Guide to Costa Brava

Beaches

Cliched it may be, but when it comes to beaches you're spoilt for choice here. Tossa de Mar's golden sands are the show stealer. Boasting two Blue Flag strips backed by a string of beach bars and cafes, it's a popular pick with families. Likewise, Lloret de Mar has plenty of buzz with its tree-lined promenade and watersports. And it's got a huge sweep of creamy-coloured sands - so it never feels crammed. Then there's Calella de la Costa to consider. Blending Gran, Garbi and Les Roques beaches, you've got three kilometres of spotless shores to play with here. One of the Costa's top sandy spots it's got shallow seas, watersports and even a beach library.

Eating out

• Up along the coast, you'll find lots of places catering for British palates. All the big resorts - Platja d'Aro, Lloret de Mar and Tossa del Mar - serve up favourites like Sunday roasts and Brit-style breakfasts. But home-from-home cooking aside, this part of Spain cooks up some of the country's finest fare. After all, it's where you'll find one of the world's best restaurants, El Bulli. The mere mention of the name's enough to have Delia, Gordon and co hanging up their aprons and heading for the hills. Of course, Barcelona is one of Europe's gastro capitals with an army of restaurants and tapas bars. A tapas cert is La Boqueria food market. TV chef Rick Stein filmed part of his Mediterranean Escapes series here and claimed it was the best place to eat Catalan food. Tucked among the jumble of stalls are lots of little tapas stands. Come lunchtime, they're always rammed with locals grazing on big juicy olives, Jamon Serrano and garlic prawns. But it's not all about tapas. For seafood, look no further than Barceloneta, the city's old fishing district. Its clutch of beachfront restaurants runs the gamut of no-frills traditional to seriously swanky. Meanwhile, the Born and La Ribera neighbourhoods are where most of the cutting-edge fusion places are springing up. The city's more prestigious establishments are clustered around the Example and the Zona Alta. We're talking top-end restaurants that wear their Michelin stars with pride. But if you want to get your teeth around some traditional Catalan cooking, check out the Barri Gotic, the Raval and Gracia. Here you can order all-time favourites like 'arros negre' – a seafood rice dish cooked in squid ink – 'esqueixada' – a salt cod salad with onion and peppers – and 'botifarra amb mongetes' – grilled pork sausage with haricot beans. For dessert, sink a spoon into 'crema catalana' – a rich egg custard topped with caramelised sugar. On the drinks front, there's plenty to choose from. After all, this is cava country with big names like Codorniu and Freixenet topping the wine lists. Not to mention reds and whites from the nearby Torres family estate.
  
  
• El Bulli – Girona With a cabinet's worth of awards, including the World's Best Restaurant in 2006, this world famous gourmet restaurant will rocket you into food heaven.
  
  
• Es Moli – Tossa de Mar Set high up in the old town, this is the place for Catalan specialities on the terrace.
  
  
• Alkimia, BarcelonaThis Michelin-starred restaurant offers a menu that leans on the fine side of dining. You can opt for the usual starter and main, but the gourmet menu lets you sample a bit of everything without upsetting your bank manager. And wine buffs will be in heaven once they've seen what's waiting in the cellar.
  
  
• El Trull – Lloret de Mar Join the locals at this hillside hotspot that serves up fresh-from-the-net seafood.
  
  
• Clancys Bar - Estartit If you're missing your Sunday roasts and morning fry-ups, this Brit favourite will go down a treat.

