Discover La Garriga: Thermal Tradition and Modernism

The town centre of La Garriga developed around thermal water that emerged at a temperature of over 60 °C. At the Pou Calent, hot water is extracted from a depth of 65 metres at a temperature of 59 °C. The present-day Pou Calent was built in 1872 and still bears the year 1863, when its public use was confirmed.

Culture and History

The Illa Raspall, protected as a cultural asset of national interest, consists of four houses: Casa Barbey, Torre Iris, Bombonera and Casa Barraquer. Manuel J. Raspall had them built between 1910 and 1913. Can Raspall is considered the first work by the architect Manuel J. Raspall and is the starting point of La Garriga’s Modernist routes. In the building, visitors can see the ground floor with the grand hall and the permanent exhibition “Manuel J. Raspall y el Modernismo: dibujando la Garriga”.

The Roman villa of Can Terrers is a cultural asset of national interest and illustrates the power of Rome in La Garriga 2,000 years ago. Can Terrers is considered one of the most important rural Roman settlements in Catalonia. On the site, visitors can see the thermal baths and the rooms used by the Roman owners 2,000 years ago. An interpretation centre there is also dedicated to the Masia de Can Terrers farmhouse and the Santa Maria del Camí chapel.

La Doma comprises the former parish church, the Domeria buildings and the old cemetery. The oldest part of today’s La Doma church is the Romanesque central nave from the 12th century. La Doma also preserves a Gothic altarpiece wing dedicated to Saint Stephen, dating from the late 15th century.

The Santa Maria del Camí chapel was probably built at the end of the 12th or beginning of the 13th century beside the royal road between Barcelona and Vic. It preserves a gravestone for Quíxol or Quixilona, the daughter of Guifré el Pilós. The chapel is privately owned and can only occasionally be visited.

The Teatro de la Garriga–El Patronat was built between 1924 and 1926 according to plans by the architect Xavier Turull and is currently La Garriga’s venue for the performing arts. The air-raid shelter at the railway station became Catalonia’s first musealised air-raid shelter in 2006. It can only be entered as part of one of the two tours on offer.

The fortified centre of Casal de Rosanes was built in the 12th or 13th century and was prepared for armed defence. A private airfield was built at the Rosanes airfield at the beginning of the 1930s. In 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, the Republican Army occupied the airfield and built a military aerodrome beside it. There is an interpretation centre about the Illa Raspall at Plaça del Silenci.

Nature and Trails

Since 2014, the entire area of La Garriga has been part of the Montseny Biosphere Reserve. The local trails are predominantly of moderate or low difficulty, can be cycled and are mostly laid out as circular routes. From La Garriga, visitors can take challenging trips into Montseny on foot or by bicycle.

Further destinations: Alpens, Sant Boi De Lluçanès, Sant Feliu De Codines, La Llagosta, Santa Maria De Merlès, Taradell, Sant Vicenc De Montalt, La Quar

Festivals and Cuisine

The flower carpets of the Festa de Corpus in La Garriga were recognised in 2015 as an Elemento Festivo Tradicional de Interés Nacional and are recreated every year in public spaces with the participation of several generations. The Festa de Corpus has been celebrated continuously in La Garriga; the first written mention dates from 1816.

Around the carnival period, La Garriga organises the Feria de la Botifarra, which aims to promote local trade and the town’s butifarra tradition. The most typical butifarra from La Garriga is cooked and made exclusively from meat, bacon, salt and pepper. Local butchers continue to make the traditional butifarra from La Garriga without preservatives or colourings, following a method from the mid-20th century.

The Centro de Visitantes is the tourist information centre for La Garriga and Montseny Natural Park. All tours and visits start at the visitor centre, allowing visitors to learn about La Garriga and its stories. The guided heritage tours explore the town’s history and the development of its territory and urban planning. A guided tour entitled “Villa termal y de veraneo”, also known as the Ruta Raspall, starts at Can Raspall at 10 a.m. on the second Saturday of each month. A guided tour of the Rosanes airfield is available by reservation. La Garriga railway station is on the R3 commuter line of Barcelona’s railway network and is a ten-minute walk from the visitor centre.

To the main travel overview: Barcelona.