Salou () is a municipality of the '' comarca'' of

Tarragonès Tarragonès () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of the three comarques formed in the 1936 comarcal division of Camp de Tarragona. It lies on the Mediterranean coast, between the comarques of Baix Penedès to the northeast a ...

, in the province of

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tarr ...

, in

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

, Spain. The city is approximately 10 km from

and Reus on the

Costa Daurada The Costa Daurada (, es, Costa Dorada, meaning in 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 and Ebro rivers, althoug ...

and 112 km from

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern 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 3.5 million visitors per year, making it ...

resort. The Dutch movie ''

Costa! ''Costa!'' is a 2001 Dutch romantic comedy film directed by soap producer Johan Nijenhuis. It was the first movie that used several famous Dutch soap stars. Other movies that used soap actors, were ''Volle maan'' and ''Honeyz''. The television ...

'' and the television series with the same title were both filmed in Salou.

History

Used as a port by

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, ot ...

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

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( es, Jaime el Conquistador, ca, Jaume el Conqueridor; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276; King of Majorca from 1231 to 1276; and Valencia from 1238 to 12 ...

departed from the port of Salou to conquer the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

, thus creating the

Kingdom of Majorca The Kingdom of Majorca ( ca, Regne de Mallorca, ; es, Reino de Mallorca; la, Regnum Maioricae; french: Royaume de Majorque) was a realm on the east coast of Spain, which included certain Mediterranean islands, and which was founded by James I ...

. In 1286

Alfons III of Aragon Alfonso III (4 November 1265, in Valencia – 18 June 1291), called the Liberal (''el Liberal'') or the Free (also "the Frank," from ''el Franc''), was the king of Aragon and Valencia, count of Roussillon, Cerdanya and Barcelona (as ) from 1 ...

also departed from this port to conquer

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, 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 Majorca. Its cap ...

, the last

Moorish The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or s ...

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 other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

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 The Supreme Court ('', TS'') is the highest court in the Kingdom of Spain. Originally established pursuant to Title V of the Constitution of 1812 to replace —in all matters that affected justice— the System of Councils, and currently regula ...

. In the summer of 2001, Salou suffered a terrorist attack by

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

, 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 James I the Conqueror ( es, Jaime el Conquistador, ca, Jaume el Conqueridor; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276; King of Majorca from 1231 to 1276; and Valencia from 1238 to 1276 ...

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 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 3.5 million visitors per year, making it t ...

PortAventura Caribe Aquatic Park 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 3.5 million visitors per year, making it ...

, a convention centre and a RV park. The PortAventura Park's main attractions are the

Dragon Khan Dragon Khan is a steel sit-down roller coaster located in the PortAventura Park theme park in Salou and Vilaseca (Tarragona), Catalonia, Spain. Dragon Khan boasts eight inversions, which was a world record until the opening of the ten-inversion ...

, 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 In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Shambhala ( sa, शम्भल ',''Śambhala'', also ''Sambhala'', is the name of a town between the Rathaprā and Ganges rivers, identified by some with Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh. In the Puranas, it is named as ...

opened adjacent to the

. 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.

, 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 AO (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian entrepreneur and retired professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 89 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA Tour tournament ...

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) 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 Josep Sergi Capdevila Querol (born 28 September 1964), professionally known as Sergio Dalma, is a Spanish singer. He is one of Spain's best-selling recording artists, having topped Spain's official Productores de Música de España national alb ...

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 non-go ...

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 The Rally Catalunya (formerly: Rallye Catalunya) is a rally competition held in Catalonia region of Spain, on the World Rally Championship schedule. Now held on the wide, smooth and sweeping asphalt roads around the town of Salou, Costa Daura ...

, part of the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

. 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 visitors of reference, 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, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' ( land yacht) over a chose ...

Climate

Salou has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

: ''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 Salou Open is a yearly international draughts tournament. The tournament has been organized since 1998 in the second half of May in the resort of Salou, Spain. Winners References External links Official websiteSalou Open in Tournaments baseSa ...

" (May) * Children's Festival (June) *

St. John's Eve Saint John's Eve, starting at sunset on 23 June, is the eve of celebration before the Feast Day of Saint John the Baptist. The Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:26–37, 56–57) states that John was born six months before Jesus; therefore, the feast of J ...

(Late June) * Nits Daurades (Summer festival, week of 15 August) * King Jaume I Festival (7 September) *

National Day of Catalonia The National Day of Catalonia ( ca, Diada Nacional de Catalunya , es, Día Nacional de Cataluña) is a day-long festival in Catalonia and one of its official national symbols, celebrated annually on 11 September. It commemorates the fall of Bar ...

(11 September) * Festa de la Segregació (30 October)

Transport

Airport

Salou's closest airport is Reus (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 ultra low-cost carrier founded in 1984. It is headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland and has its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports. It forms the largest part of the Ryanair Holdings famil ...

. 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 – flights ...

from

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

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 ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

. 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 driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...

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, Reus 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