A beautiful botanic garden in a stunning location. The garden was immaculate and contained lots of... read more
A beautiful botanic garden in a stunning location. The garden was immaculate and contained lots of... read more
Beautifully arranged botanical garden with many various species from the Mediterranean and beyond... read more
We walked along the coastal path from Calella de Parafrugell as far as El Golfet beach and then followed the signs to the gardens. If you do the same, at the point you hit the road, follow the traffic signs to the gardens rather than follow the GR92 path as it is much nearer and you wont be trying to creep in by some back entrance like we did! On buying a ticket you get a little brochure which gives you a nice route to follow around the 22 different gardens and terraces. Each have a new theme, but our favourite was the cacti garden which was quite extensive and had wonderful vistas out over the sea. I would not recommend taking anyone who can't walk very far, unless they are happy to do just a small part of the garden and then find a seat whilst you do the rest - it is quite hilly and would be a lengthy walk for non walkers, especially in the heat. There are several toilets, but no cafe, just a drinks and snack machine outside the entrance. In the sumer they have an outstanding musical festival here. In 2012 some of the people playing were Bob Dylan, Kiri te Kanawa and Simple MInds so you get the calibre! Must give a mention to the wonderful lady selling tickets who greeted us like long lost friends and was happy to try and chat. Her English was not perfect, but it was much better than our Spanish. Excellent value for 6 euros each as we spent four hours there! In the summer months a small land train goes there from the seafront at Calella de Parafrugell for around 3 euros for the 15 minute ride, but times are limited. I would suggest walking in one direction only and getting a ride back!
Beautiful views, good plant displays, sheer variety. Be warned it's quite hilly being on a cliff hill-side. Takes about 2 hours to go round the well-marked route. Costs 6 Euros unless you're over 60 then only 3.
This wonderful garden (actually 22 interconnecting gardens all overlooking the sea) built in 1927 is the eccentric dream of a Russian officer and his English wife. They were probably barmy, but the garden is balmy and clever and pretty and ... just wonderful. You can easily spend a couple of hours walking round. And in high summer there are often concerts held here with international stars.
A very well-maintained garden in a stunning setting - terraced, overlooking the sea. A wide variety of mostly exotic plants, trees & shrubs in different, contrasting garden "areas", everything well labelled. There's even a "castle" (not open to the public) & lots of modern sculptures ("installations"?), if you go for that sort of thing (we don't!). We were given a useful plan with our tickets (half -price entry of 3 Euros for pensioners) with a suggested walk around the gardens. If you follow it, the last section is the Mediterranean Garden which is large, uphill & down dale & lacking in colour when we were there. We felt we could have missed that section!
Otherwise, a most enjoyable visit.
Great views over the med and a wide variety of plants. Just right for passing an hour or two. Amazing selection of cacti plants.
The annual Festival at Cap Roig is stunning and should not be missed if you are in the area in the summer months. Check the website for dates & performers, book and enjoy. The moon shines on the sea as you walk down the hill towards a clifftop openair arena that seats a small audience. You are surrounded by Mediterranian pines with a backdrop of the old fort behind the stage. The line up every year is just amazing with such a wide range of things on offer that you should find something to your taste. This year alone you could have seen Bob Dylan, Neil Sedaka, Simple Minds and Kiri Te Kanawa.
Typically the evenings start late, with performers usually coming on stage at 10pm or later. Wander into the gardens around 9pm, have some appetisers and drinks and wander the paths immediately around the center of the gardens - but these are more atmospherically than effectively lit. Or bring a picnic and have a glass of cava (sparkling white wine) and join in the promenading and socializing before the performance. The locals, who make up the vast majority of the audience, often go out to eat afterwards.
Although the weather is usually perfect, on the one occasion I sat through a rainstorm to listen to Jose Carreras, the performance was cut short, everyone was told to keep their tickets and the whole thing was re-run two nights later - just lovely and NOT the typical reaction from either performers or venue's.
A very special experience