Ken and Cheryl Explore the World

Thursday, October 7, 2021

Tossa de Mar: Royal Apartment (Airbnb)

Bike Route: Sant Feliu de Guixols to Tossa de Mar, 18 miles, 1800 feet of climb

We started out heading a couple miles back up the coast to the north of Sant Feliu, to explore S'Agaro, a garden city designed by Rafael Maso and others. It was created as a holiday oasis for the upper middle class. It is a gated community with immaculate landscaping, large but not huge homes, enchanting sea views, and quiet streets. We had to wiggle our bikes through pedestrian barriers to enter.

Maso designed the first house in the community, and collaborated on the hotel and church designs (I think). We saw the hotel and church, but could not find the house. There is historical information on the city, but no current maps or details--likely because access is basically restricted to residents and their invited guests (and random cyclists who squeeze through the barriers).

After that, we climbed a steep hill out of Sant Feliu and then followed the coast road south to Tossa de Mar. This is the stretch of the Costa Brava that people remember. The scenery is stunning. We were lucky to be riding it on a perfect early autumn day.

In Tossa de Mar, we found a comfortable apartment, a quiet Old Town, a large main beach in front of Old Town, a castle complex, and a little beach behind the castle. While exploring the castle, we saw a glass-bottomed boat pull up on the main beach to unload and load passengers. When we came down from the castle, we stopped at the ticket booth, hoping to get on the next boat. We had just missed the last boat for the day. If we ever go back, we will definitely take that tour. The boat spent 40 minutes circling rocks and sandbars along the shore heading north. You then had a choice of hopping off and hiking in a natural park and catching a later boat back, or just staying on for the ride back. It looked like a lot of fun.