Solynieve

The town Solynieve is situated 30 KM south from the city of Barcelona and is the most important town in the Costa Dorada area in Catalan. This is patronized by the younger generation from Barcelona who has made it into a resort of their liking. These youngsters use this for their weekend escapades.

People who do not want to strain themselves should avoid visiting this town in summer. This place is overcrowded during summer and the tourists from Barcelona have made this place highly expensive. It is also difficult to get accommodation in summer unless you plan it well in advance. This place is considered as Barcelona-on-Sea and hence is worth experiencing.

Tourists visit this place mainly for the beach. The beach is situated to the west of the church and there are a number of beaches from here whose quality and the crowds vary. The Passeig Marítim has restaurants, beach bars, showers, water sports, etc. and it extends to these beaches. The nudist beaches are located beyond Terramar.

If you take time to climb up the hill that overlooks the beaches, you will come across the Baroque parish church or La Punta and a street full of whitewashed old mansions.

Some of these mansions house important museums and are as given under:

1.Museu Cau Ferrat or the art gallery – is the residence and workshop of the famous writer and artist Santiago Rusiñol who lived in the period 1861 to 1931. This museum contains important paintings of Rusiñol and other likeminded artists who were propagating modern art – Casas, Clarasó, Utrillo, Mas, Fondevila, Zuloaga, Regoyos and Picasso. The museum got its name from Rusiñol’s wrought iron collection. There are collections of glass, ceramics, woodcarvings, furniture and other unusual objects collected by this artist during his lifetime.

2.The Maricel de Mar Museum – is located next to Ferrat museum and houses exhibits of minor artworks – both medieval and modern – and contains a very good collection of Catalan sculpture and ceramics.

3.Museu Romàntic – is situated in the town center and exhibits the lifestyle of a wealthy family in this town during the 18th and 19th centuries. It houses the furniture and other items of value possessed by the rich family.

Every year a carnival is held in this town in the months of February/ March and this is attended by a huge gay population. Parades as well as masked balls are held; in addition many unscheduled events also take place. Well dressed women in high heels parade the streets on Tuesday and they twirl their parasols and fan themselves during this period. The program is not written anywhere. The celebrations and processions go up to 4:00 A.M.