Hotels in Barcelona & Costa Brava

Barcelona & Costa Brava

Barcelona & Costa Brava covers the Mediterranean coast of Catalonia from Barcelona, the capital of the region, north-east to the French border. Barcelona is the second-most populous city in Spain, with about 1.7 million inhabitants and an urban area of around 5.7 million between the rivers Llobregat and Besòs. Its medieval old town, the 19th-century Eixample and the works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner, several of them UNESCO World Heritage Sites, make it one of the most visited cities in Europe. The Costa Brava begins at Blanes, about 60 km north-east of Barcelona, and takes in the whole coast of the province of Girona up to France. The journalist Ferran Agulló named it the "rugged coast" in 1908, after its cliffs, coves and pine-covered headlands. Resorts such as Lloret de Mar, Tossa de Mar and Roses alternate with small towns such as Cadaqués, which drew Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso. Inland, the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres is one of the most visited museums in Catalonia. Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN), 15 km south-west of central Barcelona, handled a record 57.5 million passengers in 2025, and Girona-Costa Brava Airport (GRO) lies 12.5 km south-west of Girona. The region suits city breaks, beach holidays and a combination of both, with the beach season on the coast in summer and Barcelona busy all year round. Lodging ranges from city hotels and apartments in Barcelona to beach resorts, family hotels and small hotels in the coastal villages.