Discover Cassà de la Selva: Culture, Cork and Les Gavarres

Cassà de la Selva is an exceptional gateway to the natural area of Les Gavarres. The mountain range is characterised by cork oak forests and provides habitats for animals and plants of the Mediterranean forest. The landscape thus combines forest, cultural landscape and traces of regional use, which are also reflected in the town’s cork-related themes.

Culture and history

The parish church of Sant Martí has Romanesque origins and features Gothic additions from the 16th century. Renaissance elements appear on its façade; the transept arms contain Neoclassical chapels. This building therefore reveals several historical periods of architectural design in one place.

Can Frigola and Torre Salvana form a Gothic complex dating from the 16th century. It comprises a house and a defensive tower that had been used as a prison. The combination of residential building and defensive tower adds a clearly recognisable fortification component to the view of the historic town structure.

The Centre Cultural Sala Galà houses the Cassà municipal library, the music school and the Josep Lloveras art school. It also has an auditorium for lectures and cultural events. The library, music and art schools, and auditorium represent different forms of local cultural life.

The exhibition “Joies de Cassà” displays church treasures in the dels Dolors chapel of Cassà’s parish church. ParcArt is an open-air sculpture garden in Cassà de la Selva. The extensive collection comprises almost 350 sculptures. Sacred objects and contemporary art thus create different focal points within the cultural offering.

Nature and routes

The Carrilet Greenway runs through Cassà. It connects Girona with the Costa Brava and forms part of EuroVelo 8. The route therefore provides a connection both towards Girona and the coast, while placing Cassà within a larger network of routes.

The Can Vilallonga estate is home to a historic water-management complex. It comprises an old mill, several weirs and basins, as well as three aqueducts. The individual structures make visible how water management, mill operation and the layout of the estate are interconnected.

The “De l’arbre al tap, del tap a taula” experience takes place in Cassà de la Selva and Palafrugell and provides insights into cork harvesting in the protected natural area of Les Gavarres. It also includes breakfast with local products. The title describes the connection from the tree via the cork stopper to the set table, thereby summarising the offering’s thematic thread.

Festivals and the cork industry

The Fira del Tap i el Suro is a themed industry event. Over one weekend, it highlights the cork industry and its local roots in most of the municipalities around Les Gavarres. The regional connection extends beyond Cassà de la Selva and points to the importance of cork in the wider area of the mountain range.

Since 2017, the Fira has taken place at the end of May or the beginning of June. This timing places the event at the transition from late spring to the beginning of summer.

The Càntut festival takes place in autumn at several indoor and outdoor venues in Cassà. It draws on traditional songbooks. The various venues and the connection with the songbooks link the performances with the inherited musical collection.

At the Nit dels Músics, more than fifty people from Cassà perform once a year in a large Cobla. They play exclusively Sardanas by musicians associated with Cassà. The annual format thus brings together a large number of local participants and a clearly defined musical repertoire.

Other destinations in the same directory: Campdorà, Fortià, Cadaqués, Beget, Sant Ferriol, Pontós, Espinavessa and Les Olives.

To the overarching travel overview: Girona.