– Dali Theater-Museum
– Pubol Castle (Dali´s last studio)
– Figueres and the northern county
DALI TOUR
Barcelona private guide
This day tour will take you to discover the landscapes of Dali’s hometown, providing an intimate approach to the artist and the keys to his paintings in his main museum, completly designed by Dali during his 20 last years. It is located 80 miles north from Barcelona, at Figueres town. Salvador Dalí is one of the most celebrated artists of all time and he was born and raised in a tiny city at the northern county of Spain, Girona. This province has been compared to Tuscany, for the similarity of landscapes, with smooth hills, fertile farmlands, golden sunlight and tiny medieval villages. Dali’s hometown fascinated the artist, and it is often portrayed in his works.
During World War II, Dali moved to the United States with his wife, Gala. These were important years for Dalí as there was an almost symbiotic relationship between the artist and the city’s press. Dali’s true celebrity, and his worldwide fame, was entirely due to the Manhattan media machine. Salvador and Gala Dali remained there until 1948, when they moved back to his beloved Catalonia (Spain). In 1982, after the death of Gala, Dali struggled with deep depression and retired from painting. He then moved to the village of Pubol, possibly to hide from the public. But in 1984, Dali returned to Figueres, his birthplace, where died in 1989 at the age of 84. His funeral was held at the Theater-Museum, where he was buried.
We’ll visit that Dalí Theater-Museum with skip-the line access as we are licensed guides. It was founded in 1974 and it’s considered his last masterwork, the most surrealist experience, exhibiting works produced throughout his entire career. As he stated: “Where, if not in my own town, should the most extravagant and solid of my work endure, where if not here? The Municipal Theatre, or what remained of it, struck me as very appropriate, and for three reasons: first, because I am an eminently theatrical painter; second, because the theatre stands right opposite the church where I was baptized; and third, because it was precisely in the hall of the vestibule of the theatre where I hosted my first exhibition.”
After the museum, we’ll visit Figueres city, Dali’s birthplace and his family residence. We’ll have lunch in any of the restaurants on the pedestrian alleys of this city, to continue later for Pubol.
At the Castle in Pubol village visitors can discover the medieval building in which Gala infused Dali’s creativity right down to the finest details, that became between 1982 and 1984 Dali’s last studio and finally Gala’s mausoleum. The Castle dates back to the period of splendor of the barony of Pubol in the 14th and the 15th centuries. When Dali bought the Castle in 1969, it was in a state of disrepair, with collapsed ceilings and a neglected yard. The interior decoration was made of pictorial representations on the walls, false architectures, baroque textiles, antiques, romantic symbols, etc. The result is a closed, mysterious, private, austere and sober place, with spaces of great beauty, understood as a space dedicated to his wife and to the ideal of love.
If you prefer, you may swift the visit to Pubol Castle by a tour at Girona city, or any other village of the northern county or the area of Costa Brava.
This private group tour takes 8-hrs, including Dali museum at Figueres city and and Pubol Castle
