Area Information
Introducing Costa Brava
The Costa Brava is Spain’s ruggedly beautiful “wild coast” stretching for 160 kilometres between the French border and Barcelona. It’s undoubtedly one of the most scenic coastal strips in the whole of mainland Spain, boasting endless miles of sandy beaches and countless rocky coves backed by pine-clad cliffs.
Package holiday tourism took off here in the 1960s thanks to the region’s proximity to France. As the gateway to mainland Spain the Costa Brava hooked millions of foreign visitors on the concept of affordable summer holidays in the Mediterranean sunshine. Tourists started to arrive en masse by car, by coach load and later on by cheap charter flights into Barcelona’s international airport. Sleepy fishing villages turned into bustling tourist resorts with high rise hotels, modern marinas and beaches awash with bronzing foreign bodies. But mercifully the Costa Brava has somehow managed to meet the demands of mass tourism whilst at the same time retaining a special beauty, character and charm which have been delighting visitors for decades.
Resorts such as Lloret de Mar, Roses, L’Estartit and Lloret del Mar offer round-the- clock entertainment while just a short hop inland there’s another world of ancient castles and lush green valleys peppered with traditional, unspoilt villages.
Many different nationalities are buying property in the Costa Brava: Dutch, English and French, both retired and young families looking for a better quality of life. Spanish people from the main cities also move here attracted looking by the slower pace.
Property prices range from €250,000 for an apartment to €350,000 for a townhouse with Villa prices starting from €400,000. Further inland, beautiful refurbished Masias can cost from €800,000 to €1,500,000.
The region itself is very friendly with open minded locals accepting the influx of foreigners. Property prices went up 16% in 2005 and are predicted to go up 14% in 2006, so now is an excellent time to consider investing in property here.