Forget the Balearics—Now Is the Perfect Time to Visit Spain’s Costa Brava

The charms of Spain’s Costa Brava (which translates as “wild coast”) are well known. Stretching north from Barcelona to the French border, the rocky stretch of coastline is beloved for its picturesque seaside towns, exquisite beaches and coves, and for being the playground of some of the most influential artists of the 20^th century—from long-time resident Salvador Dalí to Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, and Truman Capote, who penned his masterpiece, In Cold Blood, from the fishing village of Palamós. 

While the sun has never stopped shining on the Costa Brava, a new creative energy can be felt along its shores. It’s all thanks to a younger generation of artists and creators who have emerged across the region, breathing new life into its fishing villages and medieval towns. Some are newcomers to the region, while others are descendants of Costa Brava’s old guard. Take James Pons, the proprietor of the 12-room Casa Nereta guesthouse, in Cadaqués, whose grandfather Joan Ponç—a friend of Dalí and a member of the Dau Al Set artistic movement—lived and worked in what is now the reborn hotel.  

Elsewhere are new breezy seaside restaurants, art galleries, and tailormade adventures like foraging excursions with plant-obsessed perfumer Ernesto Collado. Now, the Costa Brava is making room for a wider set of travelers beyond sun-seekers and fans of Surrealist art—giving the neighboring Balearic Islands a run for their money.

“The region has way more to offer than just sun and sand,” says Pablo Rovira, the founder of VIU Empordà, a collection of restored farmhouses and modernist homes in Costa Brava and l’Empordà. “Passionate people have launched exciting new projects that are drawing modern travelers from around the world.”  

So, this summer, skip the over-buzzed Balearics and set out to discover the Costa Brava’s newest hotspots.  

Palau de Casavells

A 16^th-century farmhouse in the Baix Emporadà countryside is the unlikely satellite location of the Barcelona-based Alzueta Gallery, which represents artists including Portuguese painter Francisco Mendes Moreira and Madrileña artist Violeta Maya. Last month, the gallery reopened its doors with a new M.O., shifting away from its previous life as a traditional exhibition space to offer a more monographic focus, with single artists taking over the soaring space for three months at a time. First up is British artist James Rielly, whose colorful, cheeky paintings serve as an irreverent contrast to the palau’s vaulted ceilings, terracotta floors, and monastic white walls.  

La Bionda

An eight-room hotel with an outsized personality, La Bionda made a splash when it opened in 2020. Owner Carla Lloveras called on the team at Barcelona-based firm Quintana Partners—whose work she had discovered at Casa Telmo in Menorca—to reimagine the 17^th-century townhouse in the town of Begur, filling the petite space with a mix of vintage treasures and bespoke furniture: cane chairs, velvet headboards, fringed ottomans, beaded casino lamps from Avignon. Lloveras can set up a boat trip to discover the coast’s unspoiled beaches and coves, but most guests will be tempted to hang back at the hotel, relaxing on the sunny courtyard or enjoying a massage on the roof terrace. 

Caterina Roma

Ceramicist Caterina Roma sources her own clay and grinds down stones and other foraged materials to craft exquisite dinnerware and other wood-fired works with a sense of place. In 2020, she opened a studio and gallery inside a 17^th-century building—a former hostel for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago—adjacent to Salvador Dalí’s Púbol Castle. (Gala Dalí is said to have been so enamored with the building’s features that she reproduced some of the moldings and other elements in the castle.) It’s a singular environment for admiring Roma’s delicate pieces, including fossilized-looking bowls and vases and elaborate dishware that can be found in Michelin-starred restaurants around the world, including Restaurante Lasarte in Barcelona and Bianc in Hamburg. 

VIU Empordà

A 1970s modernist home hugging the cliffs of Begur. An impeccably restored farmhouse dating to 1844. An architectural masterpiece surrounded by farm fields and olive groves in the Baix Empordà. This handpicked collection of homes—many of which are owned by the region’s best architects, designers, and winemakers—gives travelers next-level access to the best of the Costa Brava and the surrounding area.

Guests unlock some of the region’s most exclusive experiences, like boat rides in a traditional wooden llaüt, a wild foraging excursion with perfumer Ernesto Collado, a chef-led coastal hike culminating in a seaside aperitif like vermut or xampanyet de saúco (elderberry champagne). 

Margarita

Antonella Tignanelli and David Caro are the duo behind Barcelona’s stylish Baldomero restaurant. Their latest venture, Margarita, brings the same convivial atmosphere and home cooking to the seaside town of Calella de Palafrugell. Inspired by “la dolça vida mediterrània”—a Catalan spin on la dolce vita—the breezy waterfront restaurant serves regional takes on classics like vitello tonnato and torta pasqualina in a homey space decked out in antiques, checkered floors, and billowing curtains. An instant classic. 

Casa Nereta

The former home of painter Joan Ponç—a friend of Salvador Dalí and a member of the pioneering Dau Al Set artistic movement—is now a 12-room hotel run by Ponç’s grandson James Pons. The 1950s home in Cadaqués still feels like an artist’s residence, with soulful interiors done up in threadbare rugs, Santa & Cole lamps, and painted ceramics, while soft Mediterranean light pours in from the arched windows. This season, the hotel reopens with a rebooted bistro fusing Mediterranean, Japanese and Peruvian influences and a coffee shop carrying Barcelona’s NOMAD beans and sustainable Spanish beauty products from Rowse, mid/night, and Rassa. Pons is also dreaming up on-site music sessions with singer-songwriter Le Nais and DJ sets for the summer months. “Cadaqués is the coolest spot where everybody wants to be,” says Pons. “A little like Ibiza with the party scene but also the quiet.” 

GRAVA Pals

This laidback bike café doubles as a community gathering space, with unisuit-wearing cyclists mixing with locals over specialty coffee, wood-fired Neapolitan pizza, and natural wine. The action goes down on the sun-splashed patio, where picnic tables and a vintage airstream set the tone for chilled-out fun. The multi-purpose space also offers yoga classes and group bike rides through the surrounding countryside—the perfect way to experience the region’s natural wonders.