martes, 1 de marzo de 2011

CATALONIA: VALL DE CAMPRODON AND RIPOLL

La Vall de Camprodon belongs to the province of Girona and it's really close to France. The most important town of this valley is Ripoll, where you can visit the fantastic Santa Maria de Ripoll monastery, one of the cradles of Catalan culture together with Montserrat Monastery and the nice monastery of Santa Maria de Poblet.

In this beautiful valley we spent two nice days in 2008 visiting the next lovely villages:

Camprodon


Pont Nou in Camprodon
Camprodon medieval bridge called Pont Nou


Camprodon in Catalonia
Overview of Camprodon from the Pont Nou. As you can see, the day was really lovely


Setcases

Setcases in Vall de Camprodon
Typical stone houses in Setcases, a really lovely small village of La Vall de Camprodon, located near the sky resort Walter 2000


Setcases in Vall de Camprodon
Pyrenees snow-capped mountains from Setcases


Vall de Camprodon near SetcasesLandscape of Vall de Camprodon near Setcases


Vall de Camprodon near Walter 2000
This place in La Vall de Camprodon was really peaceful and beautiful




Col d'Ares



Pyrenees from Col d'Ares
We had our hotel reservation in a small village of France near the border, so we had to drive through el Col d'Ares. This picture shows a landscape just before arriving at the border


Col d'Ares in the Pyrenees
We stopped at El Col D'Ares to have a break


Col d'Ares in the Pyrenees
and to enjoy the fantastic views :)


Molló


Romanesque church of Mollo
Coming back from France we stopped at Molló to visit its lovely Romanesque church


Romanesque church of Mollo
A closer view of the apse and the bell tower of the Romanesque church of Molló


Sant Joan de les Abadesses


Monastery of Sant Joan de les Abadesses
In Sant Joan de les Abadesses there is one of the most important monasteries of Catalonia


Ripoll Monastery



Ripoll Monastery in Catalonia
Ripoll monastery, cradle of Catalan culture


Church of Ripoll Monastery
Church of Ripoll Monastery. I was surprised because this monastery is really well preserved


Tomb of Guifeé el Pilos
Tomb of Guifré el Pilós, one of the Catalonia first kings, inside the church of Ripoll Monastery

Ripoll Monastery in Catalonia
Bell tower of Ripoll Monastery from the cloister


Cloister of Ripoll Monastery
Overview of the two-storey cloister of Ripoll Monastery


Cloister of Ripoll Monastery
Typical romanesque arches, style in which the Ripoll Monastery was built



Finally, if you liked these landscapes, clicking on the next links you will find links to other fantastic places in the Pyrenees of Catalonia, Andorra and France, like:

- Catalonia:

- Andorra:

Besides, if you like religious buildings like the Ripoll Monastery, the next link will show you more interesting monasteries in Catalonia.


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