fish as it came down the line and again, it added another layer of depth to understanding the daily lives of the people of Catalonia.

Get in touch with nature at Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l’Empordà

Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l’Empordà is the second largest wetland in Catalonia and is formed by enclosures, prairies, and ponds that are flooded. This park has some beautiful fauna and much of the park is wheelchair friendly. There are multiple observation decks that are accessible via a wooden walkway.

I didn’t experience the observation areas during my visit, but what I did experience was even better. Near the Camping Castell Mar area of the park, I got to meet and interact with some horses. I fed them apples and afterwards, I enjoyed a snack of fresh tomatoes that were grown here and they were drizzled with olive oil. It was delicious and the perfect Spanish snack! What I also loved about Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l’Empordà was that it was a great place to relax and just enjoy nature. Sometimes during a busy trip, something as simple as interacting with horses and eating tomatoes can be special.

Experience the Dalí Theatre and Museum

I’ll be honest, I am usually not a big fan of museums. I would rather be a bit more active than just reading information about artifacts in a museum. However, the Dalí Theatre and Museum in Figueres BLEW MY MIND and became one of my favorite Catalonia points of interest. Seriously, this is a must-do in Catalonia, whether you’re a huge Dalí fan already or this is the first time you’re hearing of the world famous artist.

The Dalí Theatre and Museum is inside the ruins of a former theatre, so it’s not fully accessible, but there’s certainly a lot that can be seen in a wheelchair. I didn’t feel like I missed out on anything major and I had a fantastic time experiencing the unique world of Dalí. His works were astounding and it’s really mind blowing to think of how he came up with the ideas for his masterpieces. One of my favorite paintings was a pixelated image that looked like Abraham Lincoln in person, but when we took a photo of it, we could see the back of a naked woman instead of Lincoln on my iPhone. Dalí definitely thought outside the box and this was one of the greatest examples of that.

After visiting the Dalí Theatre and Museum, we made our way over to the Dalí Jewels Museum. It was only a ten minute walk/roll away and a great addition to my Dalí experience. The Jewels Museum was wheelchair accessible with an elevator and had all kinds of unique gems designed by Dalí. There were rings, necklaces, and even a piece that looked like golden corn. You truly never know what you’ll see from Salvador Dalí.

Soar over volcanoes in a hot air balloon

Hands down, out of all of the magnificent Catalonia points of interest, my top recommendation for anyone visiting is to go hot air ballooning. I went ballooning with a wonderful company called Vol de Coloms in Santa Pau. This was actually the third time that I’ve gone hot air ballooning in the past couple years, but unlike in Las Vegas and Israel, we soared over volcanoes and yes, it really was as epic as it sounds!

Vol de Coloms does adaptive ballooning and it was excellent to see this in Catalonia. To get inside the basket of the balloon, one side of it opens up as a door and that gave me an easier way to get inside instead of having to climb over the basket (which would be impossible). My mom, along with the assistance of the Vol de Coloms staff, physically lifted me out of my wheelchair and sat me in a seat inside the basket. It was a fairly quick and easy transfer, but for added safety, you could also use something like the ADAPTS sling (use promo code CORY15 to get 15% off) to be lifted. The seat inside the basket was awesome and had a seatbelt and even a remote control to raise the seat up. With the remote, I could raise the seat so that I could look over the basket and see everything down below.

During our ride, we soared over La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park and could see the volcanoes below. It was such a cool perspective to see them from above. We flew in the hot air balloon for a couple hours and even got to enjoy a glass of rosé while in the sky. I couldn’t believe that I was having this remarkable experience and it was by far one of the coolest things I’ve ever done.

After our ride, an accessible van picked us up and drove us back to the starting point, where we all enjoyed a yummy local breakfast of bread and tomato, charcuterie, Catalan sausage and haricot beans from Santa Pau – the Catalan national dish. The breakfast was a wonderful chance to talk with and get to know the other members of our group. At the end of our breakfast, flight completion certificates were given to everyone as a way to remember the bucket-list worthy experience. This was not only one of the most memorable things that I did in Catalonia, it was one of the most epic and memorable activities that I have ever done in my travels. If you’re visiting Catalonia, put this at the very top of your Catalonia travel guide!

Bike (or roll) the Green Ways of Girona

Catalonia is full of natural beauty and aside from hot air ballooning, one of the best ways to see it is on the Green Ways. Green Ways are paths that are wonderful to bike or hike on, and many of them are smooth enough for a wheelchair to roll on. Catalonia’s province of Girona actually has almost 80 miles of Green Ways, so it’s easy to get in touch with nature. I enjoyed driving my powered wheelchair on the Green Ways while my mom biked. It was excellent to be outdoors and the views of the mountains and open fields made it even more special.

