The Most Poetic Corner of the Costa Brava

In a hidden corner of the Costa Brava — where the Catalan coastline is sculpted by the tramuntana wind and the restless force of the Mediterranean — the water shapes a bucolic setting in which, little more than a century ago, a small enclave with an artistic soul and an abiding devotion to the sea took form. Under the direction of architect Rafel Masó, chalets and buildings in the Noucentisme style rose gradually from the landscape, their facades blending with effortless grace into the surrounding beaches and coastal vegetation. Threading through this idyllic corner of the Baix Empordà runs a stretch of the Camí de Ronda — one of the most storied coastal routes on the Iberian Peninsula — which has spent decades capturing the hearts of thousands of walkers who choose to discover this destination entirely on foot. So singular is the beauty of this enclave that its landscapes have even served as a backdrop for the silver screen: Alejandro Amenábar chose it as the setting for his Oscar-winning film, The Sea Inside.

Midway along the route, past Cala Pedrosa, the trail’s most celebrated viewpoint juts dramatically over the sea — distinguished by its circular form and the silhouette of a classical temple supported on eight columns. As the final stretch approaches, another image burned into the imagination of all who have visited or merely glimpsed a photograph is the staircase carved directly into the jagged rock face, descending to the water’s edge in what has become one of the most iconic scenes on the Costa Brava. Shortly beyond, the broad expanse of Sa Conca beach unfolds — some 400 meters of gentler shoreline that marks the end of this particular trail.

For years, S’Agaró has been the aspirational destination of choice for all who come to Catalonia in search of this particular corner of the Mediterranean. Its picturesque urban core forms part of the municipality of Castell-Platja d’Aro and, in 1995, was declared and protected as a National Cultural Heritage Site.

The Camí de Ronda — where those celebrated stairs meet the sea — has welcomed luminaries including Elizabeth Taylor, Orson Welles, and Robert De Niro, among others — each, in their own time, surrendering to the spell of this incomparable place.