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Sant Cugat del VallA?s
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SANT CUGAT DEL VALLA?S
is the closest of the towns to Barcelona, and these days little more than a rich suburb of the city. It's easily reached by FGC train from PlaA§a de Catalunya in around twenty minutes. Here, the Benedictine
Reial Monestir
was founded as far back as the ninth century, though most of the surviving buildings date from three or four hundred years later. Finest of them is a beautiful twelfth-century Romanesque cloister (June-Sept Tues-Sat 10am-1pm & 3.30-5.30pm; Oct-May Tues-Sat 10am-1pm; a?¬1.80) with noteworthy capital carvings of mythical beasts and biblical scenes. They have an unusual homogeneity since they were all done by a single sculptor, Arnau Gatell.
With your own car (or jump in a taxi; it won't be expensive), you can combine a visit to Sant Cugat with a meal in one of the district's finest country
restaurants
, the
Can CortA?s
, at Avda Can CortA?s 20, on an isolated hill out of the centre between Sant Cugat and Tibidabo. Ring ahead to reserve a table (tel 936 741 704) and experience fine Catalan dining: expect a large bill. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Spain,
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