If you would rather bike the Green Ways, ATMA Logistic Bike Center in Olot does have adapted bikes. They have seven bikes with hand controls and three bikes that are more adapted for those with mental disorders. I don’t have the upper body strength needed to use a hand bike, but I was thrilled to see that this exists in Girona.

Go back in time in the Monastery of Sant Benet

The Monastery of Sant Benet was founded in the tenth century and it has had quite an interesting journey since then. There have been attacks on the Benedictine monastery, fires have destroyed the inside, and it has experienced times of nothingness. However, the monastery is now better than ever.

It was carefully restored back in 2007 and much of it is now wheelchair friendly. Throughout the monastery, there were ramps and I was able to easily enjoy my visit. The coolest thing about the tour of the Monastery of Sant Benet, in my opinion, were the multimedia displays in different areas. Projections shined on the walls and gave me a good idea of what the monastery was like a thousand years ago. I loved the fact that even though the monastery was founded in the 900s, they’ve found ways to modernize it to make it fun and educational for visitors of all ages and abilities.

See the iconic Montserrat

Less than an hour from Barcelona, Montserrat is one of the best Catalonia points of interest and great for an easy accessible day trip from the city. Montserrat is a beautiful mountain with a monastery at the top of it. Thousands of people flock to it every day for the stellar views and for religious reasons.

After reaching the top of Montserrat, at a little over 4,000 feet high, I immediately made my way to the Santa Maria de Montserrat Monastery. Both the exterior and interior of the monastery were strikingly beautiful, but the real highlight and the reason why many people ascend to Montserrat every day is to see the Virgin of Montserrat statue.

Getting to the Virgin of Montserrat, also known as the Black Madonna, was a bit tricky as a wheelchair user, but I made it happen. On the left side of the monastery’s exterior, I made my way to a set of stairs, but luckily there was a lift. I found a worker that could operate the lift after a bit of searching and made my way up and into the building. Unfortunately, the Black Madonna sits at the top of another set of stairs where there is no lift, but I could see her from down below. I had a decent view of her from the left side and the back. The statue was rather small, but it is said that if a woman wants to get pregnant, all she has to do is kiss the hand of the Black Madonna.

Even though I didn’t have an excellent view of the statue, it was still a cool experience and I would highly recommend visiting Montserrat for at least a few hours if you’re looking for a spectacular day trip from Barcelona.

Rosé the day away at Jean Leon Winery

The last item on my list of the best Catalonia points of interest could very well be your absolute favorite… especially if you’re a lover of wine! The Jean Leon Winery is only about 45 minutes or so from Barcelona, so you could easily do both Montserrat and the winery in one day if you have a vehicle.

My tour of the winery was fascinating and I really enjoyed learning not only about how the wine is made, but also about Jean Leon himself. Jean moved from Spain to Hollywood and opened one of the most popular restaurants in southern California in 1956, La Scala. Eventually, he wanted to produce his own wines for the restaurant, so he bought the vineyard in Spain. He was the first person to plant Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon in Spain, and even today after his death, Jean Leon is one of the top wines in the world.

After touring the winery, I did a wine tasting and of course, this was my favorite part of the visit. I tried quite a few different wines and the girl that did the tasting was very generous with her pours. I had a couple glasses of rosé, which was my favorite, and was tempted to buy some bottles in the gift shop because they were so reasonably priced. Jean Leon Winery was a wonderful place to visit and try some fantastic Spanish wines.

In just four days, Catalonia captivated me and became one of my favorite regions on the planet. It offers something for everyone, whether you’re a wheelchair user needing adaptive offerings or an able-bodied twenty something wandering around Spain. Whether you wish to soar over volcanoes or prefer being on the ground taking in the gorgeous landscapes, I am positive that you’ll love these Catalonia points of interest just as much as I do. So, what are you waiting for?! With these recommendations in mind, start planning your own accessible adventure to Catalonia!

*Thank you to the Catalan Tourism Board for hosting me. While my experiences at these Catalonia points of interest were complimentary, all opinions are authentic and my own. Catalonia really is just that amazing!

Your Accessible Catalonia Travel Guide: The 10 Best Catalonia Points of Interest Outside Barcelona

Catalonia Points of Interest

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