It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? After months of cold, dark and coats zipped tight, Easter Week is here, and this year it arrives with spring well underway. Finally, April brings a perfect opportunity to make the most of the first big break of the year, to get away from the routine, and enjoy long evenings and good times.

In Cardona we love Easter Week, so we have some suggestions for you, plus tips, for if you want to come and enjoy these days with us.

1- Our “musts”

Salt Mountain, the Castle and the Historic Centre are the three great attractions of the town, and the guided dramatised tours are the best way to discover them. Cardona Turisme has scheduled more than 250 sessions for the week, and we offer 20 tourism professionals to tell you about the town, go with you on outings and give you advice during your stay.

TIP: Schedule your visits in advance, and buy tickets on the cardonaturisme.cat website. These are busy days for visitors, and sell-outs do happen on holidays in Cardona.

2- A walk to your liking

Cardona’s natural environment is enormous, and you can find dozens of routes and itineraries to suit every visitor, from a simple walk along the Camí Nou around the Castles, to longer routes for travellers looking for a more demanding trek. April is the best month of the year to enjoy nature and the colours of spring at their brightest, and a luxury excursion is well worth it.

TIP: Make it a game to take selfies with the imposing Cardona Castle in the background. Look for the “selfie points” in the Plaça de la Fira, the Mirador del Castell, the Bòfia de la Sal Roja and more. Your camera roll will be legendary!

3- Les Caramelles

If your stay overlaps with Easter Sunday, set aside the morning to wander the streets of Cardona and look for the caramellaire singing troupes that come out to celebrate the day. The tradition of the Coromina troupe, the ancient rattle dance of the Pagès troupe, and the local satirical plays of the Jove troupe, fill the town centre with music and dance. It will be easy to find them. Just follow the sound! Although, at times you may hear singing from all around, in the purest sort of 360 experience. If you hear shots, don’t be alarmed. The Pagès caramellaires troupe march with the Trabucaires de Sant Ramon (that is, the Sant Ramon Blunderbuss Squadron), and we assure you the shots are a great way to find them.

TIP: If you don’t have all morning, at around 1:30 in the afternoon you can head to the Plaça de la Fira, in front of the town hall. That’s when all the troupes gather there with their songs and dances, and then everyone sings the Sardana de Cardona. 

4- Hidden spots

The historic centre is full of hidden gems, which you might enjoy discovering on your own. For example, the Portal de Graells, the only city gate that remains intact and where you can see a section of the medieval wall, or the arcades of the Plaça del Mercat, next to the imposing temple of Sant Miquel, a church built and financed by 14th-century merchants. Also look for the Font del Vall, the end point of an incredible work of medieval hydraulic engineering, or the Plaça de Santa Eulàlia, the first town centre, with the chapel and the old hospital for pilgrims and the poor. Right in this square, half hidden, is another jewel of our heritage: the Josep Arnau Salt Museum. This building houses a magnificent collection of handicrafts made with this precious mineral.

TIP: Plan your walk so that you end up in the Plaça de la Fira. There, in addition to the monument to Count Borrell II by Josep Maria Subirachs, there are a lot of restaurant terraces where you can enjoy a bite in the open air and take advantage of the spring sunshine to do what we love most: sit and watch the world go by.

5- Bon appetite!

One of the best moments during your stay in Cardona will be the lunch break, or dinner after a busy day of nature, culture and heritage. We recommend discovering Cardona’s cuisine at the restaurants in the town and the surrounding area. Definitely try the most traditional dishes, but also let yourself be seduced by some of the more daring meal ideas to stimulate all five senses, and maybe even exclaim, “Please, let’s keep it going!” We have restaurants in old mills, in Gothic houses, in modernist buildings and more architectural gems. Look for them and have a meal. You won’t be disappointed.

TIP: It will probably already be on the table, but don’t forget the star flavouring of our town: Cardona salt. Pure, crystalline, with millions of years of history, and famous since the Middle Ages. Everything is better and healthier with our salt.

6- Good night!

Enjoying Cardona to the fullest in a single day is practically impossible, so we suggest spending two or three days here. We have charming hotels, a wide selection of tourist apartments designed with exquisite taste, and a series of rural homes to surround you with nature and tranquillity.

TIP: Let yourself be carried away by the rhythm of history. The bells of the church of Sant Miquel, for centuries, have had the job of marking the passage of time, announcing noon and night, and letting us know when it’s time to celebrate. If you decide to stay in the town, open your balconies and windows and listen to them; you’ll discover another way to enjoy the passage of time.   

Take a look at our website to plan your visit:
www.cardonaturisme.cat