Tamariu (, Catalan for ''tamarisk'') is one of three coastal towns belonging to the municipality of

Palafrugell Palafrugell (; ) is a municipality in the Mediterranean ''Costa Brava'', located near Palamós in the ''comarca'' of Baix Empordà, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is the largest city of its comarca, with 22,365 inhabitants. Severa ...

province of Girona The Province of Girona ( ; ) is a Provinces of Spain, province in the northeastern part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. It is bordered on the northwest by the province of Lleida, on the southwest ...

, Spain, the other two being Calella de Palafrugell and

Llafranc Llafranc (; ) is one of three coastal towns belonging to the municipality of Palafrugell, province of Girona, Spain, the other two being Calella de Palafrugell and Tamariu. It is part of the Costa Brava, the coastal region of northeastern Cata ...

. It is part of the

Costa Brava The Costa Brava (; ; "Wild Coast" or "Rough Coast") is a coastal region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. Sources differ on the exact definition of the Costa Brava. Usually it can be regarded as stretching from the town of Blanes, northeas ...

, the coastal region of northeastern

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 ...

, in the comarca of

Baix Empordà Baix Empordà (; ; "Lower Empordà") is a comarca (county) in the Girona region, Catalonia, in Spain. It is one of the two comarques into which Empordà was divided in the comarcal division of 1936, the other one being Alt Empordà. It is popula ...

. It is situated about south of the border with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and close to the nearby inland towns of

and Begur. The name ''Tamariu'' derives from the presence of many

tamarisk The genus ''Tamarix'' (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Tamb ...

trees along the promenade, which separates the beach from the narrow streets and whitewashed buildings of the town. Tamariu was originally a small fishing village, and fishing boats are still to be seen drawn up on the beach. Today they have been joined by a few hotels, along with seafood restaurants, cafes and bars. Tamariu is set amongst rugged pine covered cliffs flanking the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. The crystal clear waters around this area are amongst the purest on the coast. The south-facing

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 ...

is ideal for swimming as the it shelves at a fairly gentle angle. It is also popular as a

dive site Recreational dive sites are specific places that recreational scuba divers go to enjoy the underwater environment or for training purposes. They include technical diving sites beyond the range generally accepted for recreational diving. In this c ...

as there are many caves to explore along with the submerged mountain of the Llosa de Cala Nova. The

GR 92 The GR 92 is part of the extensive GR footpath network of paths, tracks and trails in Spain. It will eventually run the length of the Mediterranean coast of Spain, from Portbou, on the border with France to Tarifa, the most southerly point of ...

long distance footpath, which runs the length of the Mediterranean coast of Spain, passes through the town. To the north the path takes an inland route through

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

and

cork oak ''Quercus suber'', commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section Quercus sect. Cerris, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris''. It is the primary source of cork (material), cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, ...

forests to the beach at

Aiguablava The Cala d'Aiguablava is a small bay on the Costa Brava, Girona, Catalonia (Spain) near Begur and Palafrugell with a small beach (busy in the summer months) and a few mainly seafood restaurants. It is a popular mooring place for sailing and moto ...

before following the coast to Fornells. To the south the path follows an, in places rough, track above the shore line to the beach at , the , and the town of

. Aigua Gelida is the largest urbanisation in Tamariu filling the gap between Tamariu and Aiguablava. Aigua Gelida has a small sandy cove predominantly for residents of Cala Nostra just 300m away. Building restrictions are not as strict in Aigua Gelida and so many modern villas have been built in the past few years.

Gallery

File:Tamariu.JPG, The sea front File:Tamariu Beach.jpg, The beach

References

{{Baix Emporda Localities of Spain Populated places in Baix Empordà Seaside resorts in Spain