Village
L'Escala is a seafaring town of the Alt Empordà, in Girona, on the shore of the Mediterranean, whose name comes from the Latin scala, the usual term for a harbour or quay. On its territory lie the ruins of the Greco-Roman city of Empúries, founded in the 4th century BC by Greeks from Phocaea on what is today Sant Martí d'Empúries, then an island, and later enlarged by the Romans with a bigger city. The complex was abandoned at the end of the 3rd century due to Roman decline, and when the old harbour became silted up, around the 16th century, fishermen from Sant Martí moved to present-day L'Escala, which grew through the maritime customs house, fishing, salting and wine until becoming a town and municipal capital in 1766. Today it is famous for its salted anchovies. In 2022 it had 10,520 inhabitants.
Village
Sant Martí d'Empúries is a medieval settlement in the municipality of L'Escala, in the Alt Empordà, built on a promontory 200 metres north of the Empúries archaeological site, on the remains of the Palaiópolis, the first settlement of the Greek colony founded in the 6th century BC by settlers from Phocaea. It was an episcopal see between 516 and 693 and, after the Muslim conquest of 715 and the Carolingian recovery of 785, became the capital of the county of Empúries until 1064, when the see moved to Castelló d'Empúries. It retains the walls, remodelled in a later period, and a church dating from 1507. With barely 47 inhabitants, it keeps its walled layout intact.
Monument
A late Gothic temple from the 16th century, built from 1507 onward in the heart of the medieval settlement of Sant Martí d'Empúries, next to the Greco-Roman ruins of Empúries, in the municipality of L'Escala. It presides over the Plaça Major of this walled enclosure, whose urban layout, declared a Conjunto Histórico de Interés Nacional (Catalonia's highest level of heritage protection for historic ensembles), follows that of the Roman walls. The site, on a promontory that was originally an islet, was home around 600 BC to the first Greek colony of Empòrion, founded by Phocaeans from Marseille, and between the 9th and 11th centuries was the capital of the County of Ampurias, until in 1078 it was transferred to Castelló d'Empúries, a place less exposed to attack. In the year 926 the reconstruction of an earlier, ruined church is documented, evidence of a pre-Romanesque temple prior to the current Gothic building.
Monument
The most visited Greco-Roman site in Catalonia, with the remains of the Greek city of Emporion, the Roman town and its walls, in an outstanding seafront setting.
Nature
The Vilanera site, near Mas Vilanera in L'Escala, one kilometre from the town centre and two from the archaeological complex of Empúries, is a multi-period archaeological site declared an archaeological protection area in 2016. Of a funerary nature, it covers between 5,000 and 6,000 m² south of the Muntanya de Vilanera and comprises a cremation necropolis from the Final Bronze Age and early Iron Age, together with three burial mounds dated to the Middle Neolithic, around 4,500 BC, which mark the beginnings of settlement in the area, along with Phoenician and Iberian finds. The site allows the evolution of funerary practices to be observed, with the shift from inhumation to cremation.
Monument
Museum dedicated to the fishing and salting tradition of L'Escala, opened in 2006 in the former Escorxador Nou (slaughterhouse) of the village after several years of works, begun in 2002 with Feder funds. Its permanent exhibition traces the history of fishing in the town since the 16th century, with special attention to salted anchovy, and explains the fish auction and the traditional salting process; among its pieces, a restored small fishing boat stands out, with its original lateen sail and more than a century of history. The museum also organises the Festa de la Sal every year on the third Saturday of September, and hosts temporary exhibitions.
Nature
Cove on the Costa Brava reached on foot from L'Escala's seafront promenade via the camí de ronda coastal path —today the GR-92, which runs along the Catalan coast from Portbou to Ulldecona— or by car, one kilometre from L'Escala's marina. It forms part of the northern foothills of the Montgrí massif and is the largest and most accessible cove on this wooded stretch of coast; it is closed off to the north by the 96-metre Montgó point, crowned by an old fortified modern-era watchtower, and to the south by the Milà point. Mostly surrounded by limestone cliffs, it has a fine sandy beach and clear, calm waters, sheltered from the tramontana storms common in the Empordà, which has earned it the Blue Flag.
Nature
A cliff over 100 metres above the sea, with old defensive gun batteries that have kept the natural surroundings free from development.
Nature
A natural viewpoint with views over Cala Montgó and, on clear days, the Pyrenees in the distance.
Nature
Limestone hill 96 m high crowning Cala Montgó, topped by an old watchtower and a geodetic vertex, surrounded by pine woods and Mediterranean scrub. Its extension towards the sea forms the Punta Montgó, which borders Cala Montgó to the north and marks the southernmost point of the Gulf of Roses. It forms part of the Montgrí, Medes Islands and Baix Ter Nature Park, and the already extensive development of its surroundings has not grown since the 1988 coastal law came into force.
Activity
An autumn food festival dedicated to the village's most iconic product, with tastings, habanera singing and the award of the Golden Anchovy.
Activity
L'Escala anchovy, the most internationally known gastronomic product of the Alt Empordà, has been made for generations in family factories in the village from the seitó, an oily fish cured in salt using a technique introduced by the Greek colonies and later perfected by the Romans. After curing, the fillets are deboned and washed under running water to remove excess salt, leaving only the fillets, which are dressed with a generous drizzle of virgin olive oil. As an oily fish, it is an emblematic ingredient of the Mediterranean diet, rich in Omega 3 and low in cholesterol.
Activity
A food trail around the bars and restaurants of l'Escala, competing with tapas made from the local anchovy.
Activity
The port of l'Escala, also known as port de la Clota, is a public harbour that extends at the foot of the old town, between Riells beach and the Bol Roig point, in the bay of the Gulf of Roses. It replaced in 1961 the old harbour at Barques beach, used since the 16th century; in 1968 the Clota Grossa basins were built, and in 1994 it was extended with the Clota Petita basin. The marina section, managed by the Club Nàutic de l'Escala and its sailing school, has 957 moorings for boats up to 22 metres long. Alongside it the fishing harbour is still in use, with the Confraria de Pescadors — founded in 1932 — and the Centre d'Interpretació del Peix, which organises visits to the daily fish auction.
Historical milestone
Greek colonists from Phocaea who came from Massalia settled around 575 BC on the islet of the Palaia Polis, today Sant Martí d'Empúries, and shortly afterwards on the mainland; thus was born the Neapolis of Emporion, the Greek trading gateway of the northeast of the peninsula.
Historical milestone
General Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio landed in the year 218 BC in the port of Emporion with two legions to cut Hannibal's lines in the Second Punic War; it was Rome's entry into the Iberian Peninsula and the beginning of almost seven centuries of rule.