Catalan notes. Part 4. Castelldefels
Castelldefels (cat. Castelldefels) is a city and municipality in Catalonia, part of the province of Barcelona. The municipality is part of the Baix Llobregat district (comarca). It occupies an area of .13 km² . The population is 62.250 people (as of 2010). The provincial capital is 18 km away.
Castelldefels is a tiny town on the Mediterranean coast, which is famous for its endlessly long beach and proximity to the Garraf nature reserve. Here you can also find cuisine for every taste, take a course of meditation or yoga in a Buddhist monastery, get to the “pirate feast” in July or try chestnuts at the festival in October.
Castelldefels is located 15 km from Barcelona International Airport in El Prat de Llobregat. From terminal T1 (buses run regularly between terminals T1 and T2) bus L99 goes to the city. A taxi ride will cost about 20 euros.
By private car, the easiest way to get to the city is along the C-31 motorway (direction - Sitges). There are regular buses from Castelldefels to Barcelona (daytime numbers L94, L95, L97 and nighttime numbers N14, N16).
The beach stretches for 5 km along the Mediterranean coast between the delta of the Llobregat River and the Garraf Nature Reserve. On the territory of the beach, you can equally well sunbathe, swim in the sea waters or engage in all possible types of water sports. The beach is equipped with showers and toilets, wooden bridges for easy movement on the sand, equipped playgrounds and a rescue tower. A very important (and not entirely pleasant for us) feature of the beach is its openness to all winds. The most comfortable atmosphere is from 8 to 10 in the morning, after which a strong wind rises, which by 17-18 in the evening will simply blow you off the beach, even though the weather is still very conducive to relaxing by the sea.
A network of restaurants stretches along the beach (one every 300-400 meters), which open at about 12 and work until 23-24. The cuisine and prices are almost the same, but I would like to highlight one of them, El Xiringuito de la Platja. Be prepared for the fact that English is not understood in 90% of establishments, and something can be added to the bill, be vigilant. But they will feed you delicious seafood and paella, give you sangria to drink, and all this to the sound of the surf.
The embankment is very simple, but this is its charm. No noisy establishments, neat palm trees on one side, the beach, the sea and steppe grasses (fenced, because they are protected). In the evenings, families walk along the embankment, tourists of all ages ride roller skates and bicycles.
An important object of the city is the Canal Olympic, built for the 1992 Olympic Games. Now it has been turned into an open sports facility - wakeboarding, kayaks, jogging paths, a beautiful landscaped area.
The city is divided into several zones. We called the coastal one "Beverly Hills" - for very beautiful villas, immersed in palm gardens, in the branches of which parrots live, ideal sidewalks and flower beds (our wonderful hotel, Hotel Canal Olympic, was located in this area). Next is the canal zone and the local technical university. Next is the so-called. economic area - several large shopping malls, a cinema, etc. Well, after that the "sleeping" zone begins - five-story cute sleeping houses.
In the city itself, Castelldefels Castle rises on top of a hill (open to visitors from July to August from Tuesday to Friday from 17:00 to 21:00; the rest of the year - on the first Sunday of each month). There is also the Church of Santa Maria, where you can see the murals of the Spanish artist José Serrasanta, and the Plaza de Castelldefels theater, where most of the city's cultural events take place.
