Tourist Pages

Salou (Greek Salauris) is a seaside resort and tourist center in Catalonia, about 10 km from Tarragona on the Costa Dorada, Spain. Aside from its string of beaches interrupted by rocky coves, and its landscaped promenade, one of its main attractions is the Port Aventura complex, a large Universal Studios theme park.

Used as a port by Greeks and Romans, it appeared again in an important historic event, when in 1229 the fleet of James I of Aragon departed from the port of Salou to conquer the Balearic islands, thus creating the Kingdom of Mallorca and in 1286 Alfons III of Aragon also departed from this port to conquer Minorca, the last muslim territory of the Balearic Islands. Later, Salou became a nest of pirates. After that it was considered an unsafe place, so in 1530 Archbishop of Tarragona decided to erect a new defence tower, now called Torre Vella. In 1865 the railway station began to operate, opening a new development time, that led one hundred years later to a tourist boom that has brought prosperity to the town.

Nearby is the suburb of Vilafortuny with secluded villas surrounded by walls.

Salou is a tourist and residential city that has consolidated its capital role as the leisure and service centre of the Costa Daurada through the diversity of its offer and the quality and quantity of its tourism facilities. It presents itself as a holiday destination and reference point, concentrating the majority of the basic tourism industry infrastructure in the Tarragona regions (74 lodging facilities) and acting as a main motor with regard to developing and capitalising on the diversity of the area’s entertainment and cultural offer. On the other, it is also home to the main agent for regional dynamism, the Costa Daurada’s attraction par excellence: the Universal Mediterránea complex, which consolidates the Salou product and its sphere of influence as the most important leisure centre on the Catalonian seaboard and in the Mediterranean arc in general.Mild year-round temperatures; safe, orderly and shallow beaches offering all services and equipment; hidden coves of great natural and scenic interest; an urban design plan that gives centre stage to green spaces, plants, design and the architecture of the landscape; points of historical, architectural and monumental interest; a varied entertainment and leisure offer with highly dynamic sectors (shops and restaurants); and quality facilities have all helped to turn Salou into the “Capital of the Costa Daurada” and to earn it the top rating for Family Tourist Destinations in Catalonia.