24 hours in Calonge i Sant Antoni

Calonge i Sant Antoni combines the essence of the Costa Brava and the Empordà in a single municipality. Next to the sea, Passeig de Sant Antoni follows the bay until it joins the coastal path, a route that takes you past pines trees, cliffs and charming secluded coves. By these beaches and coves from the real Costa Brava, you will find a more hidden landscape, an Empordà that for centuries has preserved itself around the world of wine. The farms and rural houses have for centuries maintained this landscape of vines that spread towards the foothills of the mountains and it is one of the visits we recommend to understand part of the soul of the municipality.

This combination of landscape and spirit, of the Costa Brava and the Empordà, of the sea and paths that pass across the plain and head into the Gavarres is recommended all year round. By bike, on foot, with the family, Calonge i Sant Antoni offers an ideal break where you can experience the mountains, feel the sea and taste a gastronomy that takes the best of each of these landscapes.

Photo: Ajuntament de Calonge i Sant Antoni

Coastal path from Torre Valentina to cala Belladona

Among these coves and starting from Torre Valentina, just at the end of the promenade, you will find, among others, the Racó de les Dones and Racó dels Homes coves. The names of these coves (women’s place and men’s place) come from the fact that years ago, men and women were forbidden from bathing together and so had to bathe separately. The women bathed in a cove with fine sand, while the men bathed in a cove full of stones. Next, is Cala dels Capellans, reserved for the parish’s clergy to bathe.

Another peculiar place you will find on this route is Cala de Roques Planes. This area is made up of rocks that with the passage of time and the pummelling of the waves, have taken on very distinctive flat shapes with a smooth texture.

If you carry on along the coastal path, you come to Cala del Paller, a bay whose name comes from one of the most notable rocks located next to the sea and which over time has acquired the shape of a haystack. A few metres further on is cala del Forn where, according to popular tradition, there used to be a Roman kiln. After Cala del Forn you come to Cala de Cap Roig, which is presided over by a rock formation with reddish tones that just into the sea as though it wanted to challenge the waves and protect the beach. Finally, you come to the last cove of Calonge i Sant Antoni, Cala de Belladona, which is characterised by its coarse sand.
Photo: “Plat Blau” Association of Restaurants of the Bay

Enjoy a good meal

At midday, to recover your strength, you can enjoy a good meal in the municipality’s different restaurants, most of which are on the promenade on the seafront. Also, if your visit is before the summer season (May, June and up to the middle of July) or at the end of the year (November and December), you will have the opportunity to enjoy the prawn menu or the langoustine menu in 4 restaurants in the municipality. These two gastronomic campaigns, organised by the “Plat Blau” Association of Restaurants of the Bay, offer quality local products in their respective menus. The culinary tradition combines with the quality of the products from the land and sea to create a gastronomic offer that combines the work of the fishermen, farmers and chefs.
Photo: Ajuntament de Calonge i Sant Antoni

“Plat Blau” Association of Restaurants of the Bay

In the afternoon, we recommend an outing on foot or by bicycle through the Conca del Tinar with a visit to the different wineries and rural houses in the area.

Often, on the Costa Brava, the sea and the beach have swallowed the land. Sometimes, sun and sand holidays do not let us see that very close by, just a few metres from the beach, a journey with hidden secrets begins. Calonge i Sant Antoni still offers a hidden, peaceful landscape that has remained almost intact for centuries. It is characterised by a landscape that is the fruit of tradition, as from generation to generation, the people of the countryside have dedicated themselves to cultivating vines, maintaining the essence of the land.

Seeing how the grape harvest is done in September, pulling bunches of grapes from the vines, smelling the aroma of the cellars and tasting the must or picking tomatoes and lettuces directly from market gardens to take home are authentic experiences that even today we can enjoy in the middle of the Costa Brava, in the town of Calonge. In addition, you can also find two different wines: natural wineand Empordà Designation of Origin wine. These two types of wine are made using very different techniques, that can be discovered with a guided visit to the different rural houses and wineries.
Photo: Ajuntament de Calonge i Sant Antoni

Calonge’s old town

When the evening comes, we recommend visiting Calonge’s old town. The visit leads away from the beach, introducing you to a unique town. You can start on Carrer del Càlcul, a covered street with mysterious origins that open into the Plaça Major, the central point of the town. In the town’s main square, you will find the entrance to the castle gardens. The castle’s stronghold is one of the largest in the region and has centuries of history. The Torre Quadrada is the oldest part of the castle and has been declared a Cultural Asset of National Interest.

From Plaça Major you can access Carrer Major, a narrow shaded street that snakes its way to the chapel of the Germanes Carmelites and the house of the senyor del Mal Ús, the medieval mayor of the town, with a door with a large arch. In addition, heading down the street away from the Plaça Major is the large façade of the 17th-century church of Sant Martí with a large stairway that leads into a church with a single nave.

It is worth taking your time walking around the historical centre of Calonge so you can see the details of buildings with centuries of history such as Can Savalls, Can Xifró, Can Canots, Can Pallimonjo and the former hospital, which now is the town’s public library.
Photo: Ajuntament de Calonge i Sant Antoni

Enjoy a concert

After walking through the old town, we suggest enjoying one of the concerts from the programme of the Calonge Music Festivals. If the weather allows, the castle’s courtyard is the place where, for over four decades, you can enjoy a varied programme of live music. This space has excellent acoustics for concerts which bring to us the most established music and present young talents who stand out in the musical panorama. This is a good way to visit the gardens and surroundings of the castle of Calonge at night, a setting with different architectural styles that range from the 11th century up to the present day. You can find information about the programme with the different concerts at www.festivalsdecalonge.cat.

In the summer season, the Estiu Actiu programme offers with a wide range of different activities adapted to all types of public. All of these activities are publicised on the social media accounts of the tourist information office, and they are also added to the calendar on its website, in four different languages (Catalan, Spanish, English and French).