Turistinformation fär Salou - Spanien

General Facts:
Country:Spain
Continent:Europe
Spanish name:Salou
Province:Catalonia
District:Tarragona
Coast:Costa Daurada
Language:Catalan and Spanish, but English and other languages spoken
Main airport:Barcelona Airport
Climate:Continental
Time zone:CET (UTC+1)
International dialing code:+34
Local currency:€ Euro
Salou is the biggest and most famous holiday resort along the Mediterranean Sea in Spain. It is located in the Costa Dorada, on the east coast of Spain, between Tarragona and Cambrils, about 15 kilometres from the airport of Reus. Tarragona is the capital city of the Costa Dorada. Salou has a beautiful palm promenade with lots of shops, bars, restaurants and discos. The restaurants offer a wide range of both local and international dishes.

Salou is well known because of its great nightlife and the long sandy beaches with fine sand. Especially Platje de Llevant, just before the centre of Salou, is a popular beach. The nightlife is very diverse and has some typical Dutch and English bars. Outside Salou there are two districts, Cap Salou and La Pineda. La Pineda has a small centre.		 Salou Costa Daurada Tarragona Spain
Salou has a rich history. During the Roman period, Salou was called Salauris. In the past Salou belonged to the Roman and Mohammedans and then came in possession of the church of Tarragona. The most important promenade of the town is called after King Jaime 1: the boulevard Passeig de Jaume I. Around 1229 he discovered the good qualities of the natural harbour of Salou and he gathered his whole fleet here. On 6 September 1229 he left from here with his whole fleet to conquer Mallorca which was then owned by the Moorish. During the second half of the 14th century the living conditions in Salou were very hard. The population of Salou left the town because of the war between Peter I of Catile and Peter of Aragon. Also the regular plundering by pirates depopulation of the land. In 1530 the archbishop of Tarragona, Pere of Cardona, gave the order to build a defence tower, the "Torre Vella" (the Old Tower) in order to protect the habitants and the goods. The tower is now used as the centre of art. Till 1673 Salou was part of the Tarragona province. In this year the arch bishop of Tarragoa, Brother Manual of Espinos, granted the area of Barenys and Emprius of Salou to the city of Vila-seca. With this, the province of Tarragona gave away certain rights to the neighbouring city of Vilaseca which enabled Vilaseca to possess Salou and its harbour. This caused many quarrels with the neighbouring city of Reus. During the 17th and 18th century the harbour flourished and it became the most important transit port. In 1766 the church of Santa Maria del Mar was sanctified and after that the pier in the Carrer Barcelona street, the Harbour office and the New Custom were built. In 1858 the lighthouse at the cape Salou was put into use. In 1863 the "bath houses" on the beach of Platja de Poniente were allowed. In 1865 the train station was opened. The well known "Carrilet", the tram from Reus to Salou was put into use in 1887 and took the first summer tourists to the city. From the beginning of the 20th century and especially in the sixties, Salou has grown enormously because of the rising tourism. In 1965 the monument of Jame 1 was risen in a big ceremony. On 30 October 1989 the Higher Court exclaimed the separation of the centre of Salou and with this, Salou got its complete independence.

Places of interest
Museum
Harbour
Church
Port Aventura
Jeep safari
Train tour through the city

Theme park Universal Studios Port Aventura
The park Universal Studios Port Aventura is one of the biggest theme parks of Europe. It has 117 hectare recreative and amusing area divided over five thematic zones based on five cultures: the Mediterranean Sea, Plynesié, China, Mexico and the American far west. Recently the park has opened a new attraction, Sea Odyssey, the most advanced attraction in the world in the area of technology. Sea Odyssey simulates a journey at the bottom of the ocean. It uses the top technology of Universal Studios with an unknown quality of virtual reality. The park is located in Salou itself, just 5 minutes walking from the Placa d'Europa. It can also be reached by the tourist trains of Salou. 		Theme park Universal Studios Port Aventura Salou Costa Daurada Tarragona Spain

Excursion to Reus, Sama Park (Cambrills), Tarragona, The Cistercian Monastery Itine, The Ebro Delta Nature Reserve

Excursion to Torre Vella (the Old Tower)

Shopping
Salou has many tourist shops with lots of souvenirs, cloths, jewellery and other things. Especially in the new part of Salou lots of shops are found together. Every Monday there is a market which is one big attraction to visitors. During the summer you can visit the trade market in the Masía Catalana where various products can be bought.

