Lloret de Mar - What Do You Think?

It’s no more than an hour’s drive from Barcelona (at a sensible time!) and is in the southern section of the Costa Brava. For a coastal photographer this is a great place to be.

However …

Its reputation can proceed it. “Lloret de Mar the party town”.

So what do I think? …

In search of a good image, I have driven up past Blanes and up through Lloret de Mar on many occasions early in the morning before sunrise. There is no doubt, Lloret de Mar is one of the places you will see plenty of young people finishing their evening’s entertainment at 6am! Never have I seen problems, and certainly I have never seen much police presence. So, just people having a good time.

In terms of coastal photography, Lloret has the coastal path running right through South to North. My favourite is to head up past the castle, through a short tunnel and appear at Cala dels Frares. The path then winds North and offers some wonderful views.

So, I headed out on the 8th December. And the path through the tunnel was shut! … Danger, Landslides.

The focus would have to be the bay of Lloret de Mar itself, and then head South to Playa de Fenals.

Pre-sunrise HDR - The Castle

The obvious choice in the bay itself is looking North East and using the Castle as a silhouette. I was lucky with some broken clouds adding a little interest and around 7:45am the sky was glowing beautiful orange. Some rocks just at the shoreline offer some layering to the photograph, and with a relatively choppy sea, the waves provided added texture (and some chaos!)

I was happy with a few of the images. What do you think?

So next, the town and the coastal path South.

Due to having to change to Plan B, my idea was that after capturing a few sunrise images, I would then walk South through the town and out onto the coastal path to Playa de Fenals. Despite being early and a little chilly(!) there was always movement and people out walking, exercising the dog, or running along the promenade. It is a peaceful atmosphere, with people starting their day, and not at all the crazy scene of long nights of drinking coming to an end. This was a Costa Brava town waking up the right way.

The promenade runs along the long sandy beach. Skirted by hotels, apartment buildings, the city hall, and of course a choice of bars, restaurants and some souvenir shops. Still, not too bad.

Okay - so it’s a kebab shop!

Once reaching the southern end of the bay, the path climbs up and very soon you find yourself in another lovely section of the Costa Brava coastal path. With the recent windy weather and the choppy seas, it made for some spectacular splashing waves and added texture to the coastline photos.

Coastal fishing is highly popular, and as always a few chaps were set up looking for a catch.

The path pushes on upwards and passes the smaller castle of Castell de Sant Joan, then sharply descends towards Playa de Fenals. The track is well engineered along here with properly maintained steps and some constructed look-out view points. Once again I cannot recommend more an early morning walk along these sections of the coastal path. De-stress!

Finally the route brings you around to the view of Playa de Fenals.

This was my first time at this beach. I knew it was well populated with second residences and holiday homes, but it manages to retain a less developed and more peaceful feel. Again, people out starting their day, getting some fresh air, exercise and chatting with friends.

At the far end of the beach, there is even less development, and after a short ascent you are once again onto the classic Costa Brava coastal path with magnificent views.

The rugged beauty of the Costa Brava coast

I spent a short of amount of time checking out the area, and noted a section of the walk towards Sa Boadella that would be for another day!

So back to Playa de Fenals, up and over to Lloret de Mar … and breakfast. (Cafe Bar Anubis … does a lovely omelette sandwich!)

So my conclusion …

Lloret de Mar is obviously a place that you can have some fun, and plenty of people do. Maybe most of the night time action is a little away from the promenade and the coast itself. During my visits, and again on this occasion, I found the place to be peaceful and beautiful in the morning sun. It has some life, and clearly a community that that gets out early to enjoy the location.

For a photographer it has plenty to offer, and I for sure will be back many times!