Castelló d'Empúries

The town first appears in the records in 879. By 1064 the counts of Empúries had moved their seat here from the old Roman city of Empúries, and that same year the church of Santa María was consecrated for the first time in its original Romanesque form. A substantial Jewish community grew up within the town walls — at its peak around 300 people, with two synagogues — until the Jews were expelled by royal decree in 1492.

The medieval period was the town's high point; the historic centre still preserves much of its layout from that era, including arcaded squares, palaces, and monasteries.

The church of Santa María dominates the town. Gothic in style, it is cathedral-sized — the counts of Empúries repeatedly tried to have it raised to cathedral status and never succeeded. Construction began in the medieval period and finished when the marble portal facade was added. The bell tower predates the Gothic nave and follows the Lombard Romanesque tradition.

The old town holds several other medieval civic buildings worth seeking out. The Llotja (Exchange), dating from around 1393, served as both town hall and maritime exchange; inside, a Gothic ribbed vault carries the town's emblem at its keystone. Nearby, the Cúria i Presó (courthouse and prison), built around 1336, still has graffiti scratched into the walls by former inmates. The Portal de la Gallarda, a rectangular Gothic tower, was the eastern gate through the town walls. The Casa Gran, an austere example of Catalan civil Gothic, stands out for its sober facade and two slim windows. The Pont Vell crosses the river Muga on seven arches of unequal width, rebuilt many times after flood and war damage.

Three convents survive in various states. Santa Clara was founded outside the walls in 1260 and moved inside in 1683; its single-nave church and plain arcaded cloister are still intact. The Convent de la Mercè, founded in 1238, retains two Renaissance cloister galleries. The Convent de Santa Magdalena retains a fragment of a Jewish funerary slab set into its church doorway.

Surrounding the town, the Aiguamolls de l'Empordà natural park covers 4,730 hectares of wetlands, more than half of which fall within the municipal boundary, with ponds, marshes, beaches, and irrigation channels supporting rich plant and animal life.

The nearest airports are Girona-Costa Brava in Spain and Perpignan–Rivesaltes across the border in France. Figueres, 10 km away, has a high-speed rail station with connections to Barcelona, Madrid, and the French TGV network; from France, trains run from Montpellier and Perpignan to the Spanish border, then onward to Figueres. The town is also 10 km from Roses, and a regular bus line runs along this county axis.

As of January 2024, Castelló d'Empúries and its approach roads have 5G coverage from all Spanish carriers.