NEWSLETTER

Experience a city that is environmentally friendly, a city that values local cuisine showcasing the Mediterranean diet, that is a great place to explore on foot or by bike, and is open to everyone... That's Barcelona!

Easy Walking Tour Gòtic: Don't miss this accessible walking tour that will give you a tailor-made insight into the Gothic Quarter.

Barcelona E-bike Rent: If you choose an e-bike, you'll enjoy a sustainable tour while you discover locally run shops and bars and keep fit too!

Eco-taxi: Have you heard about smart mobility? Take a smooth and silent ride in a taxi with low CO2 emissions in the utmost comfort.

Lasal del Varador: Taste slow food and Mediterranean cuisine when you book a table at this organic restaurant with its bioclimatic design and sea views!

Hostal Grau: Enjoy a sustainable experience when you stay at this urban boutique hostel: healthy, environmentally friendly premises right in the centre of Barcelona.

El Cinquè Llac (The Fifth Lake) is a circular hiking trail in the Catalan Pyrenees, just 200 km from Barcelona. The route runs through one of the most beautiful areas of the Pyrennees, at the foot of the Aigüestortes i Sant Maurici National Park, following historic shepherd trails. With a total length of 100 km, it is divided into 5 stages.

The Fifth Lake has been thought to cause the least possible impact to the environment while offering an excellent walking experience (check responsible criteria here). It was awarded Best Active Tourism Experience Category Nature at FITUR 2017.

The route includes:
> Return train ticket (from Lleida to starting point La Pobla de Segur)
> 6 nights in rural accommodation en route
> All breakfasts, 6 packed lunches and all evening meals
> Transport of luggage from place to place
> Insurance
> A 1:25,000-scale map and a route book 

More information: www.elcinquellac.com

Calling all birdwatching enthusiasts! The Delta Birding Festival takes place in Terres de l'Ebre in September 23-25. During this festival, the Ebro Delta, one of the most important natural places in the Western Mediterranean, hosts a wide and attractive program of activities with lectures, courses, workshops, contests and others coupled with a large fair of products and services for the birder and people who enjoy nature as a whole.

The DBF is the only Spanish festival that sets aside the profit of ticket selling to a project related to the study and conservation of birds and nature. This year the financial contribution will be dedicated in a research project to study the migration routes of European Turtle Dove.

More information: www.deltabirdingfestival.com

The 4th Nature & Sport EuroMeet conference will be held in La Seu d'Urgell in September 27-29, the capital of the Pyrenees and an area with a strong sporting vocation and tradition. The area is aiming to become the outdoor sports capital of southern Europe. This event is open to everyone interested in tourism, environment, sport and local development.

Nature & Sports EuroMeet 2017s key theme will be applied to different scopes of outdoor sports with the aim of dealing with the 4 dimensions of sustainable development in each of them:
> Mass-Mega sport events
> Active tourism
> Outdoors in natural protected areas
> Outdoors and well-being

The final objective is to provide a set of proposals towards a more sustainable development of outdoor sports.

Register here!

A total of 100 Catalan tourism companies have been certified with the EU Ecolabel, the EMAS certification or the Catalan Environmental Quality label as being respectful with the environment, while taking into account social and economic aspects of sustainability. Certified companies are mainly accommodation providers, ranging from hotels and campsites to rural houses.

More than half of Spanish hotels and rural houses certified with Ecolabel are located in Catalonia, representing a 5% in the whole of Europe (23 out of 479). Moreover, 30% of all Ecolabel-certified Catalan companies belong to the tourism sector. The Catalan tourism sector has certainly understood the need for a shift to a circular economy, which has already proven to generate significant environmental and financial returns.

Discover some of the best places to have an aperitif! Do you want to feel like a true Barcelonian? Well, if you do, you can't miss out on going for a vermut. For years this aromatic, herby wine has been the favourite Sunday pre-lunch tipple with local families. It's a tradition that has never died out but is currently undergoing something of a renaissance. Below you'll find our hand-picked selection of classic and recently opened bodegas where you can enjoy a glass of vermouth like the locals do.

> Quimet & Quimet
> Bar Mut
> Bodega 1900
> Lo Pinyol
> Morro Fi
> Bar Carmelitas
> Bodega La Puntual
> Bodega El Chigre

Learn more about the bodegas here. 

Summer is here and the Catalan festival agenda fills up with plenty of possibilities. Check the list below and find your summer festival!

Costa Brava:
> Sons del Món Festival  | June 24-August 5
> Habanera Singing Festival  | July 1
> Castell de Peralada Festival  | July 6-August 17
> Cap Roig Festival  | July 7-August 22
> Porta Ferrada Festival  | July 14-August 19

Barcelona and surroundings:
> Mas i Mas Festival  | June 14-October 20
> Vida Festival  | June 29-July 2
> Canet Rock  | July 1
> Cruïlla Barcelona Summer Festival  | July 7-8
> Vijazz  | July 7-9
> Música Viva de Vic Festival  | September 13-17
> Barcelona Circuit Festival  | August 5-20

Costa Daurada:
> Cambrils International Music Festival  | July 27-August 13

Lleida:
> FeMAP  | July 1-August 27
> Aquelarre  | August 25-27
> Fira Tàrrega  | September 7-10

Belgian journalist Willy Ost from Kampeertoerist won the Pica d'Estats award, organised by the Tourism Board of Lleida, in the category of International Press for his article about the Fifth Lake hiking circuit.

"The area is all about authenticity, keeping memory, preserving the history and going back to basics"

"I met enthusiastic Catalan people from small villages happy to welcome travelers to their hometowns"

"The whole purpose is to share the beauty of the place and its nature; to enjoy it without spoiling it"

...that more than 30% of the Catalan territory is protected to preserve natural ecosystems? Catalonia is a must-see stop for lovers of nature, with a total of 18 natural parks!

One of the most spectacular protected areas is Aigüestortes and Estany de Sant Maurici National Park, with more than 200 lakes and majestic mountains.