Rubina Beach

La Rubina is a natural beach, located in the north of the municipality of Castelló d'Empúries, between Sta. Margarita and Empuriabrava, in the north of the Empordà Wetlands Natural Park. It has a daily cleaning and aeration service of the sand, surveillance and lifeguard service, an area for practicing water sports (windsurfing and kitesurfing) and an area where dogs are allowed. The beach has a very regular and soft sandy ground. The sea storms shape the landscape. Thus, during winter floods, the water enters the beach and inundates the area behind the dunes and the coastal lagoons. In the dunes, we find some very peculiar plants, specially adapted to the harsh environmental conditions: the eruption, the lettuce, the sea panic or the lily of the sea, with spectacular white flowers, and also curious animals, such as the lion ant, the pilote beetle, the big lizard ...

Empordà Wetlands

The Empordà Wetlands Natural Park is one of the most well-known and emblematic natural areas of Catalonia since its creation, in 1983, was the result of an intense and long campaign of defense initiated in 1976 to stop a urban project that was intended to build a residential marina for 60,000 people between the estuaries of Muga and Fluvià rivers.

The wetlands have been anciently occupying the coastal plain of Roses gulf, between the Muga and the Ter river. The great lake of Castelló connected the village with the sea, and a rosary of other lakes (Bellcaire, Siurana, Riumors ...) inundated the lowlands. Over time, men started occupying the wetlands and converting them into crops and pastures, building drainage channels and diverting rivers to "empty" the water into the sea.

It currently occupies 4,784 ha, of which 868 are comprehensive protected areas. It includes habitats such as coastal beaches and sandy areas, caves, slums, crops, pastures, riverside forests, or springs and rough spurs of the Sierra de Verdera. It is the second most important humid zone in Catalonia and it is internationally recognized, since it accommodates different species of migratory birds.

Castelló d'Empúries

Old capital of the county. This village with a thousand years of history and a large historical heritage is a trip to the medieval past. It offers a great commercial tradition, as well as a wide gastronomic offer with products of the earth: the bread of Tramuntana, the sweet butifarra, and a lot of particular sweet dessert delicacies...

The medieval village was completely walled. There are still some sections of the wall with a gate (Portal de la Gallarda) preserved next to the Mill stream. Among the buildings of historical interest, it is worth mentioning  the Basilica of Santa Maria (Empordà Cathedral), the Palace of Accounts or the convent of Sant Domènec, the Llotja or communal house, the medieval jail of Pont Vell, the washing cantine and the streets and medieval houses.

The village of Castelló was also an outstanding spot for the Jewish community between the 9th and 14th centuries. The vestiges of the Jewish Quarter and the structure of the New Synagogue are preserved.

The Ecomuseum-Flour Mill is an old factory that shows the process of making flour using the strength of the water of the mill (hydraulic energy). The Empordà area also includes an exhibition of the four protected areas of the Empordà where visitors will be seduced by their natural, cultural and intangible heritage.