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Looking for a day trip from Barcelona? Or perhaps you’re heading out on a road trip across Catalonia. Either way, you’ll want to add Figueres to your list. There are so many great reasons to travel to the town of ‘fig trees”.
Praised by Pauline Frommer as the perfect alternative to Barcelona, Figueres is located 144km (~90 miles) north of Catalonia’s capital. I became even more drawn to the area for it’s local celebrity and one of my favourite artists. Figueres is the birthplace of Salvador Dali. If you’re an avid fan of surrealism (like me) you’ll be glad you picked this “off the beaten path” destination.
Our experience on this trip had us arriving in town around 8pm after dealing with delayed flights, rush hour and some heavy rain. We planned to spend two nights in town and were pleased with the amount of ground we were able to cover during the time that we were there. We spent a full day following our arrival and departed the following morning around 9am.
Getting to Figueres
You can access it by car, driving about one and a half hours via highway AP-7. You can also take the train from Barcelona to Figueres for about $11 dollars for a single, one-way ticket, and the ride is about an hour. There’s also a bus that runs between the two for about $22 if you aren’t in a rush (the trip is about three hours).
Where to Stay in Figueres
We stayed at Hostal Sanmar for the two nights we were in town. They have a lovely, European continental breakfast included, and the rooms are cozy. We loved the modern, Scandinavian style, and how they incorporated Figueres’ local celebrity (Salvador Dali) into the design of the room. This comfortable, budget hotel (~$50 USD/nt) is within walking distance of the historic district and major points of interest.
Things to Do in Figueres
Where to start?! Figueres is easily one of those towns you can wander around and not get bored. From the sculptures to the street art, the history and architecture, this little town has so much to offer. Just let your feet lead you along the various textured streets.
Discover Local Street Art and Sculptures
You don’t have to wander far to see this town is heavily laden in art. There are a wide variety of beautifully painted murals and a collection of tall sculptures all about town. It’s clear from these creations that Dali left quite the impression on his hometown.
Teatre Museo Dali
For many, this is the main attraction – the gold bread loaf and egg adorned Salvador Dali Museum. It’s hard to miss this surrealist style building located in the Northern half of the city. The museum nearly spans a block. Prepare to spend about two hours or more in this impressive space, taking in every single masterpiece throughout this four-story building. This museum has over one million visitors per year. The museum is where the old town theater once stood and now houses hundreds of Dali’s life works, including his body which lies in a crypt below the stage.
The admission (€15 at time of posting) to the museum includes a walk through this incredible piece of architecture, as well as access to Dail’s jewel collection. Many are familiar with his painting, but few people are aware that he used various medium in his time as an artist. In the museum you’ll find his extravagant jewelry, painting, collages, mechanical devices and other three-dimensional novelties. Be sure to bring some spare change with you so that you can drop in the small coins needed to automate some of his mechanical creations throughout the museum.
Additional Salvador Dali locations of interest include:
- Casa Natal d’En Salvador Dali – the birthplace of Dali himself
- Salvador Dali House Portiligat – Dali’s primary residence
- Gala Dali Castle Pubol – Gala’s residence and last studio of Dali
- Salvador Dalí Museum – St. Petersburg, Florida
“Surrealism is destructive, but it destroys only what it considers to be shackles limiting our vision.”
― Salvador Dali
Visit Other Museums
- Museu de L’Electricitat – explore the history of electricity at this museum
- Toy Museum of Catalonia – museum displaying a variety of children’s toys & games from different historical eras
- Technical Museum of the Empordà – “old” technology museum which includes historical typewriters, watches, phones & radios
Change your Perspective
As you make your way around town, take the opportunity to change your vertical perspective. There is a parking garage to the north of the Dali Museum that offers an overview of town. You can also take in the surround, hilly landscape from this vantage point.
Be sure to spend some time wandering the town after the sun goes down as well. Seeing Dali’s egg topped museum lit up at night offers a contrasting perspective of shadows on a dark background.
And you’ll want to look up into the trees once and a while. We were pleasantly surprised to see green parrots flying around these parts.
Other Things to Do in Figueres
There are plenty of extra ways to fill your 36 hours in Figueres.
If hookah bars are in your practice, they are also present here.
Depending on the time of year you visit Figueres, there may be some seasonal flair to admire. We visited at the beginning of December so there were Christmas lights on display and a Christmas market to explore. Set up along La Rambla the Christmas market offers the usual European Christmas Market fair including mulled wine, festive confections and locally themed souvenirs.
Looking for a walking tour of Figueres? Click here.
Where to Eat in Figueres
Figueres has a lot to offer in the form of Spanish fare. The following are the restaurants we ate at and would easily recommend.
- El Dynamic Bar – featuring a very wide variety of tapas; we sampled some olives, fried parmesan balls, pork bites and an open faced roasted red pepper sandwich, accompanied by Spanish beer and wine.
- Cafeteria Il Museo – here we had lunch after visiting Teatre Museo Dali; jamon Iberico and queso Manchego sandwich, varieties of meat and cheese widely consumed in Spain
- Cafeteria Astoria – for dinner on our second night we sat on the heated patio and ordered the paella
- Don’t forget to swing by one of the grocery stores (Bonpreu) to pick up some snacks to take with you, whether you are heading home or back on the road
Where to Next?
We hope you enjoy your 36 hours in Figueres! Looking for another day trip destination outside Barcelona? We also recommend Olot and the Cava (Spanish wine) regions.
Want more Dali? Fun fact – there are also Dali Museums in Paris, France and St. Peterburg, Florida!
Are you a fan of surrealist art? Do you have a favourite art museum?
