Discover Northern Catalonia (Barcelona - Pyrenees - Costa Brava)

Two weeks in the northern half of Catalonia, which means volcanoes, medieval bridges, a salt mountain and the high Pyrenees. Caminos arrange it as a fly-drive with the hire car included; there is no ferry option on this one.

The Garrotxa volcanic park is the reason to come. There are forty extinct cones in it, the best-known reached on foot through beech woodland that grows on the lava, and Santa Pau sits among them as a fortified medieval village. Besalú, nearby, has an eleventh-century fortified bridge that is the most photographed object in the region for good reason.

Cardona, inland, is built beside a mountain of salt that has been mined since Roman times and glitters when the light catches it. Further up, Aigüestortes is Catalonia’s only national park, all glacial lakes and granite, and the Vall de Boí beside it holds nine Romanesque churches that are collectively UNESCO-listed. The Val d’Aran drains north into France and keeps its own language. Girona and the Costa Brava give the fortnight a coast and a city.

Fourteen nights, circular, out of Barcelona or Girona, priced per person for two sharing on a bed and breakfast basis with the car included; flights are extra. Two things to settle first. Caminos publish no day-by-day plan for this tour, so the above comes from their own highlights. And it costs more than their full-Catalonia fortnight while covering less ground, which is worth asking about. It suits anyone who wants the Pyrenean and volcanic north rather than the beaches, and does not mind a few questions before booking.