Cardedeu

Cardedeu brings together rural routes and historical and architectural themes. To plan your trip, you can choose from walks and cycling routes, puzzle trails, and places connected to local history. Borregos, a Cardedeu specialty, add a culinary aspect to your experience of the town. If you are looking for a hotel in Cardedeu, it helps to decide first which of these aspects you are most interested in during your stay.

Routes, trails and countryside

Close to the town centre, rural paths wind through fields and forests. They offer quiet, flat places for walking or sporting activities. A total of 24 hiking or cycling routes are available in the Cardedeu area. Parc Pompeu Fabra is the starting point for various routes through the municipality’s natural and cultural surroundings. The different options give you several starting points for planning: short paths near the town centre sit alongside a range of hiking and cycling routes, without requiring you to choose a particular route.

The Serra de Sant Hilari also offers its own distinctive landscape, with mixed forest, cultivated fields and vineyards. Around the Mas and Ermita de Sant Hilari, panoramic views open up across the surrounding fields and mountain ranges. Montseny Natural Park is less than half an hour from Cardedeu. You can therefore consider the municipality’s landscapes and the natural park as different themes for your trip.

Puzzles and guided walks

Els enigmes de Cardedeu | Street Scape The game consists of two puzzle trails. One runs through the centre of Cardedeu and explores its historical and architectural heritage; the other passes through the municipality’s natural surroundings. Both games can be played around the clock, 365 days a year. The Museu Arxiu Tomàs Balvey also offers guided walks to explore the municipality’s and comarca’s heritage and art. The two activities have different focuses: the puzzle trails centre on play and two different settings, while the museum walks focus on art and heritage.

History and architecture

The Museu Arxiu Tomàs Balvey preserves historical, ethnographic and artistic collections relating to Cardedeu’s history. A distinctive individual feature of the town’s history is the Farmàcia Balvey, which retains its original fittings from 1812 and more than 200 pharmacy jars. The church of Santa Maria de Cardedeu has been documented since the 9th century; the present church dates from the 16th and 17th centuries. The Roman villa of Pla de les Parets, in turn, comprises a rural area and a residential area with small baths.

Several buildings and architectural ensembles are associated with the architect Manuel Joaquim Raspall. He designed Parc dels Pinetons in 1930. The municipal cemetery was built to his design between 1919 and 1920 and retains its original layout. Alqueria Cloèlia was the summer residence of Mercè Espinach and Raspall’s first private commission in 1904. Casa Golferichs is a work by Raspall dating from 1908; Carmen Golferichs Losada, the widowed wife of Masó, commissioned it as a summer residence for the family. The towers of Cardedeu’s summer residences range stylistically from eclecticism and classicism through Modernisme to Noucentisme. The Sant Hilari complex is classified as a Bé Cultural d’Interès Local and is of architectural and historical value to Cardedeu. These examples show different approaches to architectural history, from individual summer residences to a protected complex.

The Museu Arxiu Tomàs Balvey also has a garden featuring Mediterranean plant species used for medicinal purposes. Educational visits and workshops on natural and scientific heritage are offered there. Access and programmes may change; check current visiting options in advance. The museum offers guided visits to the Sant Hilari complex for organised groups by prior arrangement.

Local speciality and festival dates

Borregos are a symbol and speciality of Cardedeu. They are made with flour, sugar, butter, matafaluga and anise. For seasonal guidance when planning your trip: the Aplec de Sant Hilari traditionally takes place on the second Sunday in January. The Festa Major falls on the weekend closest to 15 August. The Fira de Nadal i del Torró Artesà takes place in the second week of December; the annual programme and dates may vary. If a festival is important to your choice of travel dates, check the event dates for the year of your trip.

Plan your journey

Cardedeu has a stop on the Rodalies Line 2 between Sant Vicenç de Calders and Maçanet-Massanes. Train services and timetables may change; check current connections before travelling. Once you have chosen your travel dates, you can coordinate your journey with the activities you have chosen locally.

Discover more destinations: Lliçà D'amunt, Torrelavit, Vic, Talamanca, Argentona, Calaf, Manlleu, Cantonigròs.

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