Travel Europe – Bewitched by Besalu

Travel Europe – Bewitched by Besalu

12/05/2016 Off By Emma Gray

I’d seen pictures of Besalú, Spain, before I arrived, but I wasn’t prepared for just how stunning it would actually be. As we drove into the town, our first glimpse was of the medieval Viejo Bridge, and I was blown away by how much it looked exactly like the pictures. You know sometimes when you go to a new place and you’re disappointed because what you really see isn’t as good as what the pictures portray? Well,  all you Talk Holiday readers if anything Besalú was already better!

Besalu
Besalu

I was desperate to explore and, on my first walk around the village of just over a thousand people, I felt like I was walking in a fairy-tale setting. The cobbled streets, arches, and medieval architecture are so well-preserved that it is like delving head first into the past. Just walking through the streets felt like the perfect way to uncover the secrets and mysteries of one of the best preserved Romanesque towns in Catalonia. This is a place that anyone planning to travel Europe must put in their schedule to visit. It seemed like at the end of every street I’d stumble upon something interesting – whether that be a breath-taking view across the village, a charming archway to walk under or a wide-open Plaça dotted with cafés and tapas bars.

Besalu

 

After a pretty late night (for “late night” please read “early morning”), I woke up and was both surprised and pleased to find no-one else around. Walking outside, the air was fresh and cool and all I could hear was the mesmerising sound of silence. The lush green hills which surround the village were enshrouded in cloud, creating a wholly ethereal picture before my eyes. It was at that moment where I truly fell for Besalú.

Besalú, one day I'll be back. I left a little piece of myself there.
Besalú, one day I’ll be back. I left a little piece of myself there.