What you can see on the L'Escala webcams
The highest camera looks out over the red roofs and umbrella pines of the town to the bay and the marina, with the long line of the Pyrenees on the horizon on a clear day. Lower down, another faces the open gulf from the rocks, the best view for judging the wind: when the tramuntana blows, the water turns dark and streaked with white. At the Club Nàutic, a camera looks across the boats moored in the marina and over the bay to the mountains. A short drive south, the beach of Cala Montgó sits in a cove facing east, and its camera looks straight out to sea between the two headlands that enclose it.
L'Escala from above, towards the bay and the Pyrenees
From Plaça Puig Sec, high on the hill above the town, this camera looks over L'Escala to the bay. In the foreground spread red roofs and the dark green crowns of umbrella pines; in the middle distance, apartment blocks line the shore and the masts of the marina gather by the water; across the bay, another stretch of town meets the sea. On the horizon stands the long wall of the Pyrenees, sharp on clear days and hidden in haze on others.
It is the best camera for seeing the whole setting of L'Escala at once.
Cala Montgó beach, near L'Escala
This camera at a beachside restaurant looks straight out of Cala Montgó, the sandy cove south of L'Escala. The beach fills the foreground, with the promenade at the bottom right; houses climb the slope on the left, the dark headland of the Montgrí massif closes the cove on the right, and between them the sea opens to the east.
Because it faces the sunrise, early morning shows the sun rising almost in the middle of the view, which can dazzle the picture for a while. Later in the day it is a clear view of how busy the beach is and how calm the water is inside the cove.
The open sea from L'Escala
Set above the rocks on the northern shore of L'Escala, this camera looks across the open Gulf of Roses. In the foreground the waves break on the rocks; to the right a small jetty and the first buildings of the town; to the left, offshore rocks, and far across the water, the mountains of the Cap de Creus on the horizon.
There is no beach in this view, but it is the most useful camera in L'Escala for the wind. When the tramuntana blows from the north, the sea turns dark and streaked with white caps and the surf rises against the rocks; on calm days it settles to an even turquoise. Play the 24-hour time-lapse to see how the sea has changed since dawn.
L'Escala marina at the Club Nàutic
This camera at L'Escala's sailing club looks north over the marina. Motor boats and yachts lie along the pontoons in the foreground, below the quay and the harbour wall; behind them the bay opens out, with the buildings of the shore on the left and the mountains along the horizon.
It is the view for anyone heading out on the water. The surface of the bay beyond the harbour wall shows at a glance whether the wind is up and how much chop there is.
Empúries, where Rome entered Spain
Greek settlers from Phocaea founded Emporion, "the trading place", here in 575 BC; it became the largest Greek colony in the Iberian Peninsula. In 218 BC Roman troops landed at Empúries to begin the conquest of Hispania. The excavated ruins of both cities lie between L'Escala and the tiny village of Sant Martí d'Empúries, right beside the sea. Back in town, the 17th-century Alfolí de la Sal, a warehouse once used to store the salt for preserving fish, is a reminder of how L'Escala made its living.
When to watch L'Escala
Spain is one hour ahead of the UK and Ireland. The coast here faces north and east across the gulf, so the morning light is best, and Cala Montgó gets the sunrise straight down the cove. The tramuntana, the strong north wind of the Empordà, is most frequent in winter and spring and can blow for days under a hard blue sky; on those days the open-sea camera tells you more than any forecast.
Around L'Escala
The GR 92 coastal path runs north past Empúries to Sant Martí d'Empúries and south towards Torroella de Montgrí and L'Estartit, gateway to the Medes Islands. Inland, the medieval villages of the Empordà plain are within easy reach.
Visiting L'Escala
Girona airport is about 25 miles (39 km) away as the crow flies. Cala Montgó belongs to the neighbouring municipality of Torroella de Montgrí but is reached by road from L'Escala.
