Logbook · 8 places

What to see and do in Caldes de Malavella

What to see and do in Caldes de Malavella (Selva, Girona): 8 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 4 Monuments · 1 Nature · 1 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

How far each place is from the centre of Caldes de Malavella

Castle of Malavella 2.6 km

Towns near Caldes de Malavella

What to see in Sant Andreu Salou 4.3 km · 1 place
What to see in Vidreres 6.1 km · 1 place
What to see in Riudellots de la Selva 6.3 km · 3 places
What to see in Sils 6.3 km · 2 places
What to see in Campllong 6.6 km · 3 places
What to see in Llagostera 7.1 km · 7 places
What to see in Riudarenes 7.8 km · 3 places
What to see in Cassà de la Selva 7.8 km · 5 places

Spain › Catalonia › Girona › Selva › Caldes de Malavella

What to see and do in Caldes de Malavella

Caldes de Malavella
Village
Caldes de Malavella is a municipality of the Selva comarca, in the province of Girona, with 8,673 inhabitants (INE 2025), located 20 kilometres from the capital, in a valley between the basins of the rivers Ter and Tordera. Its origins go back to the Upper Palaeolithic, when it was already a passing place for hunters beside its waters, but it was with Romanisation, in the 1st century AD, that it became a spa town of some renown, known as Aquis Voconis, arising from an interest in health and leisure rather than military purposes. Between the 4th and 5th centuries a Palaeo-Christian necropolis appeared next to the Roman settlement. A spa town since Roman times, it preserves several historic bathhouses that continue to give fame to its mineral-medicinal waters.
Roman Baths of Caldes de Malavella
Monument
The Banys Romans are a historic monument of Caldes de Malavella (la Selva), declared a Bien Cultural de Interés Nacional (Catalonia's highest level of heritage protection), and constitute the best-preserved remains of the Roman town of Aquae Calidae, mentioned on the Apollo vases. They date from the 1st century and made use of the thermal waters of the Font dels Bullidors through a simple circulation system: as the water emerged already hot, it was led directly to the large pool, where it was left to cool, while for the small pools it was cooled beforehand in upper chambers. Today an extensive pool is preserved together with remains of adjoining buildings, where the water's operating mechanisms can still be seen almost intact.
Castle of Malavella
Monument
The castle of Caldes de Malavella rises to the northeast of the town centre of Caldes de Malavella (la Selva), atop the hill of Sant Grau, and has been declared a Bien Cultural de Interés Nacional (Catalonia's highest level of heritage protection) since 1988 (BCIN 577-MH-ZA). A stretch of wall and three circular towers are preserved, although none of the internal chambers remains. The oldest tower, next to the Roman baths, is dated between the late 12th and mid-13th centuries, although its foundations could be Roman; the other two towers show different construction phases, with granite and basalt ashlars from Caldes. The stretch of wall, about 20 metres long, would date from the 14th century onward. The first mention of the castle, as “Castro Vetulo”, is from 1054, the year of a donation by Countess Ermessenda within its territory.
Sparkling Spring of Caldes de Malavella
Nature
A spring of carbonated medicinal mineral water in Caldes de Malavella, known and exploited since ancient times.
Castle of Caldes
Monument
The castell de Caldes, also called the castle of Sant Grau, stands on the puig de Sant Grau, to the northeast of the urban centre of Caldes de Malavella, above some Roman baths; as early as 1054 a 'Castro Vetulo' is mentioned, cited in 1057 as 'Castro quod dicunt Malavela' in a donation by Countess Ermessenda, and the castle is first mentioned in 1183. It belonged first to the viscounty of Cabrera and, from 1240, to the royal castle of Llagostera; demolished at the end of the 19th century, it preserves a stretch of wall about 20 metres long and three circular towers. The oldest, from the late 12th century or mid-13th century, has a stepped base and walls of Caldes granite ashlar; the other two, later in date, have round-arched windows and remains of medieval masonry. Bien Cultural de Interés Nacional (the highest level of heritage protection in Catalonia).
Medieval Wall of Caldes de Malavella
Monument
A stretch of the medieval wall of Caldes de Malavella is preserved on the site of els Horts de Cal Ferrer de la Plaça, at the corner between the Llagostera road and the carrer de Vall-llobera: about 10 metres long and 5 metres high, with five arrow slits almost at ground level, which according to witnesses remained standing well into the 19th century. A 2006 excavation, carried out for the works of the new town hall, documented the course of the northern stretch from the Girona gate to where it crossed the carrer de Vall-llobera and rested against the façades of the Camí Ral de Santa Coloma; near the hermitage of Sant Grau it turned south, enclosing the Roman thermal complex of Sant Grau. Its origin lies in the late Middle Ages, although an earlier one is not ruled out given the Roman antiquity of the settlement.
The birth of the Caldes spas
Historical milestone
The first modern spa establishment was built over the thermal waters that had already made this place the Roman Aquae Calidae; in 1829 drainage works had brought to light the Font de la Mina.
The mineral waters of Caldes de Malavella
Food and drink
The springs in the subsoil give bicarbonate and naturally carbonated thermal waters that emerge at more than sixty degrees; their bottling has been one of the village's economic activities since the beginning of the twentieth century.