Some places are best saved for the journey — while they really are on the way. They fit naturally into your arrival or return trip; once you are in Santa Susanna, going all the way back just for them can feel a little far.
Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona airport — most routes run along the AP-7. Around a hundred kilometres before Barcelona, there is one stop worth planning: PortAventura.
One of Spain's best-known theme parks, with the original PortAventura Park, Ferrari Land, and Caribe Aquatic Park all in one complex. For families with children from about five upwards, it easily fills a whole day.
The strategy is simple: leave Madrid in the morning, spend the day at PortAventura, and get back in the car around 8 pm. Children fall asleep in the back, and by 10 pm you are at the villa — which is certainly ready by then.
Or stay the night beside the park if you want a real two-day pause before arriving. That way, you reach us rested — after a day of fun, not after a day at the wheel.
trust us — once you're here, you won't feel like driving two hours back for this
Toulouse, Perpignan, the south of France, the Côte d'Azur — all of that counts as "north" on our map. Between the French border and us lies one of the most beautiful stretches of the Costa Brava — the Empordà. Here are a few places worth stopping for, whether for a couple of hours or half a day.
Three hundred and fifty hectares of African-style reserve in Occitanie, between Narbonne and the sea. Lions, giraffes, rhinoceroses, and flamingos live in wide open spaces. Part of the visit is by car along a seven-kilometre route, part on foot among the birds.
If you are already driving past Narbonne, the reserve is almost on your way. Stop, walk, look around — it tends to stay in children's memories for years.
nobody drives three hours from Santa Susanna just for this — but on the way, it's perfect
A tropical greenhouse of two thousand square metres — butterflies of every size flying free, with toucans, parrots, iguanas, and small Asian deer alongside them. The visit takes about an hour and a half.
A brief pause in a long drive — especially lovely on a sunny day, when the butterflies are at their most active. Open year-round.
