Village
Vinaròs is a coastal town in the north of the province of Castellón, capital of the Baix Maestrat comarca, with 30,529 inhabitants (INE 2025). It was born as an Islamic hamlet and became a Christian settlement after the conquest of Peñíscola by James I in 1233; during the Civil War it was occupied by the rebel army on 15 April 1938. It preserves the archpriestal church of the Virgen de la Asunción, from the 16th century, and the hermitage of the Virgen de la Misericordia. Its harbour, whose first stone was laid on 9 February 1866, and beaches such as El Fortín and Fora Forat complete the promenade through the town. It is famous for its prawns, around which the Prawn Festival is held in August.
Nature
The Mediterranean coastline of the comarca of El Baix Maestrat, between Vinaròs and Peníscola.
Curiosity
The cuisine of El Baix Maestrat has two of its best-known products in the Vinaròs prawn and the Benicarló artichoke. The prawn, caught daily by traditional methods by the Vinaròs fishing fleet, reaches up to 20 centimetres in the largest specimens, with pinkish and brown tones and transverse bands on the abdomen; its flavour, among the most prized on the peninsula, is attributed to the low salinity of these waters. The Benicarló artichoke, flat and compact in shape with a characteristic dimple, has held a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) since 2003 and is also grown in Cálig, Peñíscola and Vinaròs between October and June.
Activity
Vinaròs honours San Sebastián, its patron saint, on 20 January, with an annual pilgrimage to his hermitage; the Virgen de la Misericordia, its patron saint, on the first Sunday of June; and the fair and festival of San Juan and San Pedro from 19 to 29 June.
Monument
Archpriest church of Our Lady of the Assumption of Vinaròs (Castellón), the city's principal artistic heritage. It was built between 1586 and 1597 in Valencian Gothic and Renaissance style, 45 metres long by 23 metres wide; its bell tower was completed in 1660. The Baroque façade, built between 1698 and 1702 in the form of a façade-retable, has two pairs of Solomonic columns with Corinthian capitals and an upper niche with a sculpture of the Assumption by master Serrano. The temple, with a single nave with side chapels and a semi-octagonal presbytery covered by a six-pointed star vault typical of late Valencian Gothic, also includes the Communion chapel (1657-1667). It was declared a historic-artistic monument on 14 October 1978.
Activity
The carnival of Vinaròs is one of the best known on the Mediterranean coast, recognised as a Regional Tourist Interest festivity on 22 February 2007. Despite its long tradition, it was banned under the Franco dictatorship, and since 1983 lost elements have been recovered and new ones incorporated into the celebration. It has received various awards, such as the Alé Vinarossenc prize in 2004 and the award for best festivity in the province at the 2011 Onda Cero Castellón Awards, and the city council and the Castellón provincial council are currently promoting its candidacy to achieve the designation of National Tourist Interest festivity.
Activity
The Fira i Festes de Sant Joan i Sant Pere is the main festivity of Vinaròs (Baix Maestrat, Castellón), in honour of Saint John and Saint Peter. It is held from 19 to 29 June, combining the summer fair with the festive and religious acts typical of the town's patron saint festivities.
Monument
Hermitage located on the outskirts of Vinaròs, about 700 metres from the town centre, built by agreement of the farmers after being freed from a plague of locusts, in gratitude to Sant Gregori. The Vinaròs-born architect Pere Gonel was engaged: the first stone was laid on 9 May 1780, the façade was finished in 1781 and the interior decoration was not completed until 1799. It has a Greek-cross plan, with the crossing covered by a dome on pendentives. The main altarpiece, the work of J.B. Nicolau, depicts Sant Antoni Abat crowning the ensemble, with Sant Abdó and Sant Senén on the sides and Sant Gregori in the central niche. Used as a municipal storehouse for much of the 20th century, it was restored in 2001 and 2002. It is one of the minor temples of Vinaròs's religious heritage, alongside its coastal watchtowers.
Monument
A former hermitage fortified in the 16th century and enlarged between 1715 and 1721, also known as the hermitage of the Patron Saints, which preserves large ceramic murals and recently restored frescoes.
Historical milestone
The founding document of the place, then called Bynalaroç, organized the Christian settlement beside the sea; the town's loyalty to the Crown during the Germanías earned it the title of villa in 1540.
Historical milestone
The Francoist troops reached the sea at Vinaròs in 1938 and split the republican zone in two, leaving Catalonia separated from the center and the south; it was one of the decisive blows of the Civil War on the Levante front.
Food and drink
King prawn caught by the port's trawler fleet on the sand and mud beds off the mouth of the Sénia; it is eaten simply boiled or on the griddle and is the city's culinary emblem.