Gastronomy and wine tourism

If you long for real bread, the kind made with artisanal methods, local flours and sourdough, we have to tell you that you can still find it in places like the Lluçanès region. This is a land with its own identity, halfway between the Plain of Vic and Berguedà. It has a dynamic farming activity where food isn’t manufactured, it’s made! The Bread and Wheat Route will delight you, whether you’re a modern foodie or getting on in years and nostalgic for the past.

Would you like to see how the delicious strawberries of the Maresme area are grown? Are you keen to find out how malvasia wine from Sitges is made? Do you fancy seeing a cold cuts production facility in action or having a beekeeper show you their hives? We’ve prepared a gastronomic route for you in the regions of Barcelona on which you’ll discover where everything you eat comes from.

In your opinion, what is the greatest thing about Maresme? Summer? Its many sunny days and good weather all year round? Its bright blue skies? That there is no need to choose between the sea and the mountains? There are many reasons to come and visit Maresme... Today we add another one: The Maresme region boasts a hundred companies certified with the Biosphere sustainability label. This involves people working to improve products and services and minimise the impact on nature and the environment. Below you will find some of these 100 plans for you to choose from this summer. Read on, as they will surprise you!

With over 100 kilometres of blue Mediterranean coastline, it is easy to understand why the municipalities of Costa Barcelona have such a close relationship with the sea. The origins of many villages, towns and cities in Maresme, Barcelonès, Baix Llobregat and Garraf, lie in fishing, maritime trade and shipbuilding – origins that for many of these places are by no means a distant memory. Along this stretch of coastline, fishing remains one of the main industries – a fact that you can see for yourself, if you visit any of the seafood auctions that take place on the region's quaysides every day.

Barcelona is the land of wines. More than 2,500 years ago, the Romans and Iberians cultivated vines to produce the favourite drink of the gods, a drink that has shaped the landscape and culture of the regions of Barcelona. Just a stone’s throw from the city, you can enjoy three DO (Designation of Origin) wine areas that offer such a wide range of activities and experiences that you’ll want to keep coming back to try them all.

If you don’t know how organic, biodynamic and natural wines differ from each other but you’d like to find out, take a trip around the regions of Barcelona. From Alt Penedès to Maresme, passing through Bages, there are many wineries that adopt a green approach to winemaking, producing extremely high-quality wines without harming the environment. Some of the names may well ring a bell, while others will be new discoveries: small, family-run companies with limited production and strong environmental awareness. The seven suggestions below are likely to make you a convert to sustainable wine tourism.