CATALUNYA

Catalunya offers a wide variety of scenery, although the area it covers is mainly mountainous: the Pyrenees, the Litoral and the Pre-litorial ranges separated by a wide valley, the Depressio Pre-litorial. To the west lies the Depressio Central, part of the Ebro valley. The Pyrenees, an alpine range containing the highest peaks in Catalunya, deserve special mention. The scenery is beautiful, with meadows, forests, rivers, lakes and numerous works of Romanesque architecture. It is also an ideal area for mountain sports - skiing in winter and mountaineering and rock-climbing all year around. Nowadays there are a number of established winter sports resorts offering both downhill and cross-country skiing, as well as hotels and services, which draw many visitors.

The costal region of Catalunya is the outstanding tourist attraction, with 580km of coastline. Firstly, there is the Costa Brava, stretching from the French frontier to the town of Blanes. Although wild and rocky, the inlets are surrounded by pine groves, with beautiful beaches and typical fishing villages.

From Blanes down to Barcelona, the character of the coastline changes and the Costa del Maresme begins, with its long, wide beaches protected from the wind by inland mountains. South of Barcelona towards Tarragona we have the Costa Daurada, renowned for the softness of its beaches with their fine golden sand and for its warm, stable climate. Along the whole of this coast tourists are well provided for, with hotels, camping sites, residential areas, yacht clubs and 36 sailing harbours for every type of water sport.

In spite of being the most extensive area, the interior is the least populated and is, quite unjustly, the least familiar to the tourist. Cities and small towns here are full of character, with a wealth of historic and artistic monuments. The land is given over mainly to agriculture and livestock, with wine, fruit and olive oil renowned for their quality. The landscape is very varied and beautiful.

Barcelona, Catalunyas indisputed capital, is also a major European city. Situated between the mountains and the sea, it dates back some 2000 years and is one of the most important seaports on the Mediterranean. It hosted the 1992 Olympic Games. Barcelona is a cosmopolitan city, bustling with cultural, commercial and sporting activities. It has numerous monuments of artistic and historic interest, museums, art galleries and libraries. Barcelonas love of music springs from a very strong tradition and there are regular programmes of concerts and other musical events throughout the year in two internationally famous concert halls - the Opera House, or Grahn teatre del Liceu and the Palau de la Musica Catalana.

Tarragonas importance lies in its Roman remains, since it was chosen as a base for the Romanization of the Iberian Peninsula. Architectural monuments abound throughout the city; the ancient walls are particularly notable preserving all their grandeur and beauty, as do the amphitheatre, the praetorium of the forum.

Today, Tarragona is a modern city. It is the second largest port on the coast of Catalunya generating a considerable amount of economic and industrial activity.

Lleida stands on the banks of the River Segre, and is surrounded by large areas of cultivated land, with extensive fruit orchards.

It has Roman and Arabic remains, but the Suda, the ancient Arab stronghold, and the Seu Vella, (old cathedral), with its Romanesque-Gothic architecture, are particularly worthy of mention.

An interesting feature of Lleida is the typical fortnightly fair of agricultural products and livestock held there from the earliest times.

Lleida is the point of departure for skiing and mountaineering resorts in the area of Pyrenees.

Girona, on the banks of the rivers Ter and Onyar, is one of the most ancient cities in Catalunya with a history going back over 2000 years. It is a city of great character and each successive culture has left important traces, with fine monuments in the old quarter, such as the Cathedral, the Bishops palace, the Moorish Baths and the Jewish Quarter or Call. The singularly attractive park of La Devesa (the Meadowland), with its many beautiful gardens and trees, is on the outskirts of Girona.