What to see in Altafulla: 12 places not to miss

Altafulla is two villages in one: the Vila Closa, the walled old town looking out to sea from its hill, and the seafront quarter, with the little white houses of Les Botigues de Mar right on the sand. Between the two, fields and the railway line; in the distance, closing off the beach, Tamarit Castle on its rock. You can see it all on foot in a day, or in two if you take it slowly and stop for a swim.

This is the list we send to friends who come to visit, in the order we would do it ourselves: from top to bottom, from the Vila down to the sea.

Photo pendingThe Vila Closa seen from the path to the hermitage, with the bell tower of Sant Martí and the castle

1. The Vila Closa, the walled old town

Altafulla’s medieval enclosure was born in the 11th century as a stronghold on the southern frontier of the County of Barcelona, and most of the houses you see today date from the 18th century, when the village grew rich shipping farm produce. The Catalan government declared it a Bé Cultural d’Interès Nacional (heritage site of national interest) in 1998. Stretches of wall survive, along with two corner towers and, behind the church, a reused Roman ashlar.

The best thing to do is get lost: cobbled streets, doorways with coats of arms, courtyards with orange trees and, at every corner, a slice of sea between two houses. If you want to understand what you are looking at, the guided tour lasts an hour and a half, costs €4 (free for under-12s), leaves from the castle gate and is booked through the Tourist Office: Mondays at 7 pm in summer and the first Saturday of the month at 11 am in winter.

2. Altafulla Castle

It is documented from 1059 and still belongs to the Marquises of Tamarit, the Montserrat family. From outside you recognise it by its triangular battlements; inside, by the Renaissance gallery running round the first-floor courtyard. Most of the building is a 17th-century remodelling.

It has been open to visitors since October 2019, thanks to an agreement between the family, the town council and the Catalan government: a guided tour of about 30 minutes on the first Tuesday and the last Saturday of each month, booked through the Tourist Office. It closes at Easter and in summer, when the family lives in the house. If you come in August you will have to make do with the view from outside, which is not bad either.

3. The church of Sant Martí

The parish church was built between 1701 and 1705 in neoclassical style, with a Latin-cross plan and three naves, and keeps a baroque altarpiece from 1745. It suffered badly in the Civil War. Its bell tower is the one you see from the beach, and Sant Martí, on 11 November, is the village’s patron saint and the centre of the autumn Festa Major. Every August the church square hosts the concerts of the International Music Festival.

Photo pendingThe façade of the church of Sant Martí and the square at dusk

4. Les Botigues de Mar, the white houses on the beach

Walk down from the Vila, cross the railway and you are in the seafront quarter. Les Botigues de Mar are a row of little white 18th-century houses right on the sand: they were the warehouses where merchants and fishermen kept their goods, nets and tackle. In the early 20th century they became summer houses, and today they are the postcard of Altafulla, the one that ends up on every crew t-shirt.

The promenade in front of Les Botigues is the place for a vermouth and for watching the sunset. There is a guided tour here too, booked through the Tourist Office.

5. Altafulla beach

Around 1,100 metres of fine golden sand, with a Blue Flag every year, lifeguards in season and access for people with reduced mobility. It runs from Cap Gros to the Club Marítim, the village sailing school since 1973. It is an open beach with calm water, one of the good ones for children and for swimming parallel to the shore.

We have a whole article about it: Altafulla beach, facilities, access and tips.

6. The Roman villa of Els Munts

A step from the beach, on Passeig del Fortí, lie the remains of a luxury Roman villa from the 1st century linked to Caius Valerius Avitus, a senior official of the province of Tarraconensis, and his wife Faustina. It has been run by the Museu Nacional Arqueològic de Tarragona since 1967 and is part of the Tàrraco complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.

It is open all year except Mondays, and in summer there are costumed tours in which Caius and Faustina show you round their house; for those it is worth booking (977 251 515 or mnat.cat). It is the visit that most surprises people who come for the beach and do not expect to find mosaics and wall paintings a hundred metres from their towel.

7. The hermitage of Sant Antoni, the viewpoint

The hermitage was built in 1717, on the highest point of the village, partly with donations from the fishermen. It is a short walk up from the Vila, between pines and rosemary, and from the top you can see everything: the Vila Closa, the beach, Tamarit and, on clear days, the coast as far as Tarragona. It is the starting point of the Ronda Verda del Baix Gaià walking route and the heart of La Petita, the September Festa Major, when the village walks up to the hermitage in procession.

8. The mouth of the Gaià

At the southern end of the beach, the river Gaià reaches the sea between reeds and rushes. It is a protected natural area with birdlife, reached along the Camí de Cametes. It is the natural border between Altafulla and Tamarit, and the prettiest stretch of the walk to the castle.

9. Tamarit Castle

This is the image that closes off the beach: a 12th-century fortress on a rock, with its church and cypresses, built to defend the coast from pirates. A century ago it was almost in ruins; the American patron Charles Deering and the painter Ramon Casas restored it. It is private and normally closed: it opens some Sundays for mass and is hired out for weddings. The best view is from the coastal path that goes round it.

Tamarit belongs to the municipality of Tarragona, even if for us it is simply the end of the beach. We tell the whole story in Tamarit Castle and Cala Jovera.

Photo pendingTamarit Castle from Altafulla beach, with the mouth of the Gaià in front

10. Cala Jovera

Right at the foot of Tamarit Castle, a small cove with calm water, surrounded by vegetation, with showers and toilets. You get down by paths and steps, so it is not suitable for pushchairs or for reduced mobility, and in August it fills up early. In June and September it is one of the best swims on the coast.

11. The coastal path to the Torre de la Mora

From Les Botigues, the coastal path skirts the mouth of the Gaià, goes round Tamarit Castle and follows the cliffs to the Punta de la Mora, with its 16th-century watchtower. It is about 8 km there and back, around four hours with stops and a swim, along a trail with rocky stretches and little shade. The short version, to the castle and back, takes an hour.

12. Cala del Canyadell

To the north, on the boundary with Torredembarra, is the Canyadell: a cove 60 metres long and 35 wide, sheltered by the Roquer de Torredembarra and classed as an unspoilt beach. No facilities, very clear water and, next to it, the Canyadell estate looked after by the GEPEC conservation group. The cliff path to Torredembarra lighthouse (4.6 km) also starts here.

Before you come

• Tourist Office (Oficina de Turisme): Via Augusta, 34 (977 651 426, turisme@altafulla.cat). In low season it opens Tuesday to Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm; in summer, Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm and 4.30 pm to 8 pm, and Sundays and public holidays from 10 am to 2 pm. This is where you book the guided tours of the Vila, the castle and Les Botigues.
• Getting here: Altafulla-Tamarit station is next to the beach, five minutes from Tarragona and under an hour from Barcelona by train. By car, exit 32 of the AP-7. We explain it in how to get to Altafulla.
• When: May to October for the beach; in November, the Festa Major de Sant Martí; in winter, the Vila Closa and the coastal path with nobody around.

If you are coming for two days, we have the plan ready: a weekend in Altafulla.