Day 1 in Spain and Portugal: Tossa de Mar, Enchanting Mediterranean Bl

A castle hanging on the cliff, bricks solidified by history, ancient as if time has never passed. Strolling along the intoxicating blue Mediterranean coast, it feels like sinking into a dream from the Middle Ages. 🏖 On the first day of arriving in Barcelona, I set off to explore the small town of Tossa. Tossa de Mar, located northeast of Barcelona, is one of the filming locations for the Korean drama "The Legend of the Blue Sea," a classic Mediterranean town. 🚍 Transportation: 1⃣ The hassle but cheap version: Depart from Barcelona, take the R1 train to Blanes, and then transfer to the L69 Estiu bus or similar to Tossa. The cost is about EUR 7, but the entire journey takes nearly 3 hours. The advantage is that you can also visit the coastal town of Blanes along the way. 2⃣ The direct version: From Barcelona's Estacio del Nord bus station in the north, there are direct buses to Tossa. The journey takes 80 minutes one way, and the fare is EUR 14.1 one way (EUR 26.9 round trip). Personally, I think there's not much to see in Blanes, so if time is limited, you can choose the direct bus. 💸 Ticket purchase method: The direct bus is operated by Moventis. Search "Buscar - Moventis" on Google to purchase tickets on the official website. ⛹🏻 Roaming route: The small town of Tossa is not big, and the main attractions are the old streets, castle ruins, and beaches. You can refer to my sightseeing route (Figure 2), which takes about 5-6 hours including roaming and lunch: 📝 Travel notes: 1⃣ The Tossa internet-famous dog hole is located at the Municipal Museum of Tossa de Mar. It is recommended to take the early bus and head straight to the dog hole as soon as you get off, otherwise, there will be many people and you will have to queue for photos. 2⃣ Mirador des Codolar is a hidden viewpoint on the hillside on the other side of the castle, from where you can overlook the entire ancient castle and the bays on both sides of the cliffs. 3⃣ Tossa Castle is free of charge. The ancient city walls, ancient village, and lighthouse make up this ancient relic. The dilapidated honey-colored bricks, the ruins of the old church, still stand on the cliff cape, whispering the forgotten historical context. 4⃣ The water at Platja Gran beach is incredibly azure with a glass-like texture. However, the beach can hardly be called sand; it's more like fine pebbles. It seems that most beaches in Europe are like this, with excellent seawater but beach quality far inferior to Southeast Asia and the South Pacific. 🍔 Restaurant: Although dining in Tossa is generally expensive, I have found a treasure trove of cost-effective restaurants: Restaurant La Roca de Tossa . At lunchtime, there is a floor price set menu for EUR 19.95, which includes an appetizer, main course, dessert, bread, and wine (a large jug of chilled white/red wine). The best appetizer is the stewed mussels seasoned with tomato sauce and pumpkin, the mussels are fresh, tender, and sweet, served in a mountainous dish. The main course I chose was stewed rabbit meat, also seasoned with tomato and onion sauce, which was average overall. The dessert is the classic Catalan cream, a caramel pudding with a crispy caramel shell covering a dense, chilled pudding, which tastes great. ❗️ Be sure to go as soon as the restaurant opens at 12:00, or there might be no seats left, as the restaurant does not turn tables. #tossa #BarcelonaTravel #SpainTravel