Sightseeing in Figueres - what to see. Complete travel guide

Figueres is a small Spanish city not far from the border with Spain that has gained worldwide recognition as the birthplace of famous surrealist artist Salvador Dali. Nowadays, this is also the main supplier of food and wine in Catalonia. The fact that the genius artist was born here has greatly helped Figueres to become a popular tourist destination. Nowadays, tourists from different parts of the world arrive in this city in order to see the popular theater designed by Salvador Dali himself and walk on the same streets with the great artist.

First settlers in this area, the Indigetes, lived here yet in 600 BC. At that time, this was a swampy region covered with dense reed. Local people were building their houses on a hill in order to protect the buildings from water. Archaeologists found many fragments of ceramic items that belong to that period. When the Romans came to this land, they founded a small village and named it after reed or sedge, to be precise. As the new settlement was built along the Via Domitia and was a stop for merchants, it quickly became famous. During the antique period, the city had another name – Juncaria. The Visigoths gave Figueres its current name.

Naturally, the Dalí Theatre and Museum is the first sight that tourists usually visit in Figueres. The opening of this venue took place in the 70s of the 20th century. Initially, this was an old theater. Nowadays, this is the most popular tourist destination in this Spanish city. The building had an important meaning for the genius artist. This is exactly where the future legendary personality displayed his first work when he was yet a fourteen-year-old teenager. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

Nowadays, this museum and theater is a venue where visitors can see not just one work of young Dali but more than one thousand five hundred masterpieces of the genius surrealist. He made these paintings during all his life, in a different mood and different occasions. It should also be mentioned that Salvador Dali liked the works of other talented painters at the start of his career. He used their works to learn how to draw and make sculptures. In this museum, visitors can see how Dali progressed and works of what painters inspired him.

In Figueras, tourists can also see the most important historic landmark in Catalonia that was built by the order of King Ferdinand IV. This is the Sant Ferran Castle. This fortification was built for protective purposes in December 1753. The total area of the fortress was thirty-two hectares in the past. In was more than four thousand meters in perimeter and had an underground reservoir with water, the capacity of which was 40 million liters.

This castle was built to have enough space for a whole garrison with six thousand people. There was no more powerful bastion in Europe at that time. There was even a special area for military horses, and four hundred fifty horses lived there. Nowadays, tourists can make an excursion to the Sant Ferran Castle. Visitors of all ages are welcome. There are several excursions for guests of different ages, so everyone can easily select the most suitable one.

Young guests will find it interesting to visit the Museum of Toys. This interesting and unusual venue opened in the 80s of the 20th century in the former hotel building. Quite often, winter 1998 is specified as the museum’s opening date. This is the “second birth” of the museum as it was closed for renovation purposes and reopened in 1998. Nowadays, the establishment exhibits four thousand toys, each of which is unique and has no copies.

The Museum of Toys exhibits animals and horses made from the carton, various doll tableware items, furniture, utensils, balls, and many other toys. Boys will find it interesting to see the exhibition of automobiles, airplanes, railroads, locomotives, and trains. Besides dolls, there are various items for hocus-pocuses, toy soldiers, different robots, teddy bears, children’s three-wheel bicycles and scooters. There is one thing that makes this museum unique – it exhibits toys that many prominent figures in Spain liked when they were children.

The easiest way to reach Figueres is by train from Barcelona. The journey time is roughly one hour. A bus ride in the same direction will be roughly equal in time. If you arrive at Gerona Airport, you can get to Figueres by a regular bus that goes to this city. When traveling in a car, the road to the Spanish “cradle” of Salvador Dali will take one and a half hours.