Visit Sant Feliu de Guixols, Spain; travel guide

Visit Sant Feliu de Guixols

Sant-Feliu-de-Guixols is a relaxed resort on the Costa Brava in the province of Girona in Spain's Catalonia region. It is home to a large medieval monastery.

Explore Sant-Feliu-de-Guixols

Spain This Way review: Sant Feliu de Guixols is a pleasant base to explore the southern part of the Costa Brava. It has a good beach and a good selection of bars and restuarants. Not as pretty as neighbouring Tossa de Mar but a bit cheaper.

Sant-Feliu-de-Guixols beach

Sant Feliu de Guixols originally grew up around its 10th century monastery. This is an impressive building which is now home to a museum with exhibits linked to the town's history.

The town now stretches out parallel to the beach and the monastery in Placa Monestir sits quietly on the southern edge of town a little out of the main action.

This building includes the Porta Ferrada which is thought to have been the palace of an abbot or one of the governors.

The town is an interesting mix of colonial and Moorish architecture and its most striking building after the monastery is its Moorish-looking casino, the Casino La Constancia also known as the Casino dels Nois, which faces the beach.

The Passeig del Mar alongside the beach contains a number of interesting colonial buildings and behind here on the Rambla Portalet is the Casa Patxot in Modernist style and now a bank.

There is a daily fruit and vegetable market in the Placa del Mercat (market square) and on Sundays the weekly market spreads out along the Passeig. Once a month there is a small second hand market which is good for finding a bargain.

Sant Feliu is much quieter than Lloret de Mar and Tossa de Mar a little to the south and less chic than Llafranc and Tamariu to the north but makes for a pleasant resort.

It has a good size sandy beach though the sand is coarse. The sea is easy to get into and stays fairly shallow for a while making it a good family beach.

It is also possible to rent pedalos and kayaks or organise boat trips.

The section of the Cami de Ronda, the fabulous coastal path of the Costa Brava, from Sant Feliu to the beach of Sant Pol is lovely though quite strenuous.

We definitely recommend walking parts of the Cami de Ronda whilst you are on holiday here.

Every summer Sant Feliu de Guixols celebrates the festival of Porta Ferrada. This is the oldest festival in Catalonia and one of the most important. It takes place at various venues throughout the town and includes music, dance and theatre.

Porta Ferrada at Sant Feliu de Guixols

Places to visit near to Sant-Feliu-de-Guixols

Take the GI 682 road to Tossa-de-Mar. This is a very scenic drive along the corniche. We particularly recommend a stop at the Cala Canyet beach though if you want to park nearby parking is expensive.

Be sure to drive the few kilometers north to the small resort of S'Agaro. Every house in this village is built in the Modernist style and was designed by one of Anton Gaudi's students - Rafael Maso.

This exclusive resort stretches from the lovely bay at Sant Pol to the wonderful Cala Sa Conca beach and the resort consists of only 60 villas.

The luxury five-star hotel - the Hostal de la Gavina is here and over the years many of the rich and famous have stayed here including Orson Wells, John Wayne and Sean Connery.

The Hostal de la Gavina is listed as on the "Leading hotels of the world" site.

The Sant Pol and the Cala Sa Conca are thought to be the two most beautiful beaches on the Costa Brava.

As well as the beautiful coastal drive to Tossa de Mar the resort itself is well worth a visit. It has a beautiful beach with a castle rising up above the beach at one end. Behind the beach is a maize of small streets and shops that are very attractive to explore.

You can find more local travel ideas in the Catalonia guide.