TOSSA de MAR
Area: Costa Brava
Country: Spain


Location:
At the centre of the Costa Brava. 30 miles S of Gerona, 55 miles N of Barcelona airports.

Telephone code from UK:
34

Website:
http://www.infotossa.com/

Position:
The bay onto which the resort faces is smaller and has steeper shoulders of rock than at nearby Lloret. Slightly to the N of the centre point, the rocks jut into the sea, splitting the beaches into a larger one on the S side _ Platja Gran _ and the smaller one on the N _ Mar Menuda, which has a collection of tall rocks and a tiny island on the seaward side.

Description:
The modern part of town sprawls inland and to the N. The old town is on the S side below the castle which overlooks the bay from the S shoulder. The castle itself is very attractive, with a small collection of stone houses within its walls; trees, a broad stone ramp up from the seafront and good views of the town and the bay from the top. The old town too has absorbed the intense tourist activity without losing its character and even at the busiest times some of the small squares like the one in front of the sizeable church are quiet. Along the seafront back from the treelined road is an unbroken line of restaurants, some of them very good quality, with open-air patios opposite the main beach. To reach the smaller beach, the road rises slightly to cross over the rocks in front of some attractive apartment developments.

Suitability:
All ages, middle bracket. Attracts a lot of families with young children and groups of elderly.

Accommodation:
Small hotels of character in the old town; small to medium hotels and apartments, mainly of bland resort style and catering for the middlemarket, in the newer part of town.

Shopping:
Some good local craft shops in the old town, especially for leather and pottery. A few fashion shops in the centre for shoes and clothes. A food market on Thursday on the Avinguda Joan Maragall.

Beach:
The main beach is about 150 yds wide and therefore has plenty of space except in the peak season, getting crowded only at the water's edge. The smaller beach is generally as full but has the advantage of an inlet the size of a small swimming pool for toddlers to swim in. Both are of coarse golden sand. Small cove, Es Codolar, is on other side of old wall, and is a curved 30-yd sand/shingle beach with rocky edges; snack bar and sunbeds for hire.

Entertainments:
Daytime: mainly beach, with windsurfing and other water sports. Nightlife: some discos in the environs; a trip to Lloret; or a medieval banquet tour.

Eating:
The main concentration of restaurants is on the seafront opposite the main beach with a range from pizzas to some locally-caught seafood. Also a line of restaurants along old town wall on Portal, a little more expensive.

Public-transport:
A bus goes every half-hour to Lloret, and on to Blanes where there is a train connection to Barcelona. Also a bus 8-9 times a day to Barcelona (2 hours' journey) and once a day to Gerona.

Local-excursions:
See Lloret de Mar.