The river Segre as it passes through Balaguer

The area

A thousand years of history on the doorstep

Things to do, places to go, tourist information and much more.

Near the hotel

From the Andalusi site to untouched gorges

Balaguer and La Noguera hold a little-known and very well preserved heritage. These are the visits we recommend to our guests.

A 2-minute walk

El Pla d'Almatà

The largest surviving Andalusi settlement in Catalonia. It was ringed by a wall of which some 700 metres remain, with 27 solid rammed-earth towers, and it had funduqs where merchants stayed with their goods and pack animals.

The remains are laid out along streets that trace a regular, orderly town, with residential, industrial, religious and burial areas. The congregational mosque stood where the church of the Sant Crist is today: doctrine was taught there, justice was handed down and the great public assemblies were held.

Next to the hotel

Santuari del Sant Crist

Set on a raised terrace above the bend of the Segre, looking out over the town. The delicate carving of the Sant Crist sits within an imposing complex made up of the church, the Poor Clares convent and the rectory houses. The image venerated today is the work of the sculptor Joaquim Ros and keeps the foot of the original carving, burnt in 1936.

A 10-minute walk

El Castell Formós

Work began in 897 and in the mid-eleventh century a palace was built here, decorated with refined polychrome arabesques on plaster and multi-lobed arches looking out towards the Segre.

After the conquest in the early twelfth century, the counts of Urgell took over the old palace and turned it into their residence. In the fourteenth century major works turned the whole northern area into a garden watered by ceramic channels, with tilework made by Morisco craftsmen in Manises-Paterna. It was destroyed in 1413.

1 hour by car

Congost de Mont-rebei

Carved by the river Noguera Ribagorçana as it cuts through the Montsec range, it is the only gorge in Catalonia that remains untouched. The only way through is a bridle path partly cut into the rock. The walls drop more than 500 metres, and at the narrowest points the gorge is just 20 metres wide.

50 minutes by car

Montsec Astronomy Park

The unique conditions of the Montsec sky make astronomical research and outreach possible: the Starlight Foundation awarded it Starlight Tourist Destination certification for its conditions for stargazing. The park houses the Centre for the Observation of the Universe and the Astronomical Observatory, with a permanent exhibition, a planetarium with full-dome 3D projection and a telescope park.

25 minutes by car

Congost de Mu

Between Camarasa and Alòs de Balaguer, the river Segre runs hemmed in between imposing eroded mountains that form a spectacular gorge. It can be walked fairly easily and, as it is not widely known, it makes for a quiet visit and an unforgettable corner of the Montsec range.

30 minutes by car

Cova dels Vilars

In a rock shelter in the Vilars ravine, west of Os de Balaguer, lies a jewel of the rock art of the Mediterranean basin. The shelter is under 6 m², but it holds as many as 28 rock paintings declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Guided visits available.

45 minutes by car

Energy Interpretation Centre

At the foot of the 152-metre Canelles dam, one of the most striking hydraulic works built in Europe over the last 50 years. The visit takes in the outside and the inside of an underground power station built into the mountain, with an output of 120,000 kW, and the Cova Negra.

Arcaded streets in the centre of Balaguer

A 10-minute walk

The old town of Balaguer

The Plaça del Mercadal, one of the largest arcaded squares in Catalonia, and the web of medieval streets running down to the river. Weekly market on Saturdays.

Hotel Santuari

Rest starts up here

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