Nightlife

• Translated, Costa Brava means ' Wild Coast'. Okay, technically it's referring to the region's beauty, there are plenty of night spots which live up to this name. If you want to party all night long, Lloret de Mar is the clear winner. Without doubt, this is the most buzzing resort after sunset. Bursting with bars and neon-lit nightclubs, it's got more than enough to see you through to sunrise. Estartit has a good pick of drinking and dancing venues, too. And although it's by no means got 'wild' written all over it, Tossa de Mar has its fair share of late-night cocktail bars and clubs. You can also experience flamenco if you head for the streets of Calle Sant Josep, Calle Estolt and Calle Sant Pepe. If you really want to raise the roof, though, you have to hoot foot it to Barcelona. Evenings here don't really get going 'til late. Don't be surprised to see bars heaving at two or three in the morning. When last orders are finally called, an almost Biblical exodus takes place as twenty and thirty-somethings decamp to the discos. Clubbers emerge blinking into the sunlight at six-ish and then hotfoot it to the nearest coffee shop for a caffeine fix. Tourists tend to make a beeline for Las Ramblas and the Gothic quarter. Packed with cocktail bars and artsy Bohemian boozers, they're good places to get acquainted with the city's after-dark scene. Club-wise, the Example district's got enough funky hotspots to give London a run for its money. The sounds of house and electro-pop crackle from the speakers while hip hop and techno fills dancefloors everywhere. And the most glitzy and all-out-fabulous shindigs can be found in this part of town, where the rainbow flag's waved with pride. Port Olympic's another great hangout, especially if you're here in the summertime. Outdoor discos and beachfront bars serve sea views with your chart line-ups. But Barcelona's not just about glitterballs and turntables - a trio of classical venues dominates the city's cultural landscape. Dig out your pashmina or dicky-bow for a night at the Grand Theatre Liceu. All gilt boxes and plush red velvet seats, it's straight out of Moulin Rouge. Next is the Art Nouveau showstopper that is the Palau de la Musica Catalana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And rounding things off is the Auditori de Barcelona, a modern hall used for large-scale chamber concerts. It's like we said – you need lots of stamina to keep up with Barcelona.
  
  
• Hula Hula Polynesia Bar, Lloret de Mar Let your hair down in this tropical bar that shakes up exotic cocktails with names like Mai Tai and Coco Pae Pae.
  
  
• Prive de Magic, Lloret de Mar Guest DJs and pumping tunes make sure this is the town's trendiest nightclub.
  
  
• Dino's Cova, Tossa de Mar Try this little less ordinary cellar bar where dancing and drinking 'til late is the norm.
  
  
• Razzmatazz, Barcelona You may need a map to find your way around, but this huge club is definitely worth the effort. Home to three floors and five arenas, the diverse music policy means you get a real mixed bag of punters. With no dress code and a very late closing, it's definitely one to watch.
  
  
• Robadors, Barcelona Sometimes it's good to dig under the usual commercial haunts and see a bit of local life. This place is one of those knock-to-get-in bars, tucked down a quiet Raval side street. Inside, you'll find a jazz den packed with bohemians, hippies, and musicians enjoying a drink and a smoke.

Shopping

There's only one place to head if you really want to shop til you drop – Barcelona. This city's got its finger firmly on the pulse. No surprise then it's crammed with trendsetters and fashionistas who know their Manolo Blahniks from their Jimmy Choos. Label-lovers flock to the L'Eixample district where Chanel, Prada, Gucci et al rule the roost – especially along the Avenida Diagonal. For more in the way of smart boutiques, check out the Rambla de Catalunya and the Passeig de Gracia. Taking it down a notch, you've got El Corte Ingles, Spain's answer to John Lewis. The branch on the Placa Catalunya is enormous. Spread over nine floors, the chain's motto 'hay de todo' – 'there's everything' – certainly rings true. There's even a supermarket in the basement. For more in the way of shopping under one roof, check out the Maremagnum shopping mall down by the port. But for a more atmospheric shopping scene, you can't beat the Gothic quarter AKA the Barri Gotic. A mishmash of cobbled streets, it's packed with little artists' studios, one-of-a-kind curiosity shops and Tardis-like antique stores. It's also the place to come for some serious foraging. Every Thursday a bric-a-brac market rolls into the Placa Nova selling everything from faded postcards to period jewellery. And talking of markets, check out the daddy of them all - La Boqueria. Set along Las Ramblas, it's actually Europe's biggest food market. Head inside - making sure to sidestep the rip-off tourist stalls at the front - and you'll chance upon a parallel universe of glistening fish and polished vegetables. The market radiates out from seafood right in the centre to meat and then vegetables and fruit on the outer edges. Part of the fun is sampling the tasty morsels traders set out to entice passers-by. The Costa Brava's biggest markets, meanwhile, are in Torera and Figueres. Jewellery, ceramics and leather goods are particularly good buys. Don't worry if you don't want to head too far to bag yourself a bargain, though. All the seaside resorts have their share of souvenir places that won't hit the pocket and you'll also find plenty of stylish shops and mall-style centres that'll keep your credit card occupied.