Costa Daurada

Costa Daurada When we think of the Mediterranean Coast we automatically think of the wide sandy beaches, surrounded by firforests, with a mild climate, sun, a blue sky and the contours of Roman ruins at the horizon. That is exactly what you will find at the Costa Daurada. Behind the name hides a big piece of the coast of the province of Tarragona, that goes from Cunit till Alcanar. Although the Costa Daurada, or 'Goldcoast' has its name because of the colour of its beaches, the widest of all Catalan, but this area also has mountains and the flat inland of the province. It is an area with a beautiful landscape and a very rich history, with famous tourists centres like Salou or Cambrills, the themepark Universal's Port Aventura, monumental cities such as Tarragona, important monasteries, such as in Poblet and Santes Creu and with some of the most important Roman treasures of Spain, like the mosaic of the mausoleum of Centelles, the gate Arco de Berà or the gravemonument Torre de los Escipiones.

The Costa Daurada starts at the little town Cunit, which is situates at the border of the Costa de Garraf and the Costa Daurada and besides the so called 'Roman route'. This route goes along the coast of Tarragona, passing important Roman monuments and wide beaches. The first lager place in this Costa is Calafell. This town is mostly known because of its extraordinary interesting archaeological site: 'Ciutadella Ibérica', a complete reconstructed place, that shows us the way of life at the Spanish peninsula before the Roman invasion. The capital of this Costa is Tarragona.

This capital looks out over the Mediterranean Sea from a little hill at the mouth of the Francoli and owns impressive cultural inheritance, imposing Roman remains and from the Balcó del Mediterrani (Mediterranean Sea-balcony) you can enjoy the view, sitting on one of the many terraces. You also can promenade on the Passeig de les Palmeres (palm-boulevard) or on the Rambla Nova, the beating heart of the city, bordered on nice medieval-like little streets and alleys, filled with restaurants, bars and other places to go out. After Tarragona the 4 most touristic places of the Costa Daurada follow: Salou, Cambrils, Miami-Platja and l’Hospitalet de l’Ifant. These places have a qualitative high touristic infrastructure, all the touristic facilities you can imagine and a wide offer of services, entertainment and places to go out.

In the southern part of the Costa Daurada you find the town L’Ametlla de Mar, the bays round this town, with little coarse sandy beaches and surrounded by nature, makes a strong contrast with the rest of this Costa. Just a little more south we find the riverdelta of the river Ebro, that flows into one of the most interesting nature reserve at the Spanish Mediterranean Seacoast, Parque Naturel Delta del Ebre. The fertile grounds of this delta are nowadays partly used for the still present riceculture and partly as reserve for the protection of the wide variety of birds. The reserve is the feeding ground for circa 260 species of birds and because of the sand barriers, which form a nothing but sand and sea, this reserve is a true paradise for birdwatchers, walk- and naturelovers. From this reserve you also can cross to the island Buda. The Costa Daurada ends in Alcanar where you can find the restored and very interesting Iberic village of Moleta del Remei.