Empuriabrava

The modern marina of Empuriabrava is the residential area of Castelló d’Empúries, located near the historic town.

Over 7.000 m of wide sandy beaches and 24 km of navigable canals, Empuriabrava has a peculiar design, a wide range of sea and air sports and a complete sport harbour. If one takes into consideration the range of leisure activities and accommodation on offer, it is the ideal place to spend the holidays or set up house.

History
Castelló d’Empúries, a village dated in the ninth century, became during the Middle Ages a flourishing town since it was converted into the county capital of Empúries.
From that period date the most important buildings and streets of the monument district, that have kept the traditional appearance, like porticoes squares, Bordell Street, the handicrafts districts and the ‘Call’ or Jewish quarter, reminiscences from the medieval town planning.
Land of Troubadours
especially worth mentioning is the “Terra de Trobadors” Festival, which evokes the days of the Castelló medieval, both in popular aspect (Medieval market, feast-days march around the streets) and cultural aspect (talks, troubadour music concerts).
In these days, the town offers one the chance to relive certain sensations of the capital of the county of Empúries.
Empuriabrava is a unique coastal town of the Alt Emporda region in the far North East of Spain and forms part of the municipality of Castello d'Empuries in the province of Girona. It is 25 miles (44km) from the French border, 11 miles (18km) from the nearest large town Figueres and Girona itself is only a 40 minute drive away.
Empuriabrava is unique because much of its beautiful residential area is built on and around a system of canals. The majority of these residencies have a mooring at the bottom of the garden making Empuriabrava the largest residential marina in Europe, if not the world!

The Marina
Boating is a large part of what Empuriabrava is all about. It has around 5000 moorings and 24kms of navigable canals as well as a lovely marina, which is ideal for not only yachts but also for long lunches watching the world go by from the many restaurants on the waterfront.
Although more and more people are living in Empuriabrava all year round, it is still very much a holiday destination. Visitors will stay in either villas, apartments, hotels or camp sites and will enjoy the beautiful beach, the many shops, restaurants, bars and cafes, take tours of the canals or be adventurous and go scuba or sky diving. In fact, a good indicator that you are near Empuriabrava is when you can see parachutes falling like confetti from the sky!
The town itself is situated in a rectangle of land bordered by the rivers Salins to the north and the Muga to the south. The western boundary is the Figures/Roses road whilst the box is completed by the Mediterranean Sea which gives Empuriabrava a kilometre of beach front although there are some six kilometres of beach either side of the rivers.
Travelling to Empuriabrava
Getting to Empuriabrava is easy. Three airports serve the region. Perpignan in France is an hour's drive away whilst Barcelona and Girona (with its Ryanair link) are in the South and take two hours and 45 minutes respectively.
If you are driving to Empuriabrava your best bet is to take the E-15/A-7 motorway and get off at Junction 3 if come from France or Junction 4 if you are coming from the south e.g. Girona or Barcelona. Whichever junction you take you will get onto the N-II. Travel along the N-II (for 6.1 Km if you are coming from the north or 5.8 Km if you are coming from the south) until you see the exit for Roses (you will be near Figueres). Simply follow the signs for Roses as you travel along the C-260 for 13.5 Km until you get to Empuriabrava.

History of Empuriabrava
Looking down the main canal
Today, Empuriabrava is a tourist resort/residential area made special by an attractive system of canals, a busy marina, beautiful beaches and its own aerodrome with flying club and skydiving centre. Many shops form the commercial areas and Empuriabrava’s residential area is full of beautiful villas, townhouses and apartments. It is strange therefore to think that only 40 odd years ago this was all farmland.
Empuriabrava now sits on land that once supported five farms and a handful of other agricultural plots. The first mention of these farms (or cortals) can be found in records going back to the 14th Century.  In the 19th century the area was used to grow wheat, maize and alfalfa for towns as far away as Olot and Perpignan and in the early 20th century the land supplied cattle produce for the markets of L’Emporda and down toward Barcelona.
As late as the 1940s and 50s Castello d’Empuries, the administrative town for Empuriabrava, was the location of an important livestock market and in the early 1960s, when the rest of Spain was experiencing the first major tourism boom, the area was still an agricultural community unsure of what tourism would do to its way of life.
The first time that Empuriabrava has been mentioned, was in a document dated 30th December 1964. It states that a company called Eurobrava wanted to improve a parcel of land between the rivers Muga and Salins, the Figueres/Roses road and the sea. The company wanted to build a runway for light aircrafts, ultimately for an international aero club.
On the 5th June 1965, a Partial Plan for the Development of Empuriabrava was put forward in accordance with guidelines already proposed for the development of the Bay of Roses. In this document, Eurobrava proposed a three-part plan:
• Part 1 was the development of a zone for “tall, separate structures” designed to break up the “horizontal monotony” of the Bay of Roses.
• Part Two was the building of a big canal
• Part 3 was about the necessity of building roads to connect to the surrounding area.
Work on the development started three months after the plan was submitted even though planning permission had not been granted, and for the next two years there was a love/hate relationship between the town hall in Castello d’Empuries and Eurobrava as wrangling over planning continued. Eurobrava was later to become Empuria-Brava S.A.
The green light for planning permission was finally given on 26th June 1967 although development had been continuing during the planning debate. The canal and streets had been created. All that was left to build was the buildings.
Empuriabrava was to be a resort for wealthy tourists offering tennis, water and aerial sports. The main canal was built so that boats could sail a full circuit and was intended to be for both enjoyment and communication and travel. Empuriabrava was to be “like Miami where you could access your villa from either the canal or the street.”
The initial plan for Empuriabrava was that there was to be room for 20,000 residents living in 4,500 homes and 2,500 apartments. The town was to be grouped into five zones
1. A large tourist zone with hotels, restaurants, discos etc.
2. A zone for large apartment blocks with bars, fast food and souvenir shops
3. Properties on the canal
4. A public green/park zone
5. A private green/park zone
After final planning permission was granted in 1967, there was an intensive advertising campaign to promote Empuriabrava. The focus of this campaign was Germany and to a lesser extent France and the Benelux countries.
The second phase of the development of Empuriabrava started in 1975 where the remaining land started to be built on.
There is one final date of note. On 11th June 1980 control of the running of Empuriabrava passed from the developers to the town hall of Castello d’Empuries.

