Viewing Barcelona
Features
Essence
Time Line
Peace & Quiet
* The Coast
* The Hinterland
* The Mountains
Famous People
Although many of the beaches in Barcelona's immediate vicinity have been spoilt, further afield lies some of the Mediterranean's most attractive coastal scenery. To the north, the charming maritime towns and villages, the warm turquoise sea, craggy cliffs and spacious sandy beaches have made the Costa Brava (wild coast) one of the most famous coastlines in Spain. Despite mass tourism, it is still possible to find small, welcoming and surprisingly unspoilt coves, their steep banks cloaked in wild flowers and cactus plants.
To the south of Barcelona, beyond the long, wide, sandy beaches of the Costa Daurada (golden coast), running from Alcanar and Vilanova i la Geltrú, is the vast Ebro Delta - the second largest wetland habitat on the Mediterranean and home to over 300 species of bird. The area has been made a protected nature reserve, due to the importance of its wildlife and its diversity of habitats - ranging from rice paddies to sand dunes maintained by marram grass, and from riverside woods of white poplar and water-willow to freshwater lagoons framed by reeds and rushes. Look out for otters, white-toothed shrews and water voles, flamingos, purple herons, spade-foot toads, stripeless tree frogs and spiny-footed lizards.
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