Salou () is a municipality of the ''

comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...

'' of Tarragonès, in the province of

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...

, in

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, Spain. The city is approximately 10 km from

and

Reus Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The area has long been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental significance during the time of the Phylloxera plague. Currently it is known f ...

on the

Costa Daurada The Costa Daurada (; ; meaning in English language, English "Golden Coast") is an area on the coast of Catalonia, Spain, between Cunit and Alcanar on the Mediterranean Sea. Its traditional banks are the deltas of the Foix (river), Foix and Ebro ...

and 112 km from

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. Founded by the Greeks in the 6th century B.C., the coastal town was a notable commercial port during medieval and modern ages. Throughout the 20th century, Salou became an important European tourist attraction. Aside from its string of beaches interrupted by rocky coves, and its landscaped promenade, one of its main attractions is the

PortAventura World PortAventura World is an entertainment resort in Salou and Vila-seca, Tarragona, on the Costa Daurada in Catalonia, Spain. It was built around the PortAventura Park theme park, which attracts around 5.3 million visitors per year, making it ...

resort. The Dutch movie '' Costa!'' and the television series with the same title were both filmed in Salou.

History

Used as a port by

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

(who named it ''Salanrio'') and Romans (who named it after ''Salauris''), it appeared again in an important historic event, when in 1229 the fleet of

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( Catalan/Valencian: ''Jaume I or Jaume el Conqueridor''; Aragonese: ''Chaime I'' ''o Conqueridor''; ; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1 ...

departed from the port of Salou to conquer the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

, thus creating the

Kingdom of Majorca The Kingdom of Majorca (, ; ; ; ) was an insular realm off the east coast of modern day Spain, which included the islands of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The islands were conquered from the Almohad Caliphate by James I of Aragon, ...

. In 1286 Alfons III of Aragon also departed from this port to conquer

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

, the last

Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

territory of the

. Later, Salou became a nest of

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

s. After that it was considered an unsafe place, so in 1530 Archbishop of

decided to erect a new defence tower, now called ''Torre Vella''. In 1865 the railway station began to operate, opening a new development time, that led one hundred years later to a tourist boom that has brought prosperity to the town. Salou was separated from the adjacent municipality of Vila-seca on 30 October 1989 by a decision of the Supreme Court of Spain. In the summer of 2001, Salou suffered a terrorist attack by

ETA Eta ( ; uppercase , lowercase ; ''ē̂ta'' or ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel, . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative, , in most dialects of Ancient Greek, it ...

, through a car bomb near a hotel. 13 people were injured, including two civil guards.

Main sights

Historic buildings and monuments

* Church of Santa Maria del Mar, built in 18th-century and enlarged after 1950. * Torre Vella, a tower built in the 16th century * Harbour-master's Office * Jaume I monument * ''Font lluminosa'' fountain * Monument to Fishermen * Old Carrilet Railway Station

PortAventura World

is a growing theme park resort on the

. The resort includes luxury four-star accommodation, two theme parks ( PortAventura Park and Ferrari Land), PortAventura Caribe Aquatic Park, a convention centre and a RV park. The PortAventura Park's main attractions are the Dragon Khan, a massive B&M ''mega-looper''; Furius Baco, which is one of the fastest roller coasters in Europe; and Hurakan Condor, a tall falling-tower ride which is 100 metres tall. In 2012 a new roller coaster called Shambhala opened adjacent to the Dragon Khan. The park also has a grand multi-media show, called the ''FiestaAventura'', every night between the end of June and the end of August which features fireworks, fountains and parade floats. Ferrari Land, with the highest and fastest vertical accelerator in Europe, opened in 2017, and will also include the world's first Ferrari hotel.

