Things to do in Lloret de Mar - A day trip to Girona.

Most people flying in for holidays on the Costa Brava either land at Barcelona or Girona airport, and that is sometimes as much as they see of the city.
Debbies previous post about a day in Barcelona is a must, but also another must is a day to the other airport city of Girona. As you fly into Girona it just looks a very grey and drab place. Its not until you make the effort to take a walk round the city that you realise what a beautiful place it is - a photographers paradise! It only takes 1hr to reach Girona bus station from the bus station in Lloret, the cost is 8.50 euro return. Buses leave at 9.25 and 12 noon.
The best sights are to be found in the old part of the city, on the far side of the river (River Onyar) Looking across the river is the most unusual housing development ever! (see the above photo). These dwellings date back to the middle ages and backed onto the medieval wall which surrounded the city.

As you cross the river there is the church of Sant Feliu, constructed between the 13th and 17th centuries. Not far from the church is the Santa Maria Cathedral, dating back to between the 11th and 18th centuries. The Cathedral houses the widest Gothic nave in the world, being nearly 23 mts wide.

Leaving the Cathedral walking through the streets, brings you to the Jewish quarter. Where there is a museum dedicated to the Jewish community which lived in this area, again going back as far as the middle ages. If you like museums there are 5 in Girona - Art, History, Jewish, Cinema and the Archeological.
So there is something for everyone in Girona. Even a garden dedicated to John Lennon!

Things to do in Lloret de Mar- Day Trip to Barcelona

Barcelona is easily accesible from Lloret de Mar, the journey takes one hour 15 mins from Lloret to the centre of Barcelona by bus. There is also a train but first one must make their way to Blanes- this makes the whole thing very long winded and takes at least two and a half hours in total. The bus is slightly more expensive but much less hassle.

Directions:


Go to the bus station in Lloret, situated opposite the  Gran Casino Hotel on the main Blanes/Tossa road. If it is high season is it advisable to book your tickets in advance. This can be done by going to the bus terminal or clicking HERE.

Buses leave Lloret at:

8 h
9.30 h
10.30 h
14.00 h
16.30 h
19.15 h


Buses leave the Ronda Sant Pere (Barcelona Centre) at:

8 h
10 h
11.45 h
15.00 h
17.00 h
19.30 h

(Please check these times before leaving as they are subject to change).

The ticket price is 7.85 euros. There is a small discount for large groups.

The bus will first stop at the Estacio del Nord- do not get of there if you wish to do sightseeing, shopping etc.

The second and last stop is the Ronda Sant Pere which is just three minutes walk from the Plaza Cataluña which is a very busy square with a multitude of shops, banks, bars, restaurants and more.

Another option to see more of the city is to catch the sight seeing bus, which will give a you a tour from an open top double decker bus. There is a stop is just outside El Corte Ingles which you cannot miss- it is a huge department store selling just about every under the sun.

The Plaza Cataluña meets with the top of Las Ramblas- one of Barcalona's most famous streets and a must see for visitors.

The Jules Verne is an English Pub situated at the top end of Las Ramblas just off the Plaza Cataluña.

Decorated in dark wood, english pub style, it is a popular hangout for tourists and residents alike, and a great place to have a sit down and enjoy a pint of Guinness or Fosters.

The Jules Verne does not sell half pints and does not stock Spanish Beers.

At the time of writing a pint of beer or lager is 5 euros.


The Plaza Cataluña has it's fair share of pidgeons.
Tourists like to pose with them and if one stands with outstreched arms, they will happily come and use you as a perch.

To walk from the Plaza Cataluña to the end of the Ramblas would in theory take you about 20 minutes- however it is more likely to take an hour or two as there are many attractions to stop and look at- maybe the most famous of these being the 'human statues'.


The human statues are people dressed as statues who stay as still as stone for many hours on end with a bucket in front of them for people to put coins.
These two guys pictured have it a bit easier- everytime someone throws a coin they pedal furiously for about thirty seconds then become completely stationary again until the next coin is thrown, which is fairly frequently from what I could see.

