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Ripoll is an old Catalan town in the foothills of the Pyrenees, which has its history since the foundation of the monastery of St. Mary in 880.
The historic center of the city is located at the confluence of two rivers – Ter (this is a river flowing through Girona) and Freser. In addition to the impressive monastery, the city was also famous for its blacksmithing skills, as well as the production of firearms from the late medieval period.
Special mention is the modern chapel of Capilla de Sant Miquel de la Roqueta.

A detailed story about the history of the Ripoll and photos can be viewed at the link.

The small French (formerly Catalan) town of Céret is only 18 kilometers from the Spanish border. The city is famous in the whole district for its sweet cherry – the best in all of France. As a result, in May a whole festival dedicated to sweet cherry is held here. Most probably avant-garde artists also loved cherries – in the beginning of the 20th century, the city served as a haven for many famous artists of this trend (Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani, Chagall, Dali), and the city was also called the cradle of cubism. Well, for a snack – Devil’s bridge, located at the entrance to the city …

The story of our visit to the city Ceret in France with photos can be viewed at the link – Ceret.

Pubol is a Catalan village, part of the so-called “triangle” of Dali, which in addition to Pubol includes Figueras and Port Lligat in Cadaqués.

The landscapes are traditional for this region of Catalonia; fertile fields and green groves are all around. It was here that Salvador Dali acquired an ancient castle for Gala – his beloved woman and inspirational muse. The castle, dated 1065, was in a deplorable state, but the great maestro managed to turn it into one of his immortal creations…
A detailed story about the castle of Pubol, accompanied by photos can be viewed at the link.

The ancient city of Empuries is located near the small village of Sant Martí d’Empúries. The first Greek settlers chose this place to build their settlement here as early as the 1st century BC, in the 3rd century the Romans built their own city behind a fortified wall just above the Greek settlement. Due to its excellent strategic position, the port city on the sea existed until the 16th century. Today, there is an open-air archaeological museum.

A short story about the history of the city of Empuries and photographs of the surviving fragments of ancient buildings found during the excavations of the city can be viewed here.

We continue to explore the ancient Catalan villages of our region. Ullastret – is not a very popular tourist site, like Besalu, for example. The village is famous for the remains of an ancient Iberian settlement, which are located 1.5 km from the village. Ullastret is not too young – the first news about it dates back to 834. The Gothic arch on the market square is noteworthy, as well as the ancient core of the village, enclosed by a stone wall.
There are only three restaurants in Ullastret , so if you do not want to stay hungry – book a table in advance!

A short story about our visit to this village and photos can be viewed at the link.

We already visited the tiny medieval Catalan village of Monells in December 2014.

This time we decided to visit it in the evening – in the artificially dim light the numerous arches of Monells look amazing. The mysterious atmosphere of the Middle Ages completely captures the consciousness… Also, the number of people for such a tiny and inconspicuous village is surprisingly overwhelming; probably, these people know some secret that we don’t know ???

Photo report about the evening walk through the village of Monels can be viewed at the link.