Logbook · 5 places

What to see and do in Arbúcies

What to see and do in Arbúcies (Selva, Girona): 5 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 1 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

How far each place is from the centre of Arbúcies

Castle of Montsoriu 4.3 km
Tower of Vilarmau 7.7 km

Towns near Arbúcies

What to see in Sant Feliu de Buixalleu 6.6 km · 4 places
What to see in Sant Hilari Sacalm 7 km · 10 places
What to see in Breda 8.3 km · 6 places
What to see in Gualba 9.4 km · 1 place
What to see in Espinelves 10 km · 1 place
What to see in Riells i Viabrea 11 km · 2 places
What to see in Campins 11 km · 1 place
What to see in Viladrau 11 km · 10 places

Spain › Catalonia › Girona › Selva › Arbúcies

What to see and do in Arbúcies

Arbúcies
Village
Arbúcies is a town in the Selva comarca, in the province of Girona, at the foot of the Montseny, with 6,665 inhabitants (INE 2025). With a livestock-farming tradition, it is also, despite its modest size, home to several of Catalonia's leading bus bodywork companies, heirs to an industry that once converted such popular models as the SEAT 127 or the SEAT Panda into vans and convertibles. Its greatest heritage attraction is access to Montsoriu Castle, from the 13th and 14th centuries, one of the best-preserved examples of military Gothic architecture in Catalonia, alongside Romanesque churches such as Sant Pere Desplà, with pre-Romanesque paintings unique in the country. It celebrates the Festa de les Enramades, declared of national interest in 1999, on the Sunday before Corpus Christi.
Castle of Montsoriu
Monument
Montsoriu Castle stands on a 650-metre hill, in the Montseny natural park, between Arbúcies, Breda and Sant Feliu de Buixalleu. Documented since the year 1002, it was the residence of the viscounts of Cabrera from the 1033 marriage of Ermessenda de Montsoriu to Guerau de Cabrera, and enjoyed its greatest splendour when the family accumulated domains for their loyalty to the kings. From the 15th century it fell into decline as the Cabreras moved their residence to Blanes, and in the 16th century it was sold to Francesc de Montcada; it later belonged to the dukes of Medinaceli. Occupied by French troops during the Peninsular War and by the military during the First Carlist War, it now belongs to the Selva County Council. It preserves three walled enclosures and the keep, from the 10th century.
Tower of Vilarmau
Monument
Watchtower of quadrangular plan, badly deteriorated and surrounded by the remains of a moat, raised on the summit of the turó de Vilarmau, at about 1,075 metres, closer to Viladrau than to the centre of Arbúcies. Built of stone and lime mortar, with arrow slits all around its perimeter, it must originally have had two or three floors. The place is documented since 1082 as 'Villare Malum' and the tower is already mentioned in 1582; nearby stood the mas Castell of the parish of Lliors, documented in 1217. Its original function is not known for certain, although the surviving tower is dated to 1845, when it served as a watch post during the Carlist Wars, and in 1862 it formed part of an optical telegraph line.
The Montseny, biosphere reserve
Historical milestone
The Montseny massif, the highest point of the Catalan pre-coastal range, extends across the counties of Osona, Vallès Oriental and La Selva, and includes part of the municipality of Arbúcies among the eighteen municipalities it covers. In 1978 UNESCO included it in its world network of biosphere reserves, and the natural park that protects it today, declared in 1987 and managed by the Barcelona and Girona provincial councils, is the oldest in Catalonia. Its small area brings together plant communities typical of the three major European biomes: Mediterranean holm oaks and cork oaks, Eurosiberian beeches and firs, and boreoalpine-type meadows; the Montseny fir forest is, in fact, the southernmost in the whole continent.
The mushrooms of the Montseny
Food and drink
The beech, oak and chestnut woods of the massif yield rovellons, ceps, camagrocs and llenegues that fill the baskets in autumn; they are eaten over embers, sautéed or accompanying game and mountain stews.