Cadaqués Old Town
Cadaqués is the Costa Brava town that artists, writers and filmmakers have been quietly obsessed with since the 1920s, and its steep, labyrinthine lanes of whitewashed houses remain stubbornly, beautifully unchanged. No big hotel chains, no beach clubs with DJs — just boats, bougainvillea and the particular blue of the Cap de Creus bay.
Walking the village
Start at the pebble beach of Es Pianc and walk the seafront promenade toward the whitewashed church of Santa Maria, whose baroque altarpiece is one of the finest in Catalonia. The lanes climbing behind the church are the oldest part of town — narrow enough to touch both walls with outstretched arms, hung with geraniums.
Duck into the small Museu de Cadaqués on Carrer de Narcís Monturiol to see rotating exhibitions of 20th-century art connected to the town's bohemian past, including works by local and visiting artists from the Dalí circle.
Eating and drinking like a local
Casa Nun on Plaça des Portitxó is the place for a glass of cold Empordà white wine and a plate of anchovies — the anchovies of the Costa Brava are salted in the traditional manner and are in a different league from the tinned variety. The kitchen closes late by Spanish standards, so don't panic if you haven't eaten by 9 pm.
For a proper sit-down dinner, Es Balconet on Carrer de la Riera has been feeding locals since the 1970s with honest Catalan cooking: suquet de peix (fisherman's stew), salt cod with honey, and crema catalana torched at the table.
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