Catalonian Culinary Vacations and Wine Tasting Tours in Costa Brava

Catalonia, or Catalunya, is a proud region in eastern Spain, home to Barcelona with its amazing architecture and vibrant lifestyle, the Costa Brava with its miles of coast and world-class restaurants, and the Priorat, with its famous wines—the perfect destination for your culinary vacation to Spain!

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A village visited on your culinary tour of Spain

Anchovy appetizer, made during a cooking class in Spain

Coast of Catalonia, visited on your culinary tour of Spain

Cooking class during your Spain cooking vacation

Seafood cooking class during your Spain culinary tour

Visiting the fish museum during your culinary tour of Spain

Plate of gambas during your culinary tour of Spain

Girona river, visited during your culinary tour of Spain

Grapes visited at a Catalonia winery

LLafranc village, visited during your culinary tour of Spain

Winery visited during a food and wine tour in Spain

Wine casks visited at a Spain winery

Bathroom at the Catalonian hotel that is your home for your culinary tour

Double room at the Catalonian hotel that is your home for your culinary tour

Lobby at the Catalonian hotel that is your home for your culinary tour

Restaurant at the Catalonian hotel that is your home for your culinary tour

Twin room at the Catalonian hotel that is your home for your culinary tour

Suite at the Catalonian hotel that is your home for your culinary tour

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Overview

Catalonian Tastes & Treasures: Costa Brava Food and Wine Tours

As one of the most distinct and well-preserved regional cultures in Europe, Catalonia has much to offer its visitors: authentic local festivals and markets, age-old traditions of music, food, and crafts, and a wealth of historical and artistic sites, including the famed buildings of the early twentieth-century Modernisme architects. Whether you are strolling down Barcelona’s Ramblas boulevard, tasting delicious tapas at a local restaurant, exploring the many Gothic towns and local markets, or enjoying a glass of sparkling Cava wine, Catalonia will enchant and delight you, and draw you back again and again.

Your Catalonia cooking vacation will be based in the Empordá region, nestled along the coastline of the larger region of Catalonia in the northeastern part of the country and bordering France. It is a land of interesting contrasts. Here is where the surrealist art movement was born, but here is where fishermen have plied their trade (and still do) for centuries in the small fishing villages of the coast. There are prehistoric caves and megalithic structures, settlements by the ancient Greeks and ancient Iberians, Roman ruins, and more.

Girona is the main city of the region, a beautiful ancient town lying on a confluence of four rivers, and boasting a wonderfully preserved city center. It is so picturesque that it has been a frequent location for film production, including the Game of Thrones series. But the area is also known for its picturesque, quaint fishing villages, which you will explore on your Costa Brava culinary vacation.

The Costa Brava’s miles of rugged coastline and beautiful beaches, coupled with the ideal climate, have made it a very popular tourist destination for Spaniards and other Europeans. This is the Mediterranean as you have always imagined it. Sunny, warm, gorgeous, and of course full of Mediterranean flavors and ingredients. Visit the region’s olive groves and wineries, see the catch brought in by the fisherman at the end of the day, and learn to prepare amazing Spanish dishes under the friendly eye of the local chefs.

Latest Review

We gave this trip 5 stars

★★★★★

Joan & Courtney

Trip taken October 2022

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Costa Brava, Spain. The excursions and food were great and a side trip to the Formula 1 track was really exciting. Our guide Jordi is such a wonderful person, so patient and kind. We loved it !

Catalonian Cooking Vacations Details

Experience the beautiful countryside while staying in Costa Brava. You’ll stay in a 4-star hotel right on the sea and see medieval villages, tour Dali’s route, visit local artisan producers, and learn how to create Catalanonian and avante-garde cuisine.

This wonderful gourmet food and wine tour takes you to the Costa Brava, a land of outstanding beauty, filled with charming fishing villages and well preserved medieval towns by the Mediterranean Sea.

Day One

Transfer from Barcelona airport to the Empordá region to a beautiful and charming four-star Park Hotel San Jorge, well known for its unique design and beautiful surroundings. This is an ideal place to relax and enjoy a magical ambiance, and taste superb Mediterranean dishes.
Enjoy some free time, perhaps a stroll on the beach.
Welcome dinner (drinks not included).

Day Two

Following breakfast, your guide will meet you for a full day food tour of Catalonia.
First stop is a dairy farm where you will tour the farm, see they way they produce cheese, and participate in making curd. Enjoy a tasting of various dairy products at the end.
Stop at a gourmet shop and restaurant, where you will be able to have lunch on your own (if you are still hungry).
Next, head to a winery for a wine tasting of fine Spanish wines.
Dinner at the hotel (drinks not included).

Day Three

Excursion to the nearby medieval village of Pals. Your guide will take you through the town’s cobblestone streets and amazing walled villages.
There will be some free time to shop, wander around, and have lunch on you own at any of the surrounding restaurants.
Next, your guide will take you to your first cooking lesson at the Cooking School of The Fishing Museum, a spacious and prestigious school that teaches the best specialties of Mediterranean cuisine. Late lunch with wine to follow.
Back to the hotel where you will have free time to rest or have a inspiring walk around the hotels beautiful gardens.
Dinner on your own this evening.

Day Four

Following a full breakfast, you will visit the open market of Palafrugell and its lovely town by the sea to learn about the fresh produce of the region.
Continue on to the fishing village of LLafranc, where you will enjoy a lovely seaside walk along a beautiful pine grove. At the top of the hill you can enjoy a breathtaking panoramic view of the Mediterranean sea.
Head around noon to your next cooking class, with a late lunch to follow.
Afternoon and evening on your own.

Day Five

Following breakfast, around 10 am, you will embark on a full day excursion to the ancient city of Girona, with its narrow medieval streets, Jewish quarter, Arab baths, and 15th century Gothic cathedral.
Enjoy a walking Tapas and cultural tour. You will see the cathedral, Jewish quarter, Arab baths while you sample local foods for lunch. You will also enjoy an amazing ice cream by Jordi Roca 3 Michelin star.
Late in the afternoon return to the hotel for dinner.

Day Six

Breakfast at the hotel.
Nest, visit to an olive oil mill and learn about the “gold liquid” and sample the olive oil they produce.
Following the olive oil tour you will then visit a huge kitchen store where you can find anything you could imagine for cooking or your kitchen!
Head to your next cooking class. You will continue learning how to prepare recipes based on the healthiest and tastiest Mediterranean ingredients.
Lunch to follow, based on your efforts, complete with Empordá’s wine.
Around 4:30 p.m., experience a guided visit to the “Lonja” to welcome boats coming back from a hard day of work and to see where the fresh fish of the day are sold.
Then, visit the interesting Fishing Museum to learn about fishing methods, modern and ancient ones, as well as fish specialties and catches particular to the local waters.
Back to the hotel around 6:00 pm.
Dinner on your own this evening.

Day Seven

Savour your last Mediterranean breakfast.
Transfer to airport or hotel in Barcelona.

This wonderful Catalonia cooking vacation takes you to the Costa Brava, a land of amazing beauty, filled with fishing villages and well preserved medieval towns by the Mediterranean Sea.