Logbook · 6 places

What to see and do in Salou

What to see and do in Salou (Tarragonès, Tarragona): 6 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 3 Monuments · 2 Historical milestones

How far each place is from the centre of Salou

Old Tower of Salou 300 m
New Tower of Salou 1.7 km

Towns near Salou

What to see in Vila-seca 3.7 km · 5 places
What to see in la Canonja 6.1 km · 4 places
What to see in Cambrils 6.5 km · 12 places
What to see in Reus 8.6 km · 16 places
What to see in Vinyols i els Arcs 8.6 km · 2 places
What to see in Riudoms 9.4 km · 3 places
What to see in Constantí 11 km · 4 places
What to see in Tarragona 11 km · 22 places

Spain › Catalonia › Tarragona › Tarragonès › Salou

What to see and do in Salou

Salou
Village
Salou is a tourist town in the province of Tarragona, on the Costa Daurada, with 31,491 inhabitants that can multiply fivefold in summer. Founded, according to the most accepted hypothesis, by Greeks from Phocis in the 6th century BC, it was for centuries one of the most important ports of the Crown of Aragon: from here the fleet with which James I undertook the reconquest of Mallorca set sail in 1229. Faced with pirate attacks, Archbishop Pere de Cardona ordered the Torre Vella built in 1530 to defend the town. Throughout the 20th century it became a major tourist centre, a status it still holds today alongside the nearby PortAventura World theme park. It preserves the Torre Vella and the Torre del Telègraf.
Old Tower of Salou
Monument
A coastal defence tower in Salou, also called the Torre de Carles V, built in 1530 by order of Pere de Cardona, archbishop of Tarragona, to repel the attacks of Sardinian and Saracen pirates and corsairs who had been ravaging this coast since the 14th century. Despite its construction, the attacks were repeated several times throughout the 16th century. The exterior essentially preserves its original appearance, with Pere de Cardona's heraldic coat of arms above the doorway, while the interior has been altered. The adjoining building dates for the most part from the 18th century, and in the 20th century a bridge was built to join the two structures. Acquired by the town council in 1974, it today hosts civil weddings, exhibitions and other cultural events.
Tower of el Telègraf de Salou
Monument
The Torre del Telègraf de la Tossa is an optical telegraph tower situated in Salou (Tarragonès), on avinguda del Mirador, at 67 metres above sea level. It formed part of the civil optical telegraph line that linked Madrid with Barcelona, between the torre de l'Esquirol of Cambrils and the torre de Pilats of Tarragona. It has a quadrangular plan, with a battered base where a few loopholes open, built of masonry with an outer rendering. It preserves its four walls, without having received maintenance in recent years, and today stands within a golf course, which limits public access to it. It was declared bien cultural de interés nacional (Catalonia's highest level of heritage protection) by decree of 22 April 1949 (BIC code RI-51-0006798).
New Tower of Salou
Monument
The Torre Nova de Salou (Tarragonès) is a defensive tower with a hexagonal plan, raised beside the sea, from the 17th century, with battered walls at the lower part. The doorway, in the upper zone, is reached by a stairway and a small bridge; below were the soldiers' barracks and the cistern, and above, the officer's chamber, the gunpowder store and the parade ground. It is unusual in the Tarragonès for its plan, more typical of a watchpoint than of a classic fortification. It was built after the destruction of the fortress of Salou in 1649, when the coast remained unsafe and fishermen were afraid to go out to work; the residents of Vila-seca and Salou asked the queen for permission to raise a watchtower, granted in 1666.
Embarkation of Jaume I's fleet for Mallorca
Historical milestone
In September 1229 the fleet assembled by Jaime I set sail from this beach to conquer Mallorca. The roadstead, already used as an anchorage in Roman times, was then the main embarkation point of the archbishopric of Tarragona.
Separation of Salou from Vila-seca
Historical milestone
After decades of demands and a long lawsuit, a judgment of the Supreme Court confirmed in 1989 the separation of the tourist settlement from the municipality of Vila-seca, with which it had formed a single town council. It was the last great change of the comarca map.