Figueras Mini Guide
Home to one of the most brilliant and maniacal minds ever to grace modern art, Figueras in Catalonia, Spain, is certainly worth a visit. Its most famous son, Salvador Dali, created the type of art which gave the philosopher Sigmund Freud a field day.
So unusual is Dali's work that the place which has been built in homage to him is called a theatre/museum. Taking a tour around the museum you will notice many decorative touches put together by the artist who was clearly egomaniacal. Dali has been quoted as saying – ‘The two most fortunate things that could happen to a person are first, to be Spanish, and second, to be named Salvador Dali. These two things have happened to me.’
But life wasn’t always easy for the artist whose work was so provocative that it caused riots. For the last few years of his life, Dali even had to be fed his food through a tube because of his various psychological issues which prevented him from swallowing.
Figueras is the best place to see how the genius artist created surrealist painting and inspired a whole movement of modern art which was extremely important. In Figueras you can get another insight into the life of the man by visiting a medieval castle which Dali presented to his wife, the Castell de Pubol. Another attraction is the Castillo Fernando whose mass of sprawling walls make it one of the best fortresses in Europe to take a tour of.
If you have small children they will be delighted to visit the toy museum of Catalonia in which you can see all manner of mini trains, planes and dolls for a small admission price. There are a number of good hotels and restaurants in Figueras, which was built on a river plain inland from Girona. Among them are the Hotel Pirineos which is good value and in a good location on the Avinguda Salvador Dali, and the Hotel Duran with a restaurant which aspires to great things.
Part of the charm of Figueras is the fact that it is so out of the way. The town is 140 kilometres from
Barcelona, 60 kilometres from Perpignan, 40 kilometres from
Girona, and 50 kilometres from the Girona-Costa Brava Airport where it is possible to hire a car. A high speed rail opened in 2010 to connect the town to other parts of Spain.