Golfers wanting to play Spain’s best golf course can now arrive by high-speed rail thanks to the new link that connects Costa Brava to Europe’s major cities.
The
new line, which saw the Perpignan-Figueres sction inaugurated in late
2010, has now been extended to Girona and Barcelona, enabling
visitors from across Continental Europe to play some of Spain’s top
rankedgolf
courses on the Costa Brava.
The
latest 131km branch between Figueres – home to Dalí’s
Theatre-Museum – and the metropolitan city of Barcelona completes
the 804km high-speed line between Madrid and the French boarder. It
also leaves Spain second only to China in the size of its high-speed
rail network, with 3,000 kilometres (1,864 miles) in service.
Commenting
on the new Barcelona-Figueres link, Ramon Ramos, Director of Costa
Brava Girona Tourist Board, said: “The new high-speed train line
opens up many opportunities for Franco-Spanish tourism and enables
visitors from across Europe to experience the Costa Brava, its famous
gastronomy and cultural heritage, as well as its quality golf
courses.
“It
used to take two hours to
travel by train from
Barcelona to Figueres,” he continued. “But now, with the new
link, the trip’s only 53 minutes long. To get to Girona its just 37
minutes and if you’re planning a trip to Madrid you can be there in
3h 32 min.”
Eight
of the current nine southbound trains will connect Girona and
Figueres with the Barcelona-Zaragoza-Madrid service, while two
northbound trains will offer links to France's TGV line to Paris,
where passengers will be able to reach the French capital in just 5h
26 min.
Ramon
Ramos added: “The new branch most definitely enhances the ‘pull’
of Costa Brava as an important Europeangolfing destination
– and we look forward to welcoming even more
visitors to Spain’s rugged coast this year,
and in the years to come.”
The
new high-speed rail link complements flights into
the region’s two airports (Girona-Costa Brava and Barcelona
International), the cross-border motorway network into France and the
international ports of Palamós and Roses.
Costa
Brava golf courses:
Costa
Brava offers some outstanding golf courses, including: Spain’s
No.1 golf course and World Top 100 venue PGA Catalunya
Resort, Golf Girona, Club de Golf Costa
Brava, Golf d’Aro, Club de Golf Peralada, Golf Platja
de Pals and Continental European Top 100 Course at Empordà Golf,
as well as Torremirona Golf
Club, the delightful par-3 Pitch
& Putt Gualta and Pitch &
Putt Papalús.