Lumine Mediterranea Beach & Golf Community

Salou is also home to the Lumine Golf Club (formerly known as PortAventura golf). There are three courses, labeled as north, south, and central. North and central were designed by

Greg Norman Gregory John Norman (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian former professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as List of World Number One male golfers, world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 88 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA ...

and the south course was designed by "Green Project". The facilities consist of two clubhouses, a beach club, Lumine restaurant, Hoyo 19 restaurant, a pro shop, rental services and a golf school. In the future the area surrounding the golf course will be developed into a community with six residential areas and services that include two five-star hotels, a sports area and the International School of Salou that will cater for up to 1200 students as part of the Lumine community.http://en.lumine.com/leisure-business/major-services

Auditorium Theatre of Salou

The Auditorium Theatre of Salou (Teatre Auditori de Salou or ''TAS'' to shorten) is an important part of the local community in terms of cultural and leisure in the municipality. The theatre plays local events such as political, school and cultural events and has also welcomed famous musicians to the area such as Sergio Dalma.

Beaches

Salou's main promenade is the Passeig Jaume I, which runs along the coast adjacent to the Llevant Beach, the longest beach in the town. Other beaches include Platja de Ponent, Platja dels Capellans, Platja Llarga and Platja Cala Crancs. Salou has 34

Blue Flag beach The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a Not-for-profit organi ...

es. Water-sports, rentals and trips can be arranged on the Llevant Beach.

Sport tourism

Salou has been used since 2005 as the base for Rally Catalunya, part of the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...

. Salou has also held volleyball championships, football tournaments, a triathlon and many other competitive sports. Saloufest is the University sports festival which takes place on two separate occasions in April on an annual basis. The festival includes DJs and parties at the neighbouring resort's nightclub called Pacha. In the future, the local government is expected to position Salou as a sport tourism destination and therefore will promote different projects that include first class facilities to provide the city with the necessary resources to become a tourist destination that attracts , especially in low season. They have announced a project that will feature swimming pools, football fields and tennis courts. In April 2012 the Mayor of Salou inaugurated the facilities that have been built, which are six football fields (four artificial and 2 natural) including changing rooms, bar, waiting rooms and rooms for training sessions the second phase includes a further 6 more open fields, billiards room and shop selling merchandise. Salou is the sub-site for the 2018 Mediterranean Games for sports such as

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

Climate

Salou has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''Csa'') characterized by mild winters and hot summers. The rainiest season is autumn, and the driest season is the summer. Salou receives above 2,500 hours of sunshine annually.

Local Festivals

* Cavalcade of the Three Kings (January) * Cós Blanc (Winter festival; first weekend of February) * International draughts tournament " Salou Open" (May) * Children's Festival (June) * St. John's Eve (Late June) * Nits Daurades (Summer festival, week of 15 August) * King Jaume I Festival (7 September) * National Day of Catalonia (11 September) * Festa de la Segregació (30 October)

Transport

Airport

Salou's closest airport is

(which it is connected to by a regular bus service) followed by

. Reus Airport is mainly served by the low cost airline

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...

. The major

charter airlines Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flight ...

from

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

use Reus throughout the summer as a gateway to the

. The airport mainly serves British and Irish destinations, but domestic and other European destinations are also served.

Railway

Salou used to have a railway station served by the Spanish state rail-network, RENFE. The destinations from Salou included major cities in

such as

and

, as well as a train south to the city of

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. The station was closed in January 2020 after a new line between Tarragona and Amposta was built. Some regional trains now terminate at the station ''Salou - Port Aventura'' to the north east of the city centre, which opened in 1996 soon after the inauguration of PortAventura. The station is connected to Tarragona and Barcelona by line R17.

Taxi

There are plenty of

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

services throughout the area including taxi ranks in locations such as opposite the Font lluminosa, Cap Salou and Reus Airport.

Bus

The bus company that serves the area is called Plana Bus, the destinations include Cambrils, La Pineda, PortAventura,

and

Gallery

Image:Salou005a3.JPG, Llevant Beach Image:Torre Vella.jpg, The ''Torre Vella'' defence tower Image:Salou Fountain.JPG, ''Font lluminosa'' Image:Salou boulevard.jpg, ''Passeig Jaume I''

Sources

*
The Book of Deeds
' of James I of Aragon (available in PDF format) *Ramon Muntaner
Chronicle
tr. Lady Goodenough (available in PDF format).

References

External links

Salou Tourist BoardGovernment data pages
{{Authority control Municipalities in Tarragonès Populated places in Tarragonès Seaside resorts in Spain Greek colonies in Iberia Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Spain