Destination · Peralada

Things to do near Peralada: Villa Pax and its surroundings

A championship golf course, a castle with its own wine museum, the coves of Cap de Creus and a string of medieval villages — all within about half an hour of a private estate on the fairways of Golf Peralada.

Villa Pax Journal · October 2026 · 7 min read

EN·ES·FR·DE·NL

The things to do near Peralada make more sense once you see the map. This small wine village sits in the Alt Empordà, at the northern end of the Costa Brava, where a plain of vineyards and fields runs from the last foothills of the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean. Golf, wine, the sea and medieval history are all close at hand — an easy base for a group with different ideas of a perfect day. Here is where Peralada is, how to get there, the house itself and what lies within reach.

Where is Peralada?

Peralada is a village of around 2,000 people in the Alt Empordà, the county of Girona province that runs up to the French border, in Catalonia. Peralada's tourist office puts it 7 km from Figueres, the county capital, 40 km from Girona, 130 km from Barcelona and only 25 km from France.

To the north rises the Albera, the easternmost prolongation of the Pyrenees and the line of the border with France; the vines on its slopes belong to the northern subzone of the DO Empordà. The other defining presence is the Tramuntana, a dry north wind that can reach 120 km/h and helps protect the vineyards from mildew.

What makes the location special is the balance: quiet, rural and green inland, with the coast close but the busier resorts at a comfortable distance. Villa Pax sits within Golf Peralada itself, between pine woodland, working vineyards and the 18-hole course, with the sea around 20 minutes to the east.

Getting to Peralada: airports and trains

Three airports serve this corner of Catalonia, and a high-speed station sits just outside Figueres. Distances from Peralada:

• Girona–Costa Brava Airport — about 60 km, the closest of the three.
• Perpignan–Rivesaltes Airport (France) — about 65 km, across the border to the north.
• Barcelona–El Prat Josep Tarradellas Airport — about 150 km, roughly an hour and a half by motorway, and the largest of the three.
• Figueres–Vilafant station — about 10 km, on the Perpignan–Barcelona high-speed line, served by Renfe AVE and SNCF TGV trains; check current timetables.

By road, the AP-7 motorway has Figueres exits in both directions (exit 4 from Barcelona, exit 3 from France). A car is the practical way to explore: most of what follows is a 10- to 30-minute drive.

The house: a private villa beside Golf Peralada

Villa Pax is a 1,600 m² private estate right beside the fairways of Golf Peralada, rented as a whole to one group for exclusive weekly stays: eight en-suite bedrooms, each individually styled, for up to 15 guests.

• Two private pools — a lap pool and a platform pool on a shared wooden deck with ten sun loungers.
• A master suite with a freestanding stone bath, a panoramic window over the vineyard and a king bed with golf views.
• A 100 m² private gym with treadmills, weights, stationary bikes and a boxing bag.
• Floodlit multi-sport courts within the gated estate.
• A 250 m² private nightclub on the lower level, with DJ booth, bar, disco ball and fog machine.

Green fees and tee times are booked directly with the club and are not included in the stay. Enquiries come through this website; bookings are completed with our official partner, Majordoms Peralada.

Things to do near Peralada

Everything below is within roughly half an hour by car, and much of it far closer. Each section links to a fuller guide.

Golf Peralada, the hotel and its restaurants

Golf Peralada is an 18-hole, par-71 course designed by Jordi Soler Peix and opened in 1993, set midway between the Pyrenees and the coast, with a practice area and a nine-hole pitch & putt for beginners and younger players. The five-star Hotel Peralada stands on the course, with its Wine Spa and L'Olivera restaurant — a natural stop for lunch after a round. Tee times are booked with the club. More in our guide to Golf Peralada, the hotel and its restaurants and, for golf groups, where to stay on a Costa Brava golf trip.

Castell de Peralada: wine, the casino and the summer festival

In the village, the castle is the centrepiece. Remodelled with neo-medieval features from 1875, it was bought in 1923 by the Mateu family, who later turned part of it into a museum and a casino. The museum takes in the church and cloister of the old Carmelite convent, founded in 1293, a wine museum, a glass and ceramics collection and a library; the castle's restaurant is recognised by the Michelin Guide.

Since 1987 the castle has hosted the Festival Castell de Peralada, an international summer festival best known for opera. The Peralada winery, meanwhile, occupies a striking half-buried building designed with the Pritzker Prize-winning RCR Arquitectes. Check current opening times and festival dates, and read our guide to Castell de Peralada, its wineries, casino and festival.

Beaches and coves of the northern Costa Brava

Llançà is about 15 minutes away, Roses about 14 km, and Cadaqués — where Dalí built his home at Portlligat — around half an hour. Beyond lies Cap de Creus, the easternmost point of the Iberian Peninsula: a rocky, windswept headland of small coves, protected since 1998 as a natural park covering land and sea. Our guide to the beaches and coves of the northern Costa Brava picks out where to swim.

Medieval and coastal villages of the Empordà

Start in Peralada itself, then widen the circle. Castelló d'Empúries, a short drive south-east, became capital of the County of Empúries in 1079. Above El Port de la Selva, the monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes, whose church was consecrated in 1022, is considered one of the finest examples of Romanesque architecture in Catalonia. And Figueres, 10 to 12 minutes away, has the Dalí Theatre-Museum, where the artist is buried in a crypt beneath the stage. See our guide to the medieval and coastal villages of the Empordà.

Cycling on the Empordà plain

The plain offers gentle riding between villages, while the Albera and Cap de Creus add real climbs; professional teams have used the Costa Brava and the Girona Pyrenees for training camps for decades. For something easier, there are more than 200 km of greenways along former railway lines, and the Pirinexus, a 353 km circular route, links both sides of the Pyrenees. Routes are in our guide to cycling around Peralada and the Empordà.

Putting a week together

The pleasure of the Empordà is how little driving it takes to vary the days: golf one morning, the coves the next, a cellar visit and dinner in a medieval village in between. For a ready-made rhythm, see our seven-day Empordà itinerary.

Vines to the north, the sea to the east, fairways at the door — Peralada is the rare base where nobody in the group has to compromise.

Practical questions

How far is the beach from Peralada?

Roughly 15 to 30 minutes by car, depending on where you go: Llançà is about 15 minutes, Roses about 14 km and Cadaqués around 30 minutes.

What is the nearest airport to Peralada?

Girona–Costa Brava Airport, about 60 km away. Perpignan–Rivesaltes in France is about 65 km and Barcelona about 150 km. By rail, the Figueres–Vilafant high-speed station is about 10 km from Peralada.

Is Peralada a good base for families and large groups?

Yes, if you want space and variety without long drives. Villa Pax sleeps up to 15 in eight en-suite bedrooms, reserved for one group, with two pools and floodlit sports courts. Nearby, the pitch & putt suits younger golfers, and the Aiguamolls de l'Empordà, a wetland natural park between the Fluvià and Muga rivers, is rich in birdlife.