Tossa de Mar
Tossa de Mar has one of the best-preserved fortified old towns on the Costa Brava, a walled medieval quarter (Vila Vella) perched on a headland right beside the main beach, its towers and ramparts largely intact since medieval times when the town needed defense against pirate raids. The combination of medieval walls directly overlooking a sandy Mediterranean beach is a genuinely distinctive setting compared to most Costa Brava towns, where the historic core and the beach are more separated.
It was also a filming location and inspiration point for European cinema in the mid-20th century (Ava Gardner filmed here and the town has a small monument to her), which gave it an early wave of international recognition. Today it functions as a fairly standard, pleasant Costa Brava resort town, busier and more developed than Cadaqués further north but with real historical substance in its walled quarter that many nearby resort towns lack.
Tossa de Mar FAQs
Its medieval walls and towers sit directly on a headland beside the main beach, a combination of intact fortification and sandy Mediterranean coastline unusual even among Costa Brava towns.
It's a fairly standard, developed resort town, busier than Cadaqués but with more historical substance in its walled old quarter than most comparably sized Costa Brava resorts.
The actress filmed in Tossa de Mar in the 1950s, and the town has a small monument commemorating her, part of the resort's mid-century cinematic history.
By bus from Girona or Barcelona, or by car along the winding Costa Brava coastal road; there's no direct train station in town.
Yes, a solid sandy beach directly beneath the old walls, though it gets crowded in peak summer given the town's popularity.
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