10 Best Things to Do in Calella

Playa de Calella is Calella’s largest beach, stretching from one end of the town to the other. Made up of coarse sand that gently slopes into the Mediterranean, Playa Grande – as the locals know it – is lined by a pleasant promenade and boasts dozens of cafes and restaurants as well as changing facilities and volleyball.

This beach gets very busy during summer months, so it pays to get there early for a prime spot in the sun. Watersports fans are in luck because Playa de Calella is home to jet skis, banana boats, and even a pair of giant offshore slides.

A bona fide symbol of the city, the Calella lighthouse dates back to 1856. Designed by Maria Parellada, this fully functioning and active lighthouse is open to the public 6 days a week.

The area around the lighthouse is well maintained. It's from here that you can enjoy some of the finest views in Calella. Taking in the town below, including the sprawling Playa Grande, the vista sweeps across the adjacent Mediterranean to make for impressive photo opportunities. Entry cost around €2, while a combined ticket granting access to the lighthouse, park shelter, and Museu del Tursime will set you back around €3.50.

Castell de Santa Florentina is an imposing 11th-century fortification in the foothills around Canet de Mar. This castle is notable for its fusion of gothic and modernist architecture. In 1910, it was renovated by famed modernist architect, Lluís Domènech i Montaner. It was his adding of elements such as gargoyles to the facade that make this castle so unique.

Castell de Santa Florentina has seen a boom in visits after it was featured in season 6 of the popular fantasy TV shows, Game of Thrones. Entry costs around €12 per adult, which includes a 90-minute guided tour.

Located directly beneath Calella's famous lighthouse, Playa de Les Roques (meaning beach of the rocks in Spanish) is an excellent place to swim, snorkel, or simply relax. There are plenty of public showers and toilets along the beach. 

This 750-metre-long beach is renowned for the clarity of its water and colourful marine life lurking within the nooks and crannies of its many rocks and boulders. If that’s not your thing, head to a beach bar to enjoy a cold Estrella Damm beer or a glass of local wine and take in the beauty of Playa de Les Roques and the Mediterranean Sea. 

Playa del Garbi sits right in front of Calella's primary hotel district. One of the town's most accessible beaches, it provides wheelchair access from its oceanfront promenade. The beach is renowned for its high standards of cleanliness, with top-notch facilities such as showers, toilets, bars, cafes and restaurants.

Playa del Garbi has 2 beach football pitches, 9 volleyball pitches, and a basketball court, as well as an offshore waterpark. At over 800 metres long, this beach is also a popular spot for cyclists, who leisurely rides along the promenade during balmy summer evenings. 

The Church of Santa Maria and Sant Nicolau remains as Calella’s finest church, offering a wonderful example of the regional style. The site was originally constructed in the 16th century, and has managed to survive natural disaster and war. 

A must-see is its bell tower, which spans over 40 metres in height. You can see it from almost anywhere in town. A single, circular stained-glass window provides decoration to what is an otherwise surprisingly austere interior. Locals and tourists alike come to the St. Mary and St. Nicholas church for services, usually on Sundays and official holidays.

The Montnegre and El Corredor Nature Reserve lies around 22 km east of Calella, providing ample opportunity for mountain biking and trekking amid pine-covered peaks and ancient ruins. The highest point of this protected national park is Turó Gros, which spans over 770 metres. 

Home to a healthy population of foxes, wild boars and deer, as well as rare birds, the Parc del Montnegre i el Corredor is a slice of wilderness within an hour's drive of Calella's town centre. The park is well equipped official paths and trails for safe exploration, though it surprisingly remains something of a hidden gem in the Catalonian region.

Park Dalmau is a central green space in Calella that's popular for leisurely activities. During summer, you'll see many families enjoying the cool shade of pine and oak trees dotting the park. The park is packed with various plant species, including fragrant honeysuckle and strawberry plants, with the tiny Eurasian blue tit flying overhead. 

Park Dalmau is something of an oasis to the people of Calella. The place really comes to life in the evenings, when seemingly everyone in town comes to enjoy the coolest part of the day. It's a good idea to visit Park Dalmau on the first Sunday of June, when it hosts the Sardana celebration and Historic Catalan folk dances. 

Museu del Turisme is an impressive museum displaying the cultural and economic effects of global tourism. With the aid of audio-visual technologies and historic artefacts, you're given a chance to traverse the world within the museum’s confines. The exhibit analyses the history of tourism from its earliest beginnings up to the present day.

A deeply original and in parts moving cultural institution, Museu del Turisme offers permanent and temporary exhibitions on topics such as feminism within the tourism industry and cultural preservation. The museum occupies a modern and minimalist building near Park Dalmau. Entry starts at €2 and you can spend a good hour exploring this compact yet interesting museum.

The Calella Josep M. Codina i Bagué Municipal Archive Museum takes a multifaceted approach of telling Calella's long history. There’s an art gallery showcasing the work of local creators from the 20th and 21st centuries. The collection is mostly made up of oil paintings. There are displays on textile, an industry for which Calella was renowned for over 150 years, starting from the 18th century until the start of the Spanish Civil War.

Throw in fascinating exhibits on foreign trade between Calella and the new world, local embroidery and a recreated modernistic chemist, and you'll have one of the strangest and most original cultural institutions in Catalonia.