With Barcelona in our rear view, we headed deeper into Catalonia to discover the town of Figueres, notable for being the birth and final resting place of surrealist master Salvador Dalí. About a 1.5 hour drive separates Figueres from Barcelona and along the way we planned on a pitstop in Besalú for lunch and a tour of the ancient village.
Medieval Besalú has a long history as well as a long and defining fortified bridge (over the Fluvia river), giving access to the town itself. The Romanesque bridge which makes for quite an entrance dates to the 12th century. At first sight, Besalú is replete of stone, whether on the cobbled streets or in the construction of houses and churches. It gives off a sense of antiquity as well as fortitude, testifying to its prowess as the capital of Besalú county, a territory that once extended as far as Aude in France (over 100 miles away). We walked the town and took in its splendors before having lunch by the Sant Père monastery, a bite with a view.
After stumbling onto an amazing field of poppies, Figueres came into view. The inland town is primarily known for two major reasons, first Dalí and second the Sant Ferran Castle (which is more like a fort). But let us start with Dalí and the legacy that is alive today, beating in the heart of Figueres and reverberates throughout the world. Although not officially regarded as the father of surrealism (André Breton was), Dalí’s medium was primarily art (in form of painting, sculptures and photography), versus writing and poetry, Breton’s medium. In my mind, Dalí is the Mac daddy of surrealism and I’ve been an admirer of his work for most of my life. If you’ve seen his work, you’d probably think it’s somewhat strange. If you’ve seen pictures of him, you’d probably think he was peculiar but what artist isn’t? And if you’ve delved into who Dalí was and the life he lived, you’d probably think he was a rather interesting person. Man, legend, movement, weirdo, it all fits within the Dalí paradigm.
Our hotel, the Museum Apartments, was basically annexed to the Dalí Theatre-Museum which Salvador helped create before he died, immersing us in his world. The museum houses 1,500 works comprising mostly paintings, drawings and some installations and follows no particular order. Works from various periods of his life fill rooms, hallways and other spaces while elements of surrealism are woven throughout the entire experience. Part of it felt like a stroll through Dalí’s mind, traversing different areas of thought, impulse and ingenuity. Dalí is forever connected with the museum as he is buried in its crypt.
“I want my museum to be a single block, a labyrinth, a great surrealist object. It will be [a] totally theatrical museum. The people who come to see it will leave with the sensation of having had a theatrical dream.”
Salvador Dalí
The surrealist master is celebrated throughout town in various ways, from places bearing his name to creative displays of him or his work peppered around. But as much as Figueres loves its hometown hero, there’s Figueres beyond Dalí. There’s a wonderful toy museum in the old town as well, with thousands of pieces displayed from various eras. It made for a fun visit completing our museum tour for the day, and the girls were very excited about this one.
From Surrealism and toys we later jumped into Catalonia’s largest fortress, the Sant Ferran Castle. Constructed in the 18th century in neoclassical architectural style, the fortress was designed to house 6,000 troops, rendering it one of the largest European forts of its time. Sprawled out over 79 acres, the fortress was intended to protect from and deter French attacks. We grabbed a map from the visitors office and Olivia and Luna guided our walking tour of the massive network of defense. Most of the structure is in very good shape and parts of the fortress were in use in recent decades. During Franco’s regime, it was used as a prison where members of the opposition were held. And finally in 1997, it became open to the public.
As any fort visit on a hot sunny day would do, this one worked up our thirst for cold drinks. For that, we opted for a quick drive to Roses, a seaside resort town about 15-20 minutes from Figueres and located on the Costa Brava. We enjoyed drinks with a view and a stroll on the beach to round out a fun day.
The following morning we bid Adios to Catalonia and Spain, reflecting on the time we had there and the new memories we formed. It all felt too soon but the lesson learned was, we’d have to return one day.
Our Provençal Year 