Discover Breda: Monastery, Pottery and Trails

If you’re looking for a hotel in Breda, the local attractions and trails can help shape your travel plans: highlights include the Sant Salvador Monastery, a centuries-old pottery tradition and routes through varied landscapes. Breda is part of the Montseny Natural Park, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1978. This allows you to consider cultural sightseeing and time outdoors as different focuses for your stay.

Monastery, Churches and Art

Sant Salvador Monastery was founded in the Breda valley in 1038. A 32-metre-high Lombard Romanesque bell tower rises beside its church, dating from the monastery’s first construction in the 11th century. The church itself is Gothic and dates from the 14th to the 16th centuries. The tower and church building therefore represent different periods of construction and architectural styles, which you can distinguish as you explore the monastery.

Another place with a sacred history is the Església de Santa Maria. It was built between 878 and 1038. Its 12th-century apse and parts of the original wall paintings have survived. Together with Sant Salvador, Santa Maria offers another historical point of reference: here, the focus is on the early construction period and individual surviving features, while the bell tower and Gothic church also shape the story of Sant Salvador Monastery’s construction.

The Museu Josep Aragay is devoted exclusively to Josep Aragay i Blanchar, an artist associated with the Noucentisme movement. The focus of a visit is therefore a single artistic figure. If you’re more interested in the town’s craft heritage, you can explore it separately through Breda’s pottery tradition and the Centre Cultural Els Forns.

Pottery Tradition and Els Forns

Breda has a centuries-old pottery tradition that remains alive through workshops, modern industrial businesses and shops. The Centre Cultural Els Forns connects this tradition with the history of a former business: it was a 19th-century pottery workshop and has two Moorish kilns, which were used for traditional ceramic firing.

Today, the Centre Cultural Els Forns presents a permanent exhibition on Breda pottery. It also has two rooms for temporary exhibitions. This means it focuses both on the local ceramic tradition and on changing exhibition themes. You can combine this cultural focus with the Museu Josep Aragay or the historic churches as you plan your trip, while keeping in mind that these places cover different subjects: crafts and ceramics here, art or sacred architectural history there.

Trails Around Breda

The hiking routes vary in their paths and landscapes. Ruta 1 is a very easy, linear route of less than one kilometre, suitable for families. Ruta 2 is a short, easy circular route that goes around the municipal area of Breda. If a stated short distance is important to you, this is given for Ruta 1; Ruta 2 is described mainly by its circular layout.

Other routes offer different highlights. Ruta 3 leads to a small rock face with dense and varied Mediterranean vegetation; the Montseny Natural Park begins there. Ruta 5 is a circular route that starts in the centre of Breda and reaches the edge of the natural park. Ruta 6 goes around Breda through wooded areas, areas with riverside vegetation and countryside. This gives you a choice between a very short linear trail, a short loop and routes whose descriptions place greater emphasis on the landscape and proximity to the natural park.

Market, Festival Day and Getting There

The weekly market takes place on Sunday mornings around the church and town hall; local shops are also open at this time. As the schedule may change, it’s a good idea to check the market hours before your visit. Another date in the annual calendar is the Aplec at the Ermita de Santa Anna on 26 July. It includes religious services, Sardana dancing and the sale of cakes. If you’re in Breda on that date, you can take these three parts of the festival day into account when planning your visit.

For rail travel, Riells i Viabrea-Breda station is a useful point of reference. Trains run there on the Barcelona–Girona–Portbou line; check the timetable before your trip, as train services may change. A two-kilometre cycle path connects Breda with the station and runs through fields and woods. The station and cycle path are two specific points of reference to consider when planning your journey.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Gerona, Ripoll, Brunyola, Gombrèn, Fontanals De Cerdanya, Mollet de Peralada, Viladamat, Garriguella

For the main travel overview: Girona.