Catalonia is full of treasures and there is something for everyone.
Once you have discovered Barcelona or the Costa Brava, here is another idea for a visit, much greener and absent from mainstream tourist guides.
We like the idea of combining sport and nature; now that our youngest are older, we can take them on longer and more challenging walks.
On the advice of a friend, we therefore set off one Saturday morning in July to discover a path in the heart of the Montseny natural park .
Belonging to the Catalan pre-coastal chain, this massif is covered with cork oaks and beeches, it is very green.
We were surprised by the abundance of ferns, due to the presence of numerous springs and small rivers.
The walk is called Pla de la Calma and lives up to its name wonderfully, being quite flat overall and absolutely calm: apart from colorful butterflies in abundance and sheep, we hardly saw anyone.
It should be noted that the route is accessible by car, there may be more people in other seasons.
We set off with our picnic and were glad we did, as the restaurant above the parking lot was closed. Clearly, the trail is deserted at this time of year.
On the other hand, as the path is located at medium altitude, it is rather cool and we appreciated the breeze which was blowing strongly at the right time because the route is largely open and there is no shade, except at the beginning where you cross a small wood.
When we went to get out the picnic, we had a little trouble finding shade, and have rarely been so happy to finally come across a tree, with large stones to sit on underneath.
Lunch marked the moment of our return; we knew we had a 1 hour 45 minute walk back (stopping for many photos, of course!).
Our usual practice for lunches in nature is to stop at the organic shop before leaving to buy the necessary supplies; usually baguette, ham, cherry tomatoes, olives... and the indispensable bag of crisps which makes picnics so charming for children.
Although the heat was still noticeable, the girls were very glad to protect themselves effectively from the sun with their Solimar sun hats.
These immense walks are wonderful moments for sharing as a family and offer endless opportunities to awaken children to the wonders of nature.
I am always amazed and a little proud to see the girls notice details and beauties that we would have missed, such as pebbles that sparkle in the sun ("diamonds"), huge ants, fuchsia flowers and a tulip (well, I don't know about Mom, but it's a flower you like), which is actually a poppy!
The return journey offers spectacular views of the mountain ranges, whose different shades of blue all the way to the sea are magnificent.
Of course, we promised ourselves we would come back in the spring to see these same peaks, this time covered in their snowy mantle.
Meanwhile, we returned to Barcelona with our eyes wide with wonder at so much beauty and delighted with our 3H45 excursion plus lunch break, as the girls liked to count.
The view is splendid all along the way, the route is easy and not very steep, the calm is breathtaking: we highly recommend this excursion, so different from the rest of the world and yet so close to Barcelona!
To get there: follow the GPS directions to Tagamanent, then, once you exit the motorway, follow signs for Parco Ethnologico or Turo de Tagamanent. It's about 45 minutes from Barcelona.
The road winds its way up to the parking lot.
Above the parking lot, there is an information point, a slow food restaurant and a local museum (all closed on this Saturday in July).
Several routes are possible, including a very short one to reach the summit of Tagamanent.
Our route leads to a pass from which we can then climb to the summit of Matagalls, but it's a long way!
