The tour starts from the local activity operator office located directly opposite the ticket office/outdoor cafe of the PALAU DE LA MUSICA, off Via Laietana. You will be picked up in an air-conditioned minivan and accompanied by an English-speaking guide taken to Figueres, the birthplace of legendary surrealist painter Salvador Dali and home to the world famous Dali Museum-Theatre.
See the place where he was born on Monturiol Street, just off the popular La Rambla. Visit the Dali Museum, designed by Dali himself and home to one of the largest collections of his work. Even the building itself is a work of art and like no other you would have seen before.
Inaugurated in 1974, the Dalí Theatre-Museum was built upon the remains of the former Figueres theatre. It contains the broadest range of works spanning the artistic career of Salvador Dalí (1904-1989), from his earliest artistic experiences and his surrealist creations down to the works of the last years of his life.
The different collections include all kinds of works of art: painting, drawing, sculpture, engraving, installation, hologram, stereoscopy, photography, etc., up to a quantity of some 4,000 pieces. Of these, some 1,500 are on show in the Dalí Theatre-Museum Dalí of Figueres.
Further on, proceed to the village of Pubol, where you can enjoy a traditional Catalan lunch at a local restaurant (cost not included). After lunch, continue to the Pubol Castle that stands in a small hamlet on the great agricultural plain of the Ter river, the famous Baix Emporda region. Dali gifted the castle to his Russian wife Gala in the spring of 1970, on the condition that he himself would not enter it unless personally invited by Gala.
Pubol Castle was an expression of his passionate love for her. He carefully restored the old Gothic Renaissance Palace and furnished it with items bought from various antique dealers around the region. Inside he painted frescoes and later painted 2 water colours entitled ‘view of Pubol’.
But as fate would have it, he also built the crypt where Gala is now buried deep in the bowels of the castle. At the end of his life, Dali received the title of Marquis Dali of Pubol, although Dali only lived in the Castle for 2 years after Gala passed away.
In mid-afternoon, proceed to Palamos on the coast in one of the hidden corners on the Costa Brava. Dali visited this region several times in the 1930s, especially a place called Mas Juny, owned by his friend Josep Sert, a famous Catalan painter of the time. This place was famous for its artistic gatherings and parties, which were attended by Dali. Even today, the Costa Brava, with its transparent waters and pine forests, is not so different from the 1930s. This rocky coastline has been saved from high buildings and large scale tourism projects and still preserves that ‘wild aspect’ that gave the name to Costa Brava.
There is no better homage to Dali and no better way to finish the day than to enjoy the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean.
After an insight into the life of Salvador Dali, you will be dropped back to the starting point of the tour. The tour ends at Plaza Catalunya in Barcelona.