Spain · Europe · northern hemisphere
Costa Brava & the Empordà is at its best for city & culture in May to June and September to October. Good but not prime in April and November. Crowds peak in July and bottom out in December.
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swimming | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 40 | 65 | 89 | 91 | 69 | 44 | 14 | 15 |
| Lakes & Coastline | 11 | 16 | 42 | 61 | 90 | 91 | 73 | 72 | 89 | 64 | 18 | 14 |
| City & Culture | 8 | 12 | 42 | 69 | 92 | 93 | 21 | 21 | 91 | 88 | 65 | 12 |
| Wine/Vineyards | 12 | 13 | 42 | 64 | 91 | 92 | 69 | 70 | 93 | 87 | 42 | 17 |
| Crowds |
Swipe the table sideways for the rest of the year.
A rocky, pine-backed coast north of Barcelona, with a string of camins de ronda — old coastguard paths — linking the coves. The tramuntana can blow for days at a time and makes the exposed beaches unusable — the sheltered coves stay open
Lloret de Mar in summer unless you specifically want that. The coast north of it — Begur and Calella de Palafrugell, and Cadaqués beyond Cap de Creus — is a completely different place.
August, when Barcelona and southern France arrive together
Coves are small and pebbly with steps down to most of them. The Empordà plain behind the coast is flat, cyclable and easy.
Cadaqués is the prettiest and hardest to reach, over a mountain pass with no through road. Begur and Palafrugell sit behind the best coves for less, and Girona — thirty minutes inland — is cheaper again with far better food.
0 is this destination’s own quietest month and 100 its busiest. The scale never compares one destination to another. Source: Wikipedia — Cadaqués