Tramontana
Tramontana is so common to Empuriabrava and the surrounding region that many towns and villages have a street named “Tramontana”, it forms a part of many business names and is even the name given to a 300 km/h sports car!
Tramontana (from tramontane meaning “on or coming from the other side of the mountain”) is a dry cool northerly or north-easterly wind over north-eastern Spain, south-eastern France, the Balearic Islands, the western Mediterranean, and Italy and can last anything from one to five days.
Some accounts associate Tramontana with the advance of an anticyclone from the west following a depression over the Mediterranean whilst others suggest it is a katabatic wind like the Mistral.  [A katabatic wind (from the Greek katabatikos meaning "going downhill"), occurs when the air at the top of a mountain cools. Cold air is denser than warm air and so the air begins to flow downhill].
Clear skies above Empuriabrava beach. Although the winds of Tramontana can be quite strong with wind forces from six to eight, there is very rarely any damage and paradoxically, Tramontana is associated with fine weather as any clouds that are around are blown away. The best time to view and photograph the surrounding countryside is during Tramontana as the air is so clear. It is also a great time for windsurfing.

The Harbour
Go to the control tower, visible from the sea, pass the external shelter jetty just as you enter the harbour, and enjoy all the facilities available. It is prepared for vessels ranging from 4 to more that 25 meters long.
It has five fuel pumps, a careening slipway, two 10-ton cranes and a 50-ton travel-lift, and a place to dispose burnt oil and bilge water. The medium and large sized moorings have 32A electricity connections, water and cable TV.
It is located inside the bay and is ideal for sailing. Several regattas, light and cruise-type, are held throughout the year. The Empuriabrava harbour is also an important site for deep-sea fishing and is located in one of the best giant tuna fishing areas in the world. Our harbour also has a sailing and diving school, besides a clubhouse with squash, sauna, gymnasium, pool, jacuzzi, etc., and 35 business premises, including a medical service and post office, in order to ensure that you have everything you need when you are in the Empuriabrava harbour.Width of the canal entrance: 55 mt.
Depth
Entrance: 3 mt.
Harbour: 2.5 mt.

The Weather

TEMPERATURES ACCORDING TO THE SEASON
Spring: 23.7 C Summer: 31.7 C Autumn: 19.2 C Winter: 18.7 C
MEAN TEMPERATURE: 18.5 C (in the shade) to 23.7 C
MEAN RELATIVE HUMIDITY: 65%.
SEA TEMPERATURE ACCORDING TO THE SEASON
Spring: 21.3 C Summer: 26.1 C Autumn: 19.2 C Winter: 15.5 C
MEAN SEA TEMEPERATURE: 15/26 C
AVERAGE NUMBER OF HOURS OF SUNLIGHT PER YEAR: 3,000 h. (945 hours during the 5 coldest months).
MEAN ANNUAL RAINFALL: 339 litres/sq.mt.
WIND: Two factors determine the summer winds: the thermal contrast between the land and the sea that favours light breezes and mild winds in summer, blowing from S to SSW during the day and reaching a maximum of 20 knots at midday. In winter, anti-cyclonic calms are predominant, with occasional low pressures.
INTENSITY: mild to moderate (2-3-4 Beaufort), and some days variable (1-B.) or fresh (5-B.). The "Tramontana" (N) and "Mestral" (NW) are the strongest winds, mainly in winter, even though they are seldom.
SEA: Choppy to light swell (caused by the winds).
CURRENT AND TIDES: Hardly noticeable (they depend on weather changes, winds or atmospheric pressure).
COMMMENTS: Apart from the summer period (July and August), May, June and September are the ideal months to spend in the area: quieter where tourists are concerned and milder temperatures and winds