What you can see on the Palamós webcams
The first camera looks over the marina itself, pontoons packed with yachts and motorboats and the breakwater behind them. The second looks across the harbour mouth to the old town on its headland: in the morning it is in full light, by mid-afternoon in silhouette against the sun.
The third camera is mounted on the outer breakwater and looks out to sea over its boulders. On the left, a wooded, rocky headland runs down to the water; ahead and to the right there is nothing but open Mediterranean to the horizon. The marina names this camera after Les Formigues, the cluster of low islets that lies offshore in that direction. It is not a beach view: it is the camera to check before going out on the water, because the colour of the sea, the size of the swell against the rocks and the white caps further out tell you at a glance how the day looks.
Marina Palamós webcam: the berths, live
From the promenade at the back of Marina Palamós, this camera looks over a strip of clipped shrubs and a paved terrace to the pontoons. A long walkway runs straight out through the middle, with motorboats and small cruisers moored tight on both sides and a cluster of sailing yachts on the left; the boulder breakwater closes the view, with a thin line of open sea above it.
It is the liveliest of the marina's cameras: boats leaving and coming back, crews at work on deck and, on a still morning, masts mirrored in flat water. When the rigging leans and the surface turns choppy inside the harbour, the wind is up outside.
Palamós webcam: the old town and the harbour mouth
This camera stands on the rocky shore beside the marina and looks across the harbour mouth to the old town of Palamós, its houses crowded along the top of the headland. A small jetty runs out from the rocks in the foreground, the breakwater curves in from the right with sailing masts behind it, and to the left the coast fades away towards the south.
It faces roughly south-west, so mornings bring the town in full light and the clearest colours; by mid-afternoon the sun sits ahead of the lens, the town turns to silhouette and the water becomes a sheet of glitter, which is a show of its own towards sunset.
The open sea from Marina Palamós, live
Mounted on the outer breakwater at Marina Palamós, this camera looks over the big boulders of the sea wall to the open Mediterranean. A rocky, wooded headland runs down to the water on the left; ahead and to the right there is only sea and sky. The marina calls this camera after Les Formigues, the low islets offshore.
There is no beach in this view: it is a camera for the sea itself. The colour of the water, the swell against the boulders and the white caps further out show at a glance whether it is a day for a boat trip, a paddle or staying ashore.
Les Formigues and a medieval sea battle
The Formigues, "the ants" in Catalan, are a scatter of bare rocks just off this stretch of coast. In 1285 they gave their name to a naval battle in which the Catalan fleet defeated the French close to the islets. Palamós itself was founded a few years earlier, in 1279, as a royal port for the Crown of Aragon, and it is still the only commercial harbour in the province of Girona.
When to watch Palamós
Spain is one hour ahead of the UK and Ireland. Morning usually brings the calmest water and the clearest horizon, the best moment to judge the day ahead. On summer afternoons a sea breeze usually ruffles the water, and after an easterly storm the swell breaks hard on the breakwater.
Around Palamós
The old harbour is lined with bars and restaurants, and the Fishing Museum by the quay tells the story of the fleet. North of town the GR 92 follows the cliffs to the beach at La Fosca, with the remains of an Iberian settlement on the rocks above it, and on towards Calella de Palafrugell. To the south a beachfront promenade leads to Sant Antoni de Calonge.
Visiting Palamós
Girona airport is about 19 miles (31 km) away as the crow flies. The town's own beaches, in the bay south of the harbour, are popular for swimming, sailing and windsurfing.
