L'Escala is a town of 10,400 people (2018) in Costa Brava, Catalonia. It is on the Costa Brava between the southern end of the Gulf of Roses and Cala (bay) Montgó. It is an important fishing port and tourist centre, and has a festival dedicated to its famous anchovies. The GE-513 road runs inland from the town.

Understand

L'Escala is the village of Víctor Català (pseudonym of Caterina Albert, 1869-1966) a famous novel writer.

Get in

By train

There is no train station in l'Escala. The closest stations are Camallera and Flaçà (which is connected by bus with L'Escala and Girona). Buses go to L'Escala from Flaçà 5 times per day (twice on weekends). There is more information on this route in the section below.

It is also possible to go with high-speed train to Girona and then taking a bus from Girona station to l'Escala.

By bus

L'Escala is connected by bus to several cities including Girona, Figueres and Barcelona. The 207 bus connects Girona with L'Escala (via Flaçà) 5 times per day in each direction on weekdays (2 times per day on weekends), taking a little over an hour. The bus costs around €6.

There are also buses from the airports of Barcelona and Girona. The timetable of those buses changes depending on the season, so check Sarfa, the bus company website.

By car

The fastest way to reach l'Escala is through AP-7 highway exit 5.

Get around

Casa del Servei Forestal

On foot

L'Escala is not a big town, and most of it is in walking distance.

By bus

During summer, there is a touristic bus (shaped as a steam train) called Carrilet that connects l'Escala from north to south and the other way around. It goes next to the sea most of the time and links several beaches. The price per trip is €2.

By bike

L'Escala, as most Catalan cities and towns, is improving its bicycle infrastructure. Even though it is still far from perfect, moving around by bike is a good option.

See

• 1 Ruines d'Empuries, Puig i Cadafalch s/n ;17130 L'Escala, ☏ +34 972 77 02 08. opens at 10:00 and closes between 17:00 and 20:00 depending on season. It was a town founded in 575 BC by the Greeks and later occupied by the Romans. Today the ruins of that town can be visited, as well as a museum. €7. (updated Aug 2023)
• Old town: several beautiful small streets reserved for pedestrians.
• Museu de l'Anxova i de la sal: museum about the history of l'Escala and its relation to the anchovies commerce.
• The Alfolí de la Sal, also known as the Pòsit Vell, is a seventeenth-century warehouse formerly used to store the salt necessary to preserve fish landed at the port: it is now a protected historic-artistic monument.
• Visit the Aiguamolls de l'Empordà Natural Park

Do

Beach of Riells

• Beaches: L'Escala, as most towns in Costa Brava, is well known for its beaches. Specifically in l'Escala, it is possible to find several kinds of beach, from rocky to long sandy beaches.
  • Old town:
    • La platja or Platja de les barques: the beach where most locals go. It is not very big and can get crowded during the peak season.
    • La creu: some meters north there is a beach which most locals and visitors avoid due to it being rocky. It is a good spot to snorkel.
    • Port d'en Perris: the most southern beach of the old town. It is a rocky beach but much more comfortable than La creu.
  • Empúries: it includes several sandy beaches next to the Greek and Roman ruins.
  • Riells: a long sandy beach with a seafront full of apparel shops, restaurants and ice-cream stands.
  • Cala Montgó: the most southern beach in l'Escala.
• Snorkel: there are several good spots to snorkel in l'Escala, mostly in Empúries, La creu and Cala Montgó.

Hiking

There are many routes around the city. The camí de ronda has nice view over the sea.

The GR 92 long-distance walking route crosses the city.

Cycling

• Most of the seafront is now connected with bike lanes and bike paths, so it is easier than ever to go from one side to the other by bike.
• The Pirinexus and the EuroVelo EV8 long distance bike routes crosses the city.

Karting

• 1 Karts L'Escala, GI-632, Km 2, ☏ +34 972 771 957. (updated Oct 2023)

Festivals and events

Festa de la Sal

• PortalBlau: organizes several concerts during summer.
• Festa Major: held every year in early September, it includes dozens of activities specially for children.
• Festa de la Sal: a festivity the third Saturday of September.

Buy

Anchovies (called anxoves in Catalan) are the most typical product. The history of l'Escala is closely related to the fishing, preparation and selling of this fish. There are several shops, specially in the old town, which are focused on this product.

Carrer Marangues, popularly known as Carrer de les Botigues (Shops Street) has plenty of shops including apparel, a jewelry, a pastry and a supermarket.

The seafront of Riells is full of apparel shops.

Eat

The seafront of La platja and Port d'en Perris are full of restaurants with different types of cuisine, including Mediterranean cuisine, seafood, tapas and pizzerias.

Sleep

• 1 Camping Punta Milà, Punta del Milà s/n, l'Escala (Cala Montgó) (from l'Escala, go towards Cala Montgó, and 1 km before Cala Montgó beach, follow the signs to the right towards Camping Punta Milà), ☏ +34 638652712, info@campingpuntamila.com. Check-in: 12:00, check-out: 11:00. Small, very peaceful family campsite. Fully furnished tents for rent, glamping ones with air conditioning, kitchen and bathroom. Also simpler accommodation for a more pure camping experience. Tennis, basketball, volleyball, table-tennis, swimming-pool, supermarket, Restaurant Miluus with local quality food. Cool for teenagers, comfortable for parents who want to relax in the middle of nature. (updated Jul 2020)

Stay safe

During summer, most beaches have a lifeguard during the day hours. They are responsible of helping anybody who gets hurt or drowns in the beach and raising a colored flag depending on the state of the beach. Don't swim if there is a red flag, it means it is not safe. Yellow flag means it might be dangerous to swim and green means it is safe. If there is no flag, apply common sense when swimming.

Connect

As of Jan 2024, L'Escala and its approach highways have 4G from MasMovil and Orange, and 5G from Movistar and Vodafone.

Go next

Routes through L'Escala

Roses C-260  ← Empuriabrava ←	N  S	→ Torroella de Montgrí
Figueres ←	N  S	→ Torroella de Montgrí
Figueres ←	N  S	→  N-2  → Girona
Peralada ←	N  S	→ Torroella de Montgrí → Palamós

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