Nice work if you are not too active.

Lloret de Mar - Dona Marinera.

The bronze statue of Dona Marinera (said to be a sailors wife) is situated on the rocks above Lloret beach at the opposite end to the castle.

While all her body is green with age, her feet are quite shiny. The reason being, it is said that if you touch her feet while looking out to sea and make a wish, your wish will come true!

Lloret Beaches.

LLORET BEACH 24th March 2006

 FENALS BEACH 24th March 2006

Two views of the beaches of Lloret taken yesterday, the temperature reached 24 deg.
Quite a few tourists are now arriving in town for their spring holidays - and daring to strip down to their cossies on the beach!

Lloret de Mar - Wildlife!

Something for the cat lovers....

Here in Lloret there are a lot of stray cats. This group live just off the beach in Fenals.

As you can see they dont look like the usual stray, some are even quite fat! and not as wild as you might think. Although some are a bit timid, others will come to you if they think you are going to feed them. Which one old lady does every day, she goes round Fenals and feeds each group. Also other people including myself, take any leftovers for them. So they are quite well looked after

Restaurants in Lloret de Mar.

While on holiday in Lloret dining out is always good value for money, especially if you fancy a change from the 'junk food' which is too easily available these days!
All restaurants, no matter what type or nationality serve what is called 'Menu del Dia' - menu of the day. Usually consisting of at least 3 courses, a starter, then the main dish, a sweet or pudding dish and then wine, water and bread. Prices start at about 6 euro. All restaurants have numerous selections for each course, its quite impossible to choose sometimes.!
Its even sometimes impossible to choose which restaurant to go to, all do excellent menus.
Although the menus displayed are mostly wrote in Catalan or Spanish, this no reason why you should not be brave enough to go inside and try the meals, if your not a fussy eater just take 'pot luck'

A few of the most common foods on the Catalan menus in Lloret are..

Galtes de porc - pigs cheek, usually done in a nice tasty gravy.

Calamars - squid, often done in batter and then mistaken for onion rings by most first timers abroard!

Botifarra amb mongetes - a meaty Catalan sausage with white beans.

Arroz negre - rice cooked in black ink from the squid.

Fricando amb bolts - sliced veal with mushrooms.

Conill amb allioli - rabbit with a garlic mayonnaise.

A couple of dishes to suit even the most unadventurous palette is Pollo, which is chicken,usually roasted on the spit and Bistek, which is steak. Normally both served with chips!

Lloret de Mar Weather.

 Just when we thought summer was coming!

The weather forecast here is not good for the next few days. It started raining last night at about 10pm, and is forecast for the rest of today (Sun 19th March). With cooler temperatures to follow for the next few days.

The above photos were taken by my dad on a wet day back in August 1967, the small palm trees are still there, but are now fully grown. Also the same area is still a car park, but the style of cars are much different these days!

St. Patricks Day in Lloret de Mar

St. Patrick's day passed by unnoticed here in Lloret. The beach was very quiet (although the sun finally came out the day was cool and fairly windy).

On the other side of the street though- one now sees a little movement- bar, shop and restaurant owners have their shutters half mast while they are busy painting and cleaning to open for the Spring of 2006.

Cheap accommodation Hostal La Playa- Lloret de Mar

If you are planning a short stay and looking for cheap accommodation in Lloret de Mar, the Hostal la Playa, situated on the seafront is ideal.

Off season prices range from just 13 euros to 18 euros per person. A discount is sometimes offered for longer stays. There are three types of room- seaview, street view and interior. Breakfast is charged at 2,50 euros extra. There are no surcharges for single people. The hostal is very popular off season with British people visiting Lloret to take advantage of cheap cigarettes and alcohol and Spanish out-of-town visitors at the weekend.

Each room has an individual bathroom, with TV and heating. In the summer there is also use of a fridge offered. Family rooms can also be had, sleeping up to four people.

