Introduction to Cadaques

196km (122 miles) N of Barcelona, 31km (19 miles) E of Figueres

Cadaqués is still unspoiled and remote, despite the publicity it received when Salvador Dalí lived in the next-door village of Lligat (in a split-level house surmounted by a giant egg). The last resort on the Costa Brava before the French border, Cadaqués is reached by a small road winding over the mountains from Rosas, the nearest major center. When you get to Cadaqués, you really feel off the beaten path. The village winds around half a dozen small coves, with a narrow street running along the water's edge. This street has no railing, so exercise caution.

Scenically, Cadaqués is a knockout: crystal-blue water, fishing boats on the sandy beaches, old whitewashed houses, narrow twisting streets, and a 16th-century parish up on a hill.