What you can see on the Vinaròs webcam
The camera sits low on the sand of Platja del Fortí and looks out to sea. The foreground is beach, smooth after the morning raking; then the shore break and the open water, with a pair of offshore breakwaters on the left that keep the waves down. It is a simple view, but it answers the important questions: is the sea calm, is it clear, and is anyone in it yet?
Vinaròs beach webcam: Platja del Fortí
Low on the sand of Platja del Fortí, the beach in the centre of Vinaròs, this tourist-board camera looks straight out to sea. The foreground is beach, raked smooth in the mornings; then comes the shore break and open water, with a pair of offshore breakwaters on the left that keep the waves down along this stretch.
In the morning the sun sits on the right of the picture and lays a band of glare across the water. Later in the day the sea shows its true colour. It is a simple view, but it answers the questions that matter before going down to the beach: is the water calm, is it clear, and is there anyone in it yet?
Prawns, wine and carnival
Vinaròs grew rich in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries from shipbuilding and the wine trade, until phylloxera destroyed the vineyards. Today fishing and tourism drive the town, and the langostino de Vinaròs, the local prawn, is its best-known product. The fortress-like Church of the Assumption dates from the late sixteenth century. The carnival, held over more than a week before Lent, is one of the biggest in the region, with dozens of costumed troupes parading through the streets.
When to watch Vinaròs
The beach faces east and south-east, so in the morning the sun lies to the right of the camera and puts a band of glare across the water; later the sea shows its true colour. Mainland Spain is one hour ahead of the UK. Summer nights here are a little cooler than further south, and most of the year's rain falls in autumn.
Around Vinaròs
North of the town, rocky coves and small beaches lead to the mouth of the Sénia, the border with Catalonia, and on to the Ebro delta. Benicarló and Peñíscola are a few miles south. Inland lies the Maestrat, a land of stone villages and mountain roads.
Visiting Vinaròs
Vinaròs has a station on the Valencia to Barcelona line and is about 100 miles (160 km) north of Valencia. The airports of Castellón and Reus are both closer than Valencia's. The town's seafront promenade links Platja del Fortí with the harbour, where the fishing fleet lands its catch.
