Panorama from Pedraforca- Stéphanie Condis
The Catalan hinterland offers a nice alternative to lazing on the beaches and bustling life in Barcelona.

Between countryside and mountains, it makes it possible to reconcile sporting activities and gastronomy, green holidays and cultural visits, protected natural parks and medieval city.

No risk of getting bored by visiting the regions of Osona, around Vic, Berguedà, around Berga, and the Pyrenees.

Less touristy than the coast and the Catalan capital, it is an authentic territory, witness to the fascinating history of the province and its very rich natural and cultural heritage.

A must for those who really want to discover Catalonia in depth, taking their time.

No desire to compete with its big sister 70 km apart. With 40,000 inhabitants, Vic does not play in the same category as Barcelona. But it does not lack charm, with its historic center with a medieval layout, its small cobbled streets and its pretty squares.

The Plaça Major, the largest of the city, is the beating heart, giving rhythm to the rest of the city. In particular on market days, Tuesdays and Saturdays mornings: caged chickens tickled by children, fruit and vegetables overflowing with stalls, appetizing cheeses and breads, vibrant flowers, famous charcuterie.

The fuet (dry sausage) and the llonganissa (sausage) are some of Vic’s excellent specialties. Just like the pa de pessic, or “pinch bread”, a cake between the madeleine and the brioche that pecks with your fingertips.

The town is also recognized for its fascinating Episcopal Museu which highlights very well the medieval, Romanesque and Gothic religious art of the region. Upon entering, one is struck by a set of five statues of the 12th century depicting the descent from the cross: the characters, whose arms are articulated, could be animated to better strike the minds of the faithful. Other remarkable works, the painted wooden panels or the frescoes which decorated the churches.

The museum, rebuilt in 2002, blends in well with its surroundings, a huge picture window making the link with the Romanesque bell tower of the imposing neighboring cathedral. It has been altered and restored several times, like the Roman temple in the city center, which has become a cultural space.

The Pedraforca, mythical peak

It is not the highest point in the Catalan Pyrenees, since the Pique d’Estats flirts with 3,150 m, but it is a mountain to which the Catalans are very attached, as for the Montserrat.

It is true that the Pedraforca, this “Pierre Fourche” which is part of the Cadi-Moixeró natural park, has an intriguing silhouette, which inspires respect and admiration, with its two twin peaks…

False twins, because the Pollegó superior and its 2,507 m high cap his brother on the post. To climb everything up there, it takes about three hours, then two hours of very steep descent between the two rock formations.

The hike begins in the forest, punctuated by streams and waterfalls, up to the Col del Verdet: it offers a panorama of the two valleys that surround the Pedraforca, and the lucky ones can also observe isards. There begins the final ascent, on the bare white rock, with the help of the arms. Besides, rock climbing fans choose the north face to climb to the summit.

Another possibility is to go around the mountain in seven hours to admire all its facets.

Montseny, biosphere reserve

The Montseny Natural Park is home to precious biodiversity. This is why it belongs to the world network of biosphere reserves set up by Unesco.

Its landscapes are varied, from steep reliefs to plains crossed by rivers, passing by the high plateaus. Forests cover a large part of this massif which rises to 1,707 m.

Among the tree species, the chestnut tree, revered in the region, especially during the chestnut festival, a week before All Saints’ Day. On this occasion, the organizing village, Viladrau, multiplies its population by ten!

The Center de manipulació de la castanya offers guided tours, by reservation, to discover chestnut trees over several hundred years old, following one of the five paths, on foot or by 4×4.

Of the 2,500 chestnuts on the estate, 400 are currently used to harvest chestnuts. They are subject to special treatment to revitalize them: radical pruning, respecting a distance of ten meters between them, clearing all around.

Even those whose trunk seems dead leave again to give fruit then transformed into flour (gluten-free), pancakes, foam, jam, beer, liqueur, etc. Workshops organized by the center teach visitors to work with this very resistant wood or to make bread.

The Artigas Gardens, work of Gaudí

Gaudí only created three gardens in his life. One is in a Cantabrian villa, the other is the famous Parc Güell in Barcelona and the latter is hidden in a small valley deep in the Berguedà region, in the village of La Pobla de Lillet.

This achievement is also linked to the Catalan Güell, industrial friend of the whimsical architect. Güell owned coal mines nearby and had ordered residences from Gaudí to bring his employees closer to their place of work. The artist, hosted during this mission by the Artigas family, then wished to thank her by imagining the Artigas gardens for their home, adjoining their textile factory.

In a limited and convoluted space, crossed by the nascent Llobregat river, he designed, on several levels, a cave, fountains, a bridge with a single arch, a tavern, a gazebo-gazebo, etc. We find his original style, inspired by nature, but without the colors. He indeed wanted to favor the materials of the surroundings: gray stone, pebbles, slate and cement produced not far from there.

In addition, to reach the gardens, visitors can take the Tren del Ciment, a small tourist train running on the old route used to transport this material. This is one of the traces of the industrial past of the area, which can also be found in the Cercs Mines museum, devoted to the history and techniques of coal extraction, or in the Petroleum mine Riutort which is also open to the public.

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