FIGUERES      

 

Figueres (35,233 inh.). Capital of the region, in the contact area between the ampurdanés (from Ampurdán) plain and the Garrotxes d'Empordà. Active market city and major communications junction, it was the centre of federal republicanism under the leadership of Abdó Terradas (native of Figueres) and also homeland of Narcís Monturiol, utopian socialist known as the inventor of the submarine. The most universal figure of our times is undoubtedly Salvador Dalí, and the Dalí Theatre-Museum, in the old municipal theatre, is one of the most visited in the country. La Rambla, the city centre, has interesting modernist and neoclassical buildings by architects Josep Azemar i Pont and Josep Roca i Bros. The village gave birth to the sardana (Catalan folk dance), thanks to the figure Pep Ventura. Active cultural and associative life. Charming, evocating Museo del Juguete (Toy Museum). Accredited gastronomic centre. On the outskirts, the stunning bulk of the castle of Sant Ferran, an 18th century fortress, the second largest in Europe.