Leaving Barcelona behind you, travel in a small luxury mini-coach with full air conditioning to the wonderful local morning market of either Tarragona, Santa Margarida i els Monjos or Vilafranca del Penedès, where most locals still buy a large part of their food. Find fresh fish and meat, colorful fruit and vegetables, gorgeous cheeses, olives and legs of “jamón” (cured ham) as far as the eye can see. Moreover, find clothes, plants or antiques.
The variety is just spectacular. Look for tapa bars or cafes, where you can enjoy a quick pick-me-up after a shopping.
Next stop is the medieval town of Montblanc, which historic center lies within its impressive defensive walls. Enter to the old town through the Bover tower, a well preserved defensive gate. Wander around the old streets and admire the 13th and 14th century buildings as you walk. Stroll along the Spanish promenade and Plaça Major and reach the St Jordi gate, where St George killed the dragon in his legendary victory. Do not miss the Gothic church of Santa Maria with its ornate facade and Jaw’s street, which is part of the Jewish quarter.
Continue the tour to experience a local festival. Spain, and specially Catalunya, is the land of traditions. In every single city, town and village there is a festival of some kind which gets all the townsfolk out in the street to celebrate. The most popular element in a city festival is ‘Castellers” or Human Tower Builders, who build up their best human towers in this special celebrations. This is an opportunity for the community to gather, to participate and to celebrate a shared heritage. Castells (or human towers) have existed for over two hundred years and today it is still the liveliest popular expression of Catalan culture. This is a unique practice in the world and UNESCO has declared it Intangible World Heritage. Human towers can be up to 10-people high. Hundreds of Catalans of all ages take part, from 60-year-old veterans that help to form “la pinya” (the solid base of the tower), to the brave “anxaneta” (a child of no more than six years old) who crowns the tower.
Highlights:
Inclusions:
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Days of operation:
This tour is available every Saturday at 10:00h and Sunday at 9:00h, from April to November.
Specific information:
Meeting point:
The meeting point is at Plaça Ossa Menor (in the Glories Shopping center), which is easily accessed from the entrance located in Diagonal Avenue. We meet next to McDonalds. There’s no Living It office, it’s only the departure point.
We can also pick you up at your accommodation place. Tell us when you check in!
Tailor made?
Would you like a private tour? Would you prefer a tailor made tour? Please, write us with your interest and enquiry and will get back to you with an interesting proposal! livingit@livingit.cat
We took the tour to the Winery, the village that was hosting the Human Tower, and the Town that George had slayed the last dragon. It was great, a small group of mainly my travel partners, my daughter Karren Morley, myself, Marilyn Brown and my Great Grandson Damien along with our friend Anne Normand and a fellow tour mate from Australia, Melissa. The tour guide, Alexander was more like a friend taking us on a tour. Very knowledgeable, personable, and made sure we had water on the very hot day. Will definitely recommend your tours, and hopefully all your guides are as fantastic as Alex.
The tour was among the best we had during the 8 days of our visit to Barcelona and he left us with some great pictures and memories of our trip. Thanks to all.
Very helpful Guide with excellent knowledge of locations and a whole lot of useful info
Enjoyed the tour given by Shiloh Olsen. We were very happy to have been able to see the Human Tower Festival, which was the highlight.
Thank you for the experience. I really liked the visit at Montblanc and Tarragona…. amazing and incredible human towers!! I hope to be able to visit you again.
Thank you so much for perfect fotos and absolutely unforgettable day!
We were surprised by the human tower performance ;-)…. woooww!!
It was one of the best tours we did in Barcelona, and again big thanks to you! Amazing the visit to Montblanc and the human tower perfomance!