L'Escala is a town of 10,400 people (2018) in Costa Brava, Catalonia. It is on the Costa Brava between the southern end of the Gulf of Roses and Cala (bay) Montgó. It is an important fishing port and tourist centre, and has a festival dedicated to its famous anchovies. The GE-513 road runs inland from the town.
L'Escala is the village of Víctor Català (pseudonym of Caterina Albert, 1869-1966) a famous novel writer.
There is no train in l'Escala. The closest stations are Camallera and Flaçà (which is connected by bus with l'Escala). In case of going to Flaçà by train and later taking a bus, make sure to check the bus timetables beforehand since there are very few per day and you might end up having to wait in Flaçà for several hours or finding there are no more buses that day.
It is also possible to go with high-speed train to Girona and then taking a bus from Girona station to l'Escala.
L'Escala is connected by bus to several cities including Girona, Figueres and Barcelona. There are also buses from the Barcelona and Girona Airports. The timetable of those buses changes depending on the season so it is better to check beforehand on the website of Sarfa.
The fastest way to reach l'Escala is through AP-7 highway exit 5.
L'Escala is not a big town and most of it is in a walkway distance.
During summer, there is a touristic bus (shaped as a steam train) called Carrilet that connects l'Escala from north to south and the other way around. It goes next to the sea most of the time and links several beaches. The price per trip is €2.
L'Escala, as most Catalan cities and towns, is improving its bicycle infrastructure. Even though it is still far from perfect, moving around by bike is a good option.
Anchovies (called anxoves in Catalan) are the most typical product. The history of l'Escala is closely related to the fishing, preparation and selling of this fish. There are several shops, specially in the old town, which are focused on this product.
Carrer Marangues, popularly known as Carrer de les Botigues (Shops Street) has plenty of shops including apparel, a jewelry, a pastry and a supermarket.
The seafront of Riells is full of apparel shops.
The seafront of La platja and Port d'en Perris are full of restaurants with different types of cuisine, including Mediterranean cuisine, seafood, tapas and pizzerias.
During summer, most beaches have a lifeguard during the day hours. They are responsible of helping anybody who gets hurt or drowns in the beach and raising a colored flag depending on the state of the beach. Don't swim if there is a red flag, it means it is not safe. Yellow flag means it might be dangerous to swim and green means it is safe. If there is no flag, apply common sense when swimming.
2nd-order administrative division
Primary administrative division