It is the first real decision of your project, even before the type of property: where along these 200 kilometres of coast will you settle? After fifteen years here, this is our honest take on the main areas.
The north: the wild Empordà
From Cadaqués to Roses, the landscape is spectacular, between Cap de Creus and the beaches of the bay. Cadaqués is a gem at the end of its mountain road: magical, but isolated and expensive. Roses offers the best balance in the area: a real year-round town, services, family beaches and quick access from France via the N-II or the AP-7. L'Escala, a little further south, appeals with gentler prices and an atmosphere that has stayed authentic around the old port.
The centre: the charm triangle
Begur, Calella de Palafrugell, Llafranc, Tamariu: turquoise coves, well-kept villages, pine woods down to the sea. This is the Costa Brava of postcards, and its most expensive area. Palafrugell, set back from the coast, gives access to this lifestyle on a more reasonable budget, in a real town that lives all year round.
The south: year-round life
Palamós and Sant Feliu de Guíxols are authentic port towns: markets, shops open in January, real local life. Ideal for moving here or retiring. Platja d'Aro embraces its lively, shopping-centred atmosphere, popular with families and buy-to-let investors. At the very south, Blanes opens the Costa Brava: a large town that is lively all year round, an hour from Barcelona.
Inland: the best-kept secret
Twenty minutes from the beaches, the stone villages of the Baix Empordà (Pals, Peratallada and many others) offer character houses at prices that bear no comparison with the coast. The favourite compromise for those who want the Empordà without the crowds.
Our method: start from how you will really use the property (summer only? all year? with or without a car?) and shortlist two or three towns to visit, ideally out of season.
