Catalonia 
Catalonia encompasses three of Spain's best-loved Mediterranean costas, the Costa Brava, Costa Barcelona and Costa Daurada, together with the wilder shores of Terres de l'Ebre. This stretch of coastline consists of the provinces of Barcelona, Girona and Tarragona, with inland Lleida completing the autonomous community. The area enjoys about 580 kilometres of beautiful coastline, high Pyrenean valleys, protected natural parks, quaint fishing villages and vibrant cities. Catalonia is a historic Mediterranean country of a little over 32,000 square kilometres, with its own language and a civic culture that visitors notice from the first market square. The entire region is steeped in history and has an abundance of historical buildings, monuments and ancient ruins, from Greek Empúries and Roman Tarraco to Gothic quarters and the Modernista landmarks of Barcelona. Its villages, towns and cities offer visitors a virtual smorgasbord of mouthwatering cuisine and regional wines. There is a great choice of museums and art galleries, and the region is home to some of Spain's most distinctive festivals and fiestas, including the human towers known as castells. Children and adults alike will enjoy the beaches, theme parks, botanical gardens and family resorts. The region's cities entice visitors with elegant shops and boutiques, and in Barcelona the nightlife continues until the small hours.
The province of Barcelona wraps the Catalan capital and a short, well-connected shore of about 100 kilometres, from the Maresme railway towns in the north to Sitges and the Garraf cliffs in the south. Throughout the coastal regions are popular seaside resorts, and tourism makes up a large part of the local economy along with fishing, flowers and wine. Barcelona city is the capital of the province and of Catalonia, a major port and the site of the community's busiest international airport at El Prat. It is famous for the Gothic Quarter, the Eixample and Gaudí's Sagrada Família and Park Güell, as well as the rebuilt Olympic waterfront of 1992. Visitors are never far from a suburban train: the R1 runs the Maresme, while Sitges is an easy rail day trip. Throughout the province, visitors are enticed to spend lazy days soaking up the sun on one of the area's popular beaches or go for an all over tan with a choice of 16 nudist beaches in Barcelona.
The province of Girona is the Costa Brava, from Blanes in the south to Portbou on the French border, a jagged shore of about 206 kilometres of pine, rock, wetlands and sand. The name was coined in 1908 by the journalist Ferran Agulló, looking out from the chapel of Sant Elm at Sant Feliu de Guíxols. Girona city, the provincial capital, sits inland on the Onyar, a walled hill town of cathedral steps and coloured river houses, with Girona-Costa Brava Airport close by. Figueres is the town of the Dalí Theatre-Museum. The northern coast belongs to Cap de Creus and the great bay of Roses, with Cadaqués, El Port de la Selva and the Empordà marshes; further south come the coves of Begur and Palamós, the resorts of Platja d'Aro and Lloret de Mar, and the walled Vila Vella of Tossa de Mar. Artists have long used this light as a workplace, and the local cuisine of oily fish, rice and Empordà wine is a firm favourite. There are also 24 nudist beaches in Girona.
The province of Tarragona occupies southern Catalonia, from the golden sands of the Costa Daurada to the rice fields and lagoons of the Ebro Delta. Tarragona city is one of the oldest Roman centres in Spain. UNESCO inscribed the Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco in 2000, and the medieval cathedral still stands on the same high town. Reus Airport is the usual air gate for this shore, about 13 kilometres from the city. Inland lie Cistercian monasteries and the Priorat wine hills. On the coast, family resorts share the sand with quieter pine-backed bays such as El Torn, while Deltebre and Sant Jaume d'Enveja open onto one of the western Mediterranean's important wetlands, recognised as part of the Terres de l'Ebre biosphere reserve. There are also 10 nudist beaches in Tarragona.
Catalonia offers visitors an excellent selection of holiday options and destinations for all the family to enjoy. An area steeped in history, amidst spectacular countryside and ringed by a diverse choice of seaside resorts and fishing villages, offering some of Spain's most beautiful beaches and secluded coves. Visitors have a good choice of busy family orientated beaches, tranquil bays and coves as well as a large selection of nudist beaches in Catalonia. This site lists 50 nudist beaches in 31 municipalities across the three coastal provinces.
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