Dali & Figueres in Girona

Salvador Dali was born in Figueres, half an hour north of Girona, and the region is home to the largest collection of his work anywhere in the world.

The Dali Theatre-Museum in Figueres is the artist's own creation, a surreal building topped with giant eggs that he designed to be experienced as a single work of art, and he is buried beneath its stage. From Girona it is an easy day trip by train or guided tour, and many excursions combine the museum with Dali's seaside house in Port Lligat near Cadaques or the Gala Dali Castle in Pubol. Guided day trips handle the transport and timed entry, which matters because the Theatre-Museum sells out in high season. Cadaques itself, with its whitewashed houses and rocky bay, is one of the prettiest villages on the Costa Brava and was a magnet for artists long before Dali. A full Dali triangle day takes in Figueres, Port Lligat and the surrounding landscape that shaped his paintings.