Costa Brava

Costa Brava is a coastal region of north eastern Catalunya, Spain. Costa is the Spanish and Catalan word for 'coast', and brava means 'rugged'.

In the 1950s, the Costa Brava was identified by Spain's Franco government as being suitable for substantial development as a holiday destination, mainly for tourists from Northern Europe and the United Kingdom. The combination of a good summer climate and beaches was exploited by the construction of large numbers of hotels and apartments in such seaside resorts as Tossa de Mar, Lloret de Mar and L'Estartit. Tourism took over from fishing as the principal business of the area.

Whilst part of the Costa Brava coastline leant itself to tourist developments on a very large scale, other parts have remained more traditional. Small towns like Cadaqués (close to the French border and close to the foothills of the Pyrenees) have attracted artists such as Salvador Dalí and Pablo Picasso and are now fashionable resorts. The coast between Roses and Tossa de Mar has many small coastal towns such as Pals, Tamariu, Llafranc, Aigua Blava and Calella de Palafrugell.