It is now spring. It is time to live outside again, so to inspire you, here is a day trip to Blanes from Barcelona for the ones looking to explore Catalonia.
A day trip to Blanes from Barcelona
You must be wondering: “why Blanes?”
The answer is simple. The weather was good. That Sunday was warm, and the sky was blue. We wanted a day out accessible by public transportation with something interesting to see, and here was Blanes with its superb botanical garden, Marimutra.
How to get to Blanes from Barcelona
The best way to get to Blanes from Barcelona is to get the train (find the line map here). The trip is around 1 hour and 20 minutes and cost us 10 euros as we took the frequent travellers’ pass and paid the 10 euros deposit requested (official information in Spanish here).
What to do on a day trip to Blanes?
The Marimutra Botanical Garden
Once at the train station, we took a taxi for 11 euros to the Botanical garden. Otherwise, it was a 43 minutes walk to reach the garden.
Our taxi dropped us at the garden’s door. We paid 8 euros for the entrance fee. At the beginning of the path, you can find a map on the wall that also offers QR coded routes to visit the garden. We decided to roam freely (which is our main operating mode :)).
The Marimurtra Botanical Garden is one of the most beautiful gardens on the Mediterranean. It was built at the top of steep cliffs running along the sea, and boasts spectacular panoramic views over the coastline.
Marimurtra is the work of a passionate German botanist, Carl Faust, and features over 4,000 plant species from around the world, including many rare and endangered species such as cycads.
Garden’s highlights
The garden is truly fantastic. Everybody will have favourite spots in this fabulous nature presented in thematic parts.
I liked the cactus section, the wonderful cypress stairs leading to the Mediterranean viewpoint, the ponds with the koi fish, the pergola and the enchanting garden next to the pergola with its monsteras and the green bathtub (check the pictures).
I want to mention the spectacular scenery over the cliffs and the cove with a boat anchored there. The view of it floating on the crystalline green water was incredible. I found it hard to detach my gaze from the sight.
We also enjoyed a drink on the open air terrace with the sun shining over our heads and the sea on the horizon. I cannot stress how much you should not miss this garden when you go to Blanes.
Celebrations at a gastronomic bar
After the visit, we strolled down to the beach front to find a restaurant. We decided to go to Sa Lola, a gastronomic bar, after checking photos of the food they proposed. We were celebrating an anniversary, so treating ourselves to a nice place was of the essence. We called Sa Lola one hour before lunch. Luckily they had a table for free.
Sa Lola Blanes offers a selection of creative tapas. The owners have worked in Tickets, a well renowned tapas restaurant in Barcelona (now closed) created by the famous Catalan chef Ferran Adria.
We like to order the tasting menu in gastronomic restaurants. We ordered two here.
The tasting menu
The tasting menu followed several “steps”. Firstly, we could choose 3 starters each to not share as they were all bite sized. We shared them anyway. I like my spherical olive, a molecular recipe.
The cold starter was an interesting russian salad in terms of flavours and texture. The hot starter was prawns in a cornflake batter with chili sauce. So simple yet so delicious. The prawns were among the best dishes of that day.
Then the main. I had a grilled beef. It was a chunky piece of meat, a little overburnt and thus a bit bitter, which was not great. Not sure about what happened in the kitchen, however once the burnt part removed, it was tender and tasty. Raw inside but I guess this is why we had the grill it was presented on. The octopus was perfectly cooked. It was one of the best octopuses I have ever had in my life. Both mains came with delicious potatoes, patatas bravas style.
For dessert, we chose a deconstructed ferrero rocher, made with a thin waffle filled with hazelnut ice cream. It was so delicate and nice we thought about ordering a second one. But we refrained.
The tasting menu came with a drink for each person and cost 45 euros. We paid a supplement of 10 euros for the beef dish. It was not cheap but it was a pleasant food experience in Blanes. If you want to try something different and innovative, Sa Lola is an option. The staff was alright. They were not particularly friendly nor unfriendly.
After lunch, we headed home, content with our day. We walked back to the train station. We chose to go home but it is possible to have a walk along the beach after your food. Blanes has a long stretch of sandy beach.
Marimutra Botanical Garden link.
Sa Lola link.
Other trip ideas on the Costa Brava: