Gala Dalí's Castle Museum in Pubol

For anyone interested in Dalí the triangle of the Theatre Museum in Figueras, Dalí's house/museum in Portlligat(nr Cadaques) and his wife Galas Castle in Púbol (nr La Bisbal) are all must visits. The Museum in Figueras is the second most visited in Spain after the Prado in Madrid and clearly shows off his true creative genius on a grand scale. The Castle at Púbol and his house in Portlligat offer a more intimate view of their lives as well as all the numerous famous visitors that spent time in this area. Dalí gave Gala the Castle at Púbol and may have regretted it as she soon insisted on written permission before allowing him to visit. She died there in 1982 and Dalí moved to the Castle to try and come to terms with her death but this ended up with his setting fire to himself while in bed (accident or on purpose was never very clear) and was moved to some rooms above the Museum in Figueras with a full time medical staff until his death in 1989. The Castle shows some typical Dalí creativity such as elephants on stilts in the gardens but overall is a more subdued experience while the setting is certainly delightful and peaceful. The countryside around Púbol is typical of the Empordà, rolling fields of wheat or grass with patches of olive groves and pine forests mixed with cork oaks. For the more adventurous, catching a train from either Barcelona or Girona and getting off in Flaça means you can walk the back road through La Pera to get to Púbol which will take you some 45 mins to absorb the wonderful views.