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A Costa Brava town turns into a medieval market for two days
Castell d’Aro will travel several centuries back on the weekend of 22 and 23 August. Its historic centre will celebrate the Medieval Market’s 25th anniversary with crafts, traditional trades, knights, street theatre, music and children’s activities, on a day trip possible from Barcelona.
During both days, the streets around Castell de Benedormiens and the church of Santa Maria will fill with craft and food stalls, food spaces and characters dressed in period costume. The programme will run morning and afternoon, with activities spread across different squares in the old town.
One of the main attractions will be seeing craftspeople at work live. There will be demonstrations of forging and glassblowing, medieval dyeing techniques, beekeeping-related activities and different workshops that will allow visitors to discover how some trades worked in the Middle Ages.
Children will also have their own programme, with construction workshops, the making of wax flowers and medieval pendants, as well as circus, games and a historical camp. Throughout the day, parades, musical performances and theatrical shows will take place in the streets.
Saturday will begin at 10:30 with the opening proclamation in plaça de Santa Maria. At 13:15 one of the first duels between knights will take place and, later in the afternoon, plaça Poeta Sitjar will host a knightly tournament at 20:30 before the day closes with medieval music at 21:30. Much of the programme will be repeated on Sunday.
Getting there from Barcelona does not require organising a long journey either. Moventis-Sarfa offers direct buses from Estació del Nord and the airport to Platja d’Aro, with an approximate journey time of one hour and 45 minutes. By car, the route via the AP-7 can be completed in around an hour and a quarter, depending on traffic.
This year the celebration reaches its 25th anniversary and takes advantage of one of Baix Empordà’s most recognisable historical settings to make the walk part of the experience. There is no need to follow every activity on the programme: strolling through the squares among blacksmiths, musicians, food stalls and medieval characters already makes the visit one of those summer plans that allow Barcelona to be swapped for a different landscape for a few hours.