Reservation
Lloret de Mar
Lloret’s history has its beginnings back in the III and II centuries B.C. with the Iberian peoples who built two towns here. These towns have been preserved and you can visit them along with the Puig de Castellet and that of Montbarbat.
The name Lloret comes from the Latin “Lauretum” meaning “laurel” or “laurel woods”. In fact, at the entrance to Lloret de Mar there is a curious group of statues which tell of the legend of the naked Apolo looking in surprise at a laurel tree which has just sprung from the earth where Daphne (the nymph of the woods) has just disappeared.
For a time in its history, Lloret de Mar was known for its wide-ranging oceanic navigation and its cork industry. Because of a crisis in navigation and a decline in the production of cork, by the end of the XIX century and the beginning of the XX, the people of Lloret had become farmers and fishermen. In fact Fishing became the mainstay in Lloret for many generations.
Lloret began receiving its first foreign visitors sometime in the 1950s. However, Lloret did not become a tourist mecca over night. Ever since the early 1920s and before, the upper class families of Barcelona chose Lloret for their summer holidays because of its beautiful beaches and pleasant surroundings.
The tourist boom in the 50s produced such a strong social change in Lloret that only two decades later the fishing industry had taken a back seat.
The conversion of the town into a first class holiday centre doesn’t mean that the people of Lloret have forgotten their historical roots which are testament to over two millennia of history.
The area of “La Selva” in which Lloret de Mar is located possesses a coast line with breath-taking cliffs to100 meters tall. These granite rocks plunge down into the Mediterranean sea forming beautiful coves with incredible sea-life, perfect for snorkelling and lovely sandy beaches.
Lloret de Mar is located toward the end of the Costa Brava. Its municipal area is 48 km² and it has five main beaches along a coast line totalling 7 km. The CEE has awarded its beaches with a blue flag, guaranteeing the best quality of water and sand as well as services.
In Lloret de Mar you can enjoy extraordinarily well-kept beaches with clean large grained sand. All these beaches deserve a visit and exploration so you can discover their most beautiful nooks and crannies.
The main beach is Lloret Beach. It extends more than a kilometre and a half along the coast, which makes it the longest beach in the area and can be reached directly from the town centre. Like all the beaches in Lloret, its sand is coarse grained and white and is equipped with all the services and commodities you could wish for. The second most important beach in the area is Fenals Beach, located at the back of a beautiful bay and sheltered from the wind.
The most distant beach in Lloret is Canyelles. With just over half a kilometre in length, it is the home of Lloret’s pleasure craft port. The enchanting surroundings with their cantilevered rocks crowned with Mediterranean pines make this beach one of the most outstanding beaches in the area.
One of the loveliest coves, this time formed with the serene silhouette of a castle, is Sa Caleta. This sandy stretch was and still is the traditional meeting place for local fishermen. In fact, their fishing boats pulled up on the shore have been an emblematic image for ages.
Santa Cristina Beach also has its enchantments owing to its sheltered location and its waves. You reach Santa Cristina Beach by descending a shaded path through the woods, which is one of its chief attractions. Santa Cristina is a small beach with less than half a kilometre.
There are other coves that you should visit during your stay such as Cala Boadella, a magnificent place that retains its natural beauty intact, and Cala Treumal, just to the right of Santa Cristina but with a more natural aspect and with larger waves.
Throughout its long history, and in spite of being a dynamic and modern tourist town, Lloret de Mar has retained its own personality and conserved signs of its identity and traditions, which, with the passage of time, only increase in value. The main festivals are Santa Cristina and Sant Romà. The “Ball de Plaça”, “las regatas de llaguts”, the “tirade a l’art”, the carnival, the “aplecs”, the singing of “habaneras” and “sardanas” are some of the traditions still observed and loved in Lloret.
Along the seaside promenade there are lovely and modernist houses, while its History is waiting to be discovered in many places throughout the town;from the evidence of the peninsula’s earliest settlers at the Iberian town of Montbarbat, which dates from the iron age, to splendid buildings and historic monuments like the church of Sant Romà (in the gothic style), the Sant Joan Castle (early medieval, XI century), the monument to the Mujer Marinera by Ernest Maragall, the church of Mare de Deu de las Alegries or the charming hermitages in the surrounding area like Sant Pere del Bosc or Santa Cristina. It would be difficult to find a greater profusion of interesting places to visit.
Also worth a visit are the attractive enclaves such as Lloret’s beautiful modernist cemetery or the enchanting garden of Santa Clotilde situated high on a cantilevered rock offering splendid views.
Modernism is well represented in Lloret by the beautiful work done by Puig I Cadafalch. The hermitage of the Verge de Gràcia, the crossing that leads to Sant Pere del Bosc and the pantheon of the family Costa Macià in Lloret cemetery bring us closer to the first modernist efforts by this Catalan architect.
Typical gastronomy
The ideal location of Lloret de Mar between the sea and the mountains ensures that the local gastronomy combines the finest products of “surf and turf”. Fish and shellfish add their flavours to the best from the garden and hunting. Beans, peas, fish salad or baked eggplant, onions and red peppers are a few suggestions for a starter course. Chicken or rabbit with shellfish, European bass or shrimp make interesting main dishes. “Embutidos” (cured meats) with bread rubbed with tomato will complete any menu. Among the various desserts available, we should mention our fruit of the season such as strawberries, peaches, oranges and watermelon. And to accompany the flavour of all this delicious food, there is nothing like the wines of the Ampordà-Costa Brava Designation of Origin.
Lloret offers its visitors of all ages a world of entertainment and fun possibilities; beaches, aquatic parks, playgrounds, boat excursions, museums, theatres, hiking paths, shows, shopping, food and wine tasting… the list goes on and on. And the night has its own special offerings. Dance to the latest music at any one of our lively night clubs, sit and chat with friends over a cocktail in one of the many bars or on a pleasant terrace, meet new people in one of the typical historic pubs, try your luck at the Casino, enjoy an evening concert on the beach, take a quiet walk in the moon light along the promenade…again, the possibilities are endless.
Lloret, a sports lover’s town
Lloret de Mar has become a place of reference for sport lovers. There are athletic courts of all kinds, pitch & putt, football pitches, municipal pavilions, etc., enclosed by beautiful natural surroundings. All of this makes Lloret a true sports paradise for those who wish to spend their holidays in physical activities. The possibilities are as varied as your imagination; cycling, BTT, hiking, Nordic walking, swimming, horseback riding, pitch & putt, not to mention a wide variety of nautical sports such as sailing, kayaking, scuba diving, snorkelling and water skiing to name a few.
Lloret, a privileged enclave
Lloret de Mar is situated in a privileged geographical zone, which puts it very close to all the important tourist attractions in Catalonia. It is only 42 km from the ancient city of Girona, only one hour from Barcelona, the great capital of culture and fashion. It is also very close to the city of Figueres where you can visit the Dalí Museum, the nature reserves of Montseny and the Medas Islands as well as the volcanic zone of Garrotxa. And we shouldn’t forget the town of Blanes with its fishing port and the tiny, medieval walled town of Tossa de Mar.
