List of Spanish coasts

The coast of mainland Spain is largely divided into named coastal sections. The coast names are not usually historic landscape designations, but neologisms that for reasons of tourism development were devised.

The breakdown from the French - Spanish border on the Mediterranean in a clockwise direction:

Mediterranean coast

The coast of the Iberian Peninsula from the French Mediterranean coast via Catalonia, Valencia and Murcia forms the Spanish east coast, the coasts of Andalusia the south coast, part of which lies east of Gibraltar in the Mediterranean, the other west on the Atlantic .

Catalonia

• Costa Brava (German wild coast ): 135 km. This stretch of coast stretches from the French border to Blanes , south of Lloret de Mar , so it describes the coast of the province of Girona . Other well-known places: Portbou , Cadaqués , Roses , Palamós , Sant Feliu de Guixols , Tossa de Mar .
• Costa del Maresme ( Wadden Coast ): 40 km. Blanes to El Masnou . Very densely populated; here are El Masnou and Mataró . The Costa del Maresme used to be part of the Costa Brava. The name is traditional, but less known internationally. Other famous places: Malgrat de Mar , Calella .
• Barcelona : 30 km. From Badalona via Barcelona to L'Hospitalet de Llobregat . The coast of Barcelona with its suburbs.
• Costa del Garraf ( Garraf Coast ): 55 km. From Castelldefels to Vilanova i la Geltrú . Quasi the “house coast” of Barcelona. The Costa del Garraf was formerly part of the Costa Daurada. This name is also traditional, but less known internationally. Known places: Castelldefels , Sitges . Together with the Costa del Maresme, forms the coast of the province of Barcelona .
• Costa Daurada ( Gold Coast , Spanish Costa Dorada ): 60 km. Further south to the southern border of Catalonia at Alcanar , the coast of the province of Tarragona . Well-known places: Torredembarra , Tarragona , Salou , Cambrils , L'Ampolla .

Valencia and Murcia

• Costa del Azahar ( Orange Blossom Coast ): The coast of the provinces of Castellón and Valencia , from Alcanar to Oliva. Well-known places: Peñíscola , Benicàssim , Castelló de la Plana , Sagunt , Valencia , Cullera , Gandía , Oliva .
• Costa Blanca ( White Coast ): The coast of the province of Alicante , more precisely from the border with the province of Valencia to the Cabo de Palos east of Cartagena , Murcia region . Well-known places: Dénia , Jávea , Calp , Altea , Benidorm , Villajoyosa , Alicante , Torrevieja .
• Costa Cálida ( Hot Coast ): The coastal section of the Murcia region from Cabo de Palos to the town of Águilas . Well known places: Cartagena , Águilas, Cuevas del Almanzora .

Andalusia

• Costa del Sol ( Sun Coast ): Overall, the Andalusian Mediterranean coast from Cabo de Gata ( Cape Gata ), which forms the eastern border point of the Bay of Almería , to Gibraltar , but has been given a different name in some sections.
  • Costa de Almería ( Almería Coast ): The entire coast of the province of Almería . Famous places: Almería , Roquetas de Mar , Adra .
  • Costa Tropical ( Tropical Coast ): name of the coast of the province of Granada, introduced probably for marketing reasons. Famous places: Motril , Salobreña , Almuñécar .
  • Costa del Sol : In a narrower sense, the Costa del Sol comprises the stretch of coast that belongs to the province of Málaga . Well known places: Nerja , Torre del Mar , Málaga , Torremolinos , Fuengirola , Marbella , Estepona .
  • Costa Gaditana ( Gaditan coast ): This is what the province of Cádiz calls its section of the Mediterranean coast from Sotogrande to La Línea de la Concepción (Gibraltar). 'Gaditanisch' is the gentilicon (origin adjective ) of Cádiz.

South Atlantic coast

This part of the Spanish south coast continues into the Portuguese south coast .

Andalusia

• Costa de la Luz ( Coast of Light ): From Gibraltar to the Portuguese border . Well-known places: Algeciras , Tarifa , Cádiz , El Puerto de Santa María , Jerez de la Frontera , the mouth of the Guadalquivir , Huelva .

North Atlantic coast

The northern coast of Spain is known collectively as Costa Verde (dt. Green Coast ), there are the wettest areas of Spain. However, there is also a subdivision into named coastal sections. The Galician coast north of Portugal still forms the west coast, while the north coast of Spain stretches from Finisterre ('End of the World') along the Biscaya back to the Atlantic coast of southern France .

Galicia

The coast of Galicia is strongly fissured by estuaries (Spanish: Rías ), hence the somewhat strange names of the Galician coastline. Collectively , they are also known as the Rías Gallegas .

• Rías Baixas ( Lower Estuaries ): From the Portuguese border to Cape Finisterre . Famous places: Vigo , Pontevedra , Vilagarcía de Arousa , Noia .
• Rías Altas ( Upper Estuaries ): From Cape Finisterre to Ribadeo on the border with Asturias. Well known places: A Coruña , Betanzos , Ferrol , Viveiro . In a narrower sense, the Rías Altas encompass the bays between A Coruña and Ribadeo. The western section between Cape Finisterre and Malpica is also called Costa da Morte ( Galician for "death coast") because of the stormy, unpredictable seas .

Asturias

• Costa Verde ( Green Coast ): In the strict sense, the coast of the Asturias region. Well-known places: Tapia de Casariego , Luarca , Luanco , Gijón , Villaviciosa , Ribadesella , Llanes

Cantabria

• Costa de Cantabria ( Cantabrian Coast ): The coast of the Cantabria region. Well-known places: Suances , Santander , Laredo , Castro-Urdiales .

Basque Country

• Costa Vasca ( Basque Coast ): The coast of the Basque Country to the French border . Well-known places: Lekeitio , Ondarroa , Zarautz , San Sebastián , Irún .

proof

1. ^ Breuer, Toni (1982): Spain. 1. A., p. 213.