Tossa de Mar: Free Parking, the Old Town, and What It Costs

Tossa de Mar has the only surviving fortified medieval town on the whole Catalan coast, and a beach directly underneath it.

That combination is why it’s worth the drive, and it’s the thing most guides bury under adjectives. Here’s the practical version — where to park for free, what the old town is actually like with children, and how to get there without a car.

The essentials

• Where: the Costa Brava, in Girona province. Properly Costa Brava, unlike some towns further south
• From Barcelona: roughly 1h by car.
• By train: you can’t. Tossa de Mar has no railway station — the nearest line ends at Blanes. Bus or car only
• By bus: direct coaches from Barcelona Nord.
• Parking: free options exist within walking distance of the beach
• The old town: Vila Vella, free to walk into
• Main beach: Platja Gran, right below the walls

Free parking in Tossa de Mar — the honest answer

Yes, there is free parking, and it is the single best practical reason to choose Tossa over other Costa Brava towns.

The general rule on this coast: arrive before 10am in July and August, or accept a paid car park. By midday in August everything within walking distance of any Costa Brava beach is full.

Vila Vella — the reason to come

This is what makes Tossa different from every other beach town on the Costa Brava: Vila Vella is the only fortified medieval town still standing on the Catalan coast. Walls, towers, cobbled lanes, and a lighthouse at the top, all sitting on the headland at one end of the main beach.

It’s free to walk into and around. You climb up from the beach end, the lanes are narrow and steep, and the view back down over Platja Gran from the walls is the photograph everyone comes for.

With children: it’s a real castle they can walk around rather than a museum, which makes it an easier sell than almost any ticketed attraction. The climb is short but it is a climb — cobbles and steps, so a pushchair is hard work and a carrier is easier.

Ava Gardner filmed Pandora and the Flying Dutchman here in 1951, and there’s a statue of her looking out from the walls. Older children find it more interesting than you’d expect once you explain that a Hollywood film crew turned up in a fishing village.

The beaches

Platja Gran

The main beach, directly below the old town walls, and the reason the setting works: you swim with a medieval fortress above you. Sand mixed with small pebbles, calm clear water, full facilities behind it.

It’s also the busy one. In August it fills.

The smaller ones

Mar Menuda is the second beach, round the other side, and it’s usually quieter than Platja Gran with better water for snorkelling.

Beyond that the coast north of Tossa is a string of small coves — Cala Bona, Cala Pola, Cala Giverola — reachable by the coastal road or, better, on foot along the Camí de Ronda, the clifftop path that runs along this whole coast.

The principle is the same everywhere on this coast: walk past the first beach and you get space.

Snorkelling, which Tossa is genuinely good for

The water here is clearer than anywhere on the Maresme, and the rocks below the castle headland and around the smaller coves are where to go. This is one of the better snorkelling spots within reach of Barcelona.

Take your own masks.

Eating

Chiringuitos along Platja Gran and restaurants through the old town — seafood, rice dishes, tapas.

One thing to know wherever you eat on this coast: paella is Valencian, and fideuà — the same dish made with short noodles — is often the better order here.

Getting there from Barcelona

There is no train. This is the most important practical fact about Tossa de Mar and almost no article says it plainly. The Costa Brava railway does not serve this stretch of coast; the line ends at Blanes, and Tossa is another 12 km up a winding coast road from there.

By car: 1h. The last stretch from Lloret is narrow and winding, and slow in summer traffic.

By bus: direct coaches run from Barcelona Nord.

If you want a beach day from Barcelona without a car, Pineda de Mar is on the R1 train line and much easier. Tossa is the better town; Pineda is the easier journey.

Tossa, Pineda or Platja d’Aro?

We’ve written about all three, so here’s the short comparison:

	Tossa de Mar	Pineda de Mar	Platja d’Aro
Coast	Costa Brava	Maresme	Costa Brava
Train?	No	Yes — R1	No
Free parking	Yes	Yes, in front of the beach	Yes, in the centre
Something to look at	Medieval walled town	No	No
Best for	A day trip with something to see	A beach day without a car	A week with children

Tossa is the one to choose if you only do one, because it’s the only one with a reason to be there beyond the sand.

Platja d’Aro · Pineda de Mar · all our day trips from Barcelona

When to go

• June and September — the right answer. Warm water, open restaurants, parking available
• July and August — go, but arrive before 10am and expect the town to be full
• Out of season — the old town is still there and still free, the coast path is better in cool weather, and much of the seafront will be shut. The same is true of Platja d’Aro in winter

Is it worth the trip?

Yes, and more than the other beach towns within range of Barcelona — because of the walls. A beach day is a beach day anywhere; a beach day underneath a thirteenth-century fortress is not available elsewhere on this coast.

Come if you have a car, you want somewhere to walk as well as swim, and you’d rather see something than just lie down.

Go elsewhere if you have no car and no appetite for a coach, or you want a quiet week rather than a day out.

Frequently asked questions

How do you get to Tossa de Mar from Barcelona?

By car or by coach — there is no railway station in Tossa de Mar, and the Costa Brava rail line ends at Blanes, about 12 km away down a winding coast road. Direct coaches run from Barcelona Nord. If you want a beach day from Barcelona without a car, Pineda de Mar on the R1 line is far easier, though Tossa is the better town.

What is Vila Vella in Tossa de Mar?

Vila Vella is Tossa’s walled old town, and it is the only fortified medieval town still standing on the Catalan coast. It sits on the headland at one end of the main beach, with walls, towers, cobbled lanes and a lighthouse at the top. It is free to walk into and around, and the view back down over Platja Gran from the walls is the reason most people come.

Is Tossa de Mar good with children?

Yes, and better than most beach towns on this coast because there is something to do besides the beach. Vila Vella is a real castle children can walk around rather than a museum, the water at Platja Gran is calm and clear, and there is free parking within walking distance. The climb into the old town is short but steep and cobbled, so a carrier is easier than a pushchair.

Which is the best beach in Tossa de Mar?

Platja Gran is the main one, directly below the old town walls, with sand mixed with small pebbles and full facilities behind it. Mar Menuda on the other side is usually quieter with better water for snorkelling, and the coves north of the town — Cala Bona, Cala Pola and Cala Giverola — are quieter again, reachable by road or on foot along the Camí de Ronda coastal path.

Is Tossa de Mar good for snorkelling?

Yes — the water is clearer here than anywhere on the Maresme coast, and the rocks below the castle headland and around the smaller coves north of the town are the places to go. Bring your own masks.

Tossa de Mar or Platja d’Aro?

Tossa for a day trip, because it has the walled medieval old town and a reason to be there beyond the sand. Platja d’Aro for a week with children, because it has more beaches, more playgrounds and more restaurants. Neither has a railway station, so both need a car or a coach.