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Spain: Catalonia (Cataluña)

Overview

Catalonia (population 6.8 million) is situated in the extreme north-east of Spain bordering France and Andorra. It encompasses the provinces of Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona. The region’s main towns include Barcelona (Spain’s second-largest city and the region’s capital), Girona (with its stunning medieval centre), Lleida and Tarragona, which was the capital (Tarraco) of Roman Spain. Barcelona (host to the 1992 Olympic Games) is one of the world’s great cities (population 1.6 million) and an important port. It’s a beautiful, cultured, fascinating city with a wealth of outstanding architecture, both modern (e.g. Antonio Gaudí) and ancient. It’s also famous for its cuisine, nightlife, shopping and culture, and is considered by many to be Spain’s most exciting city. An added attraction in recent years has been the creation of the vast Port Aventura theme park in Tarragona, one of the largest in Europe.

Catalonia covers an area of 31,930km2 (12,328mi2) and its varied relief produces a profusion of diverse and beautiful landscapes, from the green, wooded mountainous north (where the Pyrenees reach 3,000m/9,800ft) to the rocky Costa Brava (the rugged coast) with its many beautiful bays and inlets. The coastline in Catalonia is particularly attractive and unspoilt on the Costa Brava in the province of Girona, where the mountains fall to the sea forming cliffs (and leaving little room for urban sprawl). South of Blanes, the coast becomes flat and straight only to rise again south of Castelldefells and flatten out towards Tarragona on the Costa Dorada (golden coast) as far as the Ebro delta.

Catalonia is Spain’s industrial powerhouse, producing some 20 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and one of Europe’s most important industrial regions. Some 85 per cent of companies are located in Barcelona, which is also home to half of the foreign multi-national companies in Spain. The region is also famous for its wine (Penedés is the most prestigious wine-growing area), particularly cava, Spain’s celebrated sparkling wine. Catalonia is Spain’s most nationalistic region, seeing itself as a country within Spain, rather than a mere region. It has its own language, Catalan (Catalán), spoken by some 6.5 million people in Catalonia, the Balearics, Valencia, the principality of Andorra and parts of the French Pyrenees. It’s by far the predominant language in Catalonia and is particularly noticeable in schools and universities, where all lessons are conducted in Catalan. Although more people speak Castillian fluently than Catalan, many Catalonians are reluctant to speak to anyone but foreigners in Castillian.

Catalonia has relatively mild winters, but is also quite humid, with 500 to 800mm (20 to 31in) of rain and between 2,450 and 2,650 hours of sunshine a year. Summers are pleasant without very high temperatures and winters are mild in coastal areas, although they’re harsh inland, particularly in the northern mountainous areas. The region has excellent communications with the rest of Spain and Europe, including many modern (toll) motorways, good rail services, including high-speed (Lleida has recently been connected to Madrid, Barcelona will be connected in 2006 and high-speed trains will run to northern Europe by 2007), and international airports in Barcelona, Girona and Reus, all of which have flights from the UK. Barcelona also has an underground railway (metro) system.

Property prices vary enormously depending on the area and are naturally at their highest in Barcelona, although even here there are huge variations depending on the district. A luxury apartment on the fashionable La Rambla, Barcelona’s most famous street, will set you back over €650,000, while a reasonable apartment (50 to 100m2) in the port district of the old city (Ciutat Vella) can be purchased for around e200,000. Prices have risen steadily over recent years (by 150 per cent over the last decade!) and rose by 20 per cent in 2004 alone and property prices at an average of €2,482 per m2 are the second highest in the country after Madrid. Girona is reportedly one of the best places to live in the whole of Spain and frequently tops the annual ‘Quality of Life’ index carried out by La Caixa savings bank. Catalonia, particularly its two coasts (see below) will appeal to those seeking a home with close proximity to both sea and mountains (e.g. the ski resorts in the Spanish Pyrenees and Andorra), although it isn’t the best region for those seeking year-round sunshine.

Costa Brava

The Costa Brava (where package tourism started in the ’50s) runs along the north-east coast from the frontier town of Le Perthus to Blanes and contains a curious mixture of long stretches of wild, rugged coastline, sprawling holidays resorts (e.g. Blanes, Lloret de Mar and Tossa) and picturesque fishing villages (such as Tamariu, Sa Tuna, Aigua Blava and Sa Riera). The Salvador Dali Museum (Museu Dalí) in Figueres (birthplace of the artist), housed in a building as surreal as the exhibits within, is the most visited museum in Spain after the Prado (Madrid). The Costa Brava is one of Spain’s top tourist destinations and is growing in popularity annually with both foreign and Spanish visitors.

The Costa Brava has good communications and is served by four airports, Montpellier and Perpignan (both in France), Girona and Barcelona, all of which have charter flights to and from the UK. Road communications are excellent, although road access to more remote parts of the coast is often poor and the journey time long. The property market is currently buoyant in the area, which has shown increased interest from foreign buyers, particularly as a retirement destination. Prices for a two-bedroom apartment start at €110,000 (although front-line beach properties are at least double this price) and at €375,000 for a three-bedroom villa. Building plots are widely available in the area.

Costa Dorada

The Costa Dorada runs along the southern Catalonia coast from Castelldefels (a large commuter town for Barcelona) in the north to L’Hospitalet in the south. The landscape is generally flat with long golden beaches (hence the coast’s name), some of which are Spain’s best. Salou and Sitges are both picturesque resorts with many foreign residents and good amenities and leisure activities. The area isn’t as popular as Spain’s other coasts and outside July and August, many resorts are quiet with facilities and amenities closed.

Communications are generally good with two airports, Reus (limited flights) and Barcelona, and a comprehensive road network. The Costa Dorada property market is currently booming and prices have seen the highest rises in Spain, second only to the provinces of Malaga and Murcia. Property generally consists of apartments (from €140,000 for two bedrooms) and modern villas (from €250,000). There’s little land for sale in the area.

© Survival Books Limited 2005

“Buying a Home in Spain 2006” 5th Edition, David Hampshire.

Reproduced with the permission of Survival Books Limited.

Further information on this topic can be found in “Buying a Home in Spain 2006” 5th edition, by David Hampshire.

For extensive, annually updated information about buying a property in Spain, you can purchase this book at www.survivalbooks.net

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