Blanes
—  Municipality  —
Flag Coat of arms
Blanes Location in Catalonia
Coordinates: 41°41′N 2°48′E / 41.683°N 2.8°E / 41.683; 2.8Coordinates: 41°41′N 2°48′E / 41.683°N 2.8°E / 41.683; 2.8
Country	Spain
Community	Catalonia
Province	Girona
Comarca	Selva
Government
• Mayor	Josep Marigó i Costa (PSC)
Area
• Total	17.68 km2 (6.83 sq mi)
Elevation	13 m (43 ft)
Population (2010)
• Total	40,010
• Density	2,300/km2 (5,900/sq mi)
Demonym	Blanencs
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	17300
Website	Official website

Blanes, Catalonia, Spain Blanes is a small town on the east coast of Spain in the regio of Catalonia in the province of Gerona. It's coast is part of the Costa Brava, which stretches from Blanes all the way to the French border. Blanes is famous for her nightlife, the Concurs de Focs d'Artifici during the Santa Anna festival which has a lot of fireworks and the beautiful botanical gardens.

History[link]

The history of Blanes dates back to the Roman Empire, some centurys B.C.. The Romans started 'Romanizing' Blanes and surroundings around 300 B.C.. There are remainings being found from around this time. After the reign of the Romans it was reigned by Arabs and Catholics. In the 13th century, after the Christians regained the power, important achitectural developments took place in Blanes. Some exampels are the palace, Palacio de los Vizcondes, the church Íglesia Parroquial and the citywalls.

In the 17th century, during de war of Los Segadores, Blanes got practically burned to ashes. As an example, the Palacio de los Vizcondes got completly destroyed. The last bad event Blanes had to deal with was the war Guerra de la Sucesion, after that the reconstruction of the town and the expansion of the agriculture started.

Botanical Gardens[link]

One of those botanical gardens is De Mar i Murtra, it's very colourful and it is almost 15 hectares big. It consist of over 4000 different plant species and is visited by 300.000 people every year. The other one is the Pinya de Rosa consisting of over 7000 different plant species of which a great amount is seen as the best one of the best in the world.

Fireworks[link]

The Concurs de Focs d'Artifici is an internatial competition of different countries around the world. It always takes place in the 3rd or 4th week of juli. Over 500.000 kilo's of firework are used and 100.000 people visit the festival. Most people watch the fireworks on the beach.

Nightlife[link]

The nightlife in Blanes is especially popular in northern Europian countries, mainly Holland. This is shown by the numerous cafe's with Dutch names and the amount of Dutch teenagers wandering the streets during the summer holiday. Very often you will see people go to the one of the many small restaurants and then rest a little while at the beach before they go out. This is what most travel guides/info sites recommend as being a fun activity.

2008 Storm[link]

In December 2008 an unusually strong storm struck Blanes' beach. The port of Blanes was hit hardest. The old seawall was already very old and wasn't capable of holding of a storm like this. Many pleasure boats, fishing vessels and tourist ferries were damaged and/or smashed onto the beach. Politicians had already said the harbor needed an upgrade, but the Ministry of Environments refused to let it be build because it would've damaged and negativly affect the coast. Then the storm came, in 2008. Locals later said it was the worst storm Blanes had seen since the 1950s.

Sport[link]

The city has a roller hockey team, Blanes Hoquei Club, and dispute the main League OK Liga. Blanes is also home to one of the most important tournaments of roller hockey, the Golden Cup.

Twin towns[link]

• Ardales, Spain
• Villenave-d'Ornon, France

References[link]

• Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria; Rios Calvet, Jaume; Rabella Vives, Josep Maria (1989). Guia de Catalunya, Barcelona:Caixa de Catalunya. ISBN 84-87135-01-3 (Spanish). ISBN 84-87135-02-1 (Catalan).

External links:[link]

• Official Blanes tourist guide
• Blanes Tourist Guide and News in English
• Concurs de Focs d'Artifici
• Harbor upgrade
• History of Blanes

v t e Municipalities of Selva Amer Anglès Arbúcies Blanes Breda Brunyola Caldes de Malavella La Cellera de Ter Fogars de la Selva Hostalric Lloret de Mar Massanes Maçanet de la Selva Osor Riells i Viabrea Riudarenes Riudellots de la Selva Sant Feliu de Buixalleu Sant Hilari Sacalm Sant Julià del Llor i Bonmatí Santa Coloma de Farners Sils Susqueda Tossa de Mar Vidreres Vilobí d'Onyar