Best Location to rent Apartment to Hike near Barcelona
My favourite area to hike and rent an apartment or hotel near Barcelona, is Alta Garrotxa and the Cadi-Moixero Natural Park in the Eastern Pre-Pyrenees, where you have an abundance of hiking and activities to do all year round. It’s a go to area when we want to escape the busy city life of Barcelona, because they’re both relatively easy to get to from Barcelona.
Alta Garrotxa is centrally located between the beaches of the Costa Brava and the Pyrenees Mountains. In addition it’s located close to some of Catalonias most beautiful medieval towns, including Girona, famous for cyclists and the small town of Besalu. Garrotxa is split into two areas; the Volcanic Region of Baixa Garrotxa and Alta Garrotxa, that borders into France from the north. My favourite is most definitely Alta Garrotxa, because of it’s remoteness and rugged landscape, where mountains peak are blanketed with Forest. Covering an area of 32,865 hectares it has been declared an Area of Natural Interest, because how difficult it is to reach and it’s wealth of wildlife. The climate has a heavy rainfall all year with the wettest times throughout the summer and driest in the winter. Although cold in the winter, it’s a great time to visit, where you’ll experience a dry climate, perfect for a days hiking.
The Cadi-Moixero Natural Park is located directly north of Barcelona and is famous all year round for skiing in the winter and infamous hiking and cycling in the summer.
The Natural Park of Moixero covers an area of 41,060 hectares with the highest peak La Tosa at 2536m high.
Have a look at my favourite places to stay in both Alta Garrotxa and near the Cadi-Moixero Natural park.
Accommodation
Can Serola Farmhouse
Can Serola Farmhouse is one of our favourites, sitting in Alta Garrotxa has only a small number of rooms, meaning it’ll always feel quiet, where you’ll be able to relax next to the pool after a mornings activities.
They have only eight rooms and we slept in the Ethnic Room, where the entrance to the room is from the garden and although has no air conditioning, the stone walls and sealing fan kept it cool.
Throughout the farmhouse you’ll discover stunning shaded areas in the garden to relax and read a book or little reading room in the house to escape the summer heat.
We had a lovely continental breakfast in the garden and it’s also possible to eat there for dinner if you wanted; however, we decided to treat ourselves and visited an amazing Michelin star restaurant in the small town of Besalu called Pont Vell http://www.restaurantpontvell.com/ , which I’d definitely recommend.
El Bosquet Mountain Villa
El Bosquet is a charming villa at the base of Alta Garrotxas highest peak Puig de Bassegoda. Sleeps ten people, we visited with a group last summer and was the perfect location, sitting in the middle of the Vall de Riu, where you’re close to some of Alta Garroxtas highest peaks and the beautiful pools and waterfall of Sant Aniol d'Aguja.
Sleeping is reasonably basic with bunkbeds and single beds, but it’s the perfect balance between sleeping in a hotel or on a roll mat in a refuge, which is also possible to do in the mountains close by.
The drive is approximately 1 hr 30 min from Barcelona and we spent a weekend at El Bosquet and hiked the infamous Puig De Bassegoda 1373m elevation on one day and the other Puig de Sant Marc 1326m elevation. The views were incredible and what made even better was after the hike, being able to nip down in the car in 5 min and swim in the beautiful turquoise pools near Sadernes. And of course we finished the day on the porch outside, having a barbecue and drinking some delicious local wine under the stars.
MAS SANT MARC COUNTRY HOUSE HOTEL
Sant Marc Country House is located approximately 1hr 45 mi north of Barcelona and sits in the centre of some of the best hiking in Spain. We stayed here last winter and we were blown away how close and easy it was to get to from Barcelona, and the interior reminded me of being in a Soho House members club.
For me the house is located perfectly for activities all year round and when we visited in November, an early snowfall enabled us to hire some snow shoes from the local town of Puigcerda and we ventured to the local ski resort of Molina and hiked in the mountains for 8km. In addition the House is situated in the middle of the countryside and in the winter it’s also possible to hire bikes or they have stables on the grounds, for horseback rides also.
Hiking near Sant Marc is incredible and a great base to locate yourself, where you have the epic Pedraforca 2506m elevation to the south and the beautiful Vall de Nuria sitting to the east.
In summer The Cadi-Moixero Natural Park I would definitely recommend for some hiking and even if you’re not up for hiking to the top of Pedraforca, there’s some easier routes lower down and you can get some stunning photos with Pedraforca in the background.
In the winter the hills surrounding the hotel will most definitely be covered in snow and wouldn’t recommend you hike the peak of Pedraforca then; however, there’s lot’s to do surrounding the hotel to keep you entertained.
We offer bespoke Hiking Tours to Alta Garrotxa and the Pre-Pyrenees, from Barcelona and can organise the perfect Hiking Holiday in Europe for groups, companies and solo traveler’s. Please also check out our Long Weekend Hiking Holiday Pyrenees , we offer in Alta Garrotxa.