Downstairs in the reception area is an internet cafe consisting of fifteen terminals. At the time of writing the cost is only 1,20 euros per hour. The internet cafe is open all night making it very popular with tourists and staff working in the nearby bars and discoteques.

Prices will rise at Easter time, to find out more or make a reservation call (0034) 972363758.

Lloret de Mar-Water World.

Water World just on the outskirts of town is a great day out for all the family.

Easily reached by a free bus at the bus station or from outside the Caprabo supermarket in Fenals.

As yet Water World is not open for the season, but will be as from 16th May until 29th Sept.

Times of opening are 10am - 7pm July to August, closing slightly earlier during May, June and September.

Other amenities include picnic area, souvenir shop, bar, cafe, lockers for your personal items and medical centre (just in case).

Events in Lloret de Mar.

On the 2nd Sunday in every month there is an arts and crafts fair held in the Placa Pere Torrent on the 'river road' in Lloret.
Things to be found here are home made bread, honey, shoes , slippers and all sorts of ornaments and jewellery.
Also on sale there is loads of second hand Spanish stuff!
Almost like what we would describe as a boot sale in the UK.

The sale starts at 9am and goes on until appox 1pm. 

A Sunny Sunday in Lloret de Mar

The sun is not the only thing that came out this beautiful Sunday in Lloret de Mar- lots of people have crawled out of the woodwork too, the seafront was very crowded with people enjoying a Sunday stroll in the sunshine.

Temperatures at midday reached 17 oC which is above average for the time of year.

Click here for a detailed daily weather report.

The Lloret 'Express'

The Lloret express, usually known as the wally trolley here in Lloret! will take you from the beach front on various routes round the town.
Prices start at 3 euros for a trip along the sea front in Lloret then over the hill into Fenals and back.
6 euros will take you on a scenic journey round the town then up into the urbanisation of Roca Grossa, from where you can look down onto Lloret and see what I consider the best coastline in Spain! It is best to choose a clear day as Roca Grossa is sometimes covered in low cloud, so then you would see nothing!
A 10 euro trip takes you from Lloret again over into Fenals, but further on into the Santa Clotilde Gardens situated at the top of the cliffs. The gardens are immaculately planted with various plants and trees.

We will publish more about the gardens along with photos at a later date.

A Day Trip From Lloret.

Two very different views of Blanes down the coast. A nice way to spend the day while based in Lloret. Monday going round the market, which is all along the sea front. Then a walk round the harbour.
As you get off the bus from Lloret the market is straight opposite. Then as you walk through to the other end you will come to the harbour where all the boats of the 'rich' are moored.

Thanks to friends from England, Wendy and Catherine for the photos, hope you had a good holiday!

Lloret de Mar Coast.

These pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago on Fenals beach. It was a beautiful clear day, but it was very windy making the sea quite rough. You can't really tell from the photos how high the waves were, but nobody would have stood a chance if they had been caught up in waves.

Many people who visit the Costa Brava don't always realize how rough the sea can be, making it unsafe for swimming.
So it is always best to look at what colour flag is flying before going into the sea. The colours are - green for safe bathing, yellow means bathing with caution and red is a definate NO!
It may sometimes look safe, but there may be strong underwater currents.

Lloret de Mar Classic Car Rally

The Lloret de Mar classic car rally got of to a rather wet start on Sunday the 5th of March.

There were few spectators wishing to brave the wet windy weather on the seafront at 9 am- however the day did get brighter and more people were around at the checkpoints and to see the cars return to the promenade around 2pm.

Rally Lloret de Mar 2006

Rally Lloret de Mar 2006

This weekend we have the Classic Car Rally in Lloret de Mar.

It starts on Friday the 3rd of March and continues until Sunday the 5th March. Pictures will be coming soon.

Be warned if you are driving into Lloret this weekend that parking and circulating will be very difficult as the who of the seafront and the Avenida Just Marles (River road) will be blocked of as for last weekend with the carnival. Talking of- a video of the carnival can be seen by clicking here.