Tossa de Mar, with about 6,300 inhabitants, is a Costa Brava town in the province of Girona, in Catalonia. Its symbol is the Vila Vella, the medieval centre ringed by walls and towers on a headland over the sea, the only fortified medieval town still standing on the Catalan coast.
History
The area was settled in Iberian and Roman times, as the Roman villa of Els Ametllers shows. In the Middle Ages the town was fortified against pirates. In the 1930s Tossa became a haven for artists such as Marc Chagall, who called it "blue paradise". In 1951 the film Pandora was shot here, starring Ava Gardner, remembered by a bronze statue in the Vila Vella.
What to see
- The Vila Vella, with its 12th-14th-century walls, seven towers, cobbled lanes, the ruins of the Gothic church of Sant Vicenç and the lighthouse, with an interpretation centre on Mediterranean lighthouses.
- The statue of Ava Gardner, on the walls' viewpoint.
- The Municipal Museum, one of Spain's first modern art museums, with Chagall's The Celestial Violinist and Roman finds.
- The Vila Nova, the 18th-century fishermen's quarter, with the church of Sant Vicenç.
- The Roman villa of Els Ametllers, with mosaics.
Beaches and coves
- Platja Gran, the main beach, below the walls.
- Mar Menuda, small and sheltered.
- Coves to the north and south, such as Cala Pola, Cala Giverola, Cala Futadera and Cala Bona, among pines and cliffs, reached on foot or by boat.
The coast road from Tossa to Sant Feliu de Guíxols, with hundreds of bends above the sea, is one of Spain's most scenic.
Festivals and food
The Pelegrí de Tossa, on 20 January, is a pilgrimage on foot of about 40 km to Santa Coloma de Farners, a tradition over five hundred years old. Food: cim i tomba, a dish of fish, potatoes and aioli typical of Tossa, and suquet.
Getting there
Girona airport is about 40 km away. Buses run from Girona, Barcelona and Lloret de Mar, and in summer boats ply the coast. See also Lloret de Mar.