While the beaches are enough for many visitors to l’Escala, here we take a look at what else the town has to offer.
L’Escala. Photo by Kevin Krejci.
Of course the town has a large marina used by commercial fishing boats and pleasure craft. There you can simply go and watch what is going on, hire a boat for the day, take a tourist boat down the coast for a couple of hours or go diving.
And if you’re in the port during the winter you may be lucky enough to see Trini, a tuna that comes to the port looking for scraps of fish. Watch the video below, it’s simply amazing!
But if you’d like to spend some time finding out more about the town and the local history then there are a number of museums and sites you should visit.
The most popular is the Greco-Roman ruins and archaeology museum, but there are also museums and events celebrating l’Escala’s link to the sea and the town was also the home of one of Catalonia’s most celebrated authors.
Key dates
Towns across Catalonia celebrate their main patron saint each year with a festa major. It’s an excuse for the entire town to get together and party for several days with food, drink, music and dancing. Not only does l’Escala its festa major, it also celebrates a salt and an anchovy festival.
Read about l’Escala’s key dates
Museums
Despite the modest size of l’Escala it has a surprising number of museums. These include the archaeology museum and ruins at Empúries, an Anchovy and Salt museum examining l’Escala’s connections to the fishing preservation of the fish for which it is famous and even a small motorcycle museum.
Read more about the town’s museums
Historic sites
The town and its surroundings are full of historically important sites. The ruins at Empúries date back to Roman times but there is also the medieval church in the old town, the nearby town of Sant Martí d’Empúries, several sites linked to anchovy preservation and to the author known as Victor Català.
Read more about l’Escala’s historic sites
Markets
In addition to the weekly market held down near Riells beach every Sunday morning, l’Escala also has a vegetable market throughout the year in the old town. There is also a summer market held in the pedestrianised La Riva in the old town held at night.
Is there anything we missed here? If so leave a comment below or get in contact by email!