Children
Amusement park/Big recreation ground
Swimming paradise Aquapolis
Most accommodations offer lots of children entertainment. The hotels in Salou are especially focused on families with children and organize lots of activities for them. Many hotels also have their own mini club so that parents can easily go out in the afternoon without their kids. Some hotels/aparthotels have their own baby sitter service by their own personnel.

Nightlife
Flashback, Snoepy's and La Cage are the most popular discotheques, however the absolute hit is the Pacha. Pacha is a magnificent mega discotheque and the biggest of Spain. Especially famous are the Holland Parties, with each week another top DJ. 		Snoepy's Salou Costa Daurada Tarragona Spain

Beaches
Salou has beautiful beaches with fine gold sand and clear shallow water. All the beaches have the Blue Flag, the international quality award by the ENCAMS administers on behalf of FEE (Foundation for Environmental Education). The beaches are ideal for families with children. The coast of Salou is very diverse. There are bays with natural beauty which can not be accessed directly and that's why they are less known. Many of these bays are surrounded by pine trees. 		Zürich, Switserland

Platje de Llevant
Platja de Llevant is located in the centre of Salou along the boulevard of the Passeig de Jaume. The beach borders on the harbour. Behind the beach there is a large promenade with fountains. It is a long beach with a gradually sloping sea bottom. There are no undercurrent or high waves in the sea. It offers many water sport activities.
Characteristics:
Topless allowed
Ball games allowed
Sand
Length: 1643 m.
Min. 67 m. width
Max. 75 m. width
Gradually sloping sea bottom
Sand at sea bottom
Beach bar
30 meter terrace
Beach lounges
Parasols
Supervision
First Aid
Showers
Toilets
Volleyball
Badminton
Recreation-ground / playground
Blue quality flag
Parasailing
Pedal boat
Waterscooters
Banana/tube

Platja Cala Crancs
Platja Cala de la Font

Platja de Llarga
Playa Llarga is about 600 meter long. It is an attractive beach, surrounded by pine trees and a beautiful nature. The best way to reach it is by the street C./Replanells (Carrer Replanells), along the coastal road from Salou to Tarragona.

Platja de Llenguadets
Playa Llenguadets is a beautiful bay and can only be reached by foot from the street C./Tortosa (Carrer de la Torrassa). It is 125 meter long and surrounded by nature.

Platja de Ponent The beach Playa de Ponent borders on the city of Cambrils and is one of the largest beaches of Salou. It has a length of about 1100 meter and is located between the city of Cambrils and the harbour. In the past, when it was not yet allowed that men and women swum together, this used to be the beach of the women (Platja de les dones).

Platja de Llevant Playa de Llevant is 1200 meter long and 140 meter width. It is the most popular beach. During the summer there is a large sport area on the beach. In the past this beach used to be for men only. Between this beach and the beach of Ponent you can find the harbour in the west (Yachtclub Salou).

Platja de Penya Tallada Playa Penya-Tallada is a beautiful small bay of 125 meter long.

Platja dels Capellans Playa de los Capellans is an attractive beach with a length of 220 meter. It is located near the street C./Bruselles and popularly called "Cala Capellans". It borders both in the north and in the west on cliffs. This small beach is located in the town centre. Just like the other municipal beaches, the beach is gradually sloping which makes it a very safe beach.

Platja Cala de la Font The Playa Cala de la Font beach owes its name to the occurrence of a water source that continuously flew till some years ago. The beach is 70 meter long and 54 meter width and can be reached through the street C./de Las Dunas (Carrer de les Dunes).

Platja Cala Crancs Playa Cala Crancs is one of the most attractive beaches of Salou. It is the most eastern one and has a length of 85 meter and is 50 meter width. You can reach it trough the way to the lighthouse of Salou and through the street C./Pins del Cintet, in de Urbanisation Nuria.