Why go
Understanding the name and the tourism boom helps explain the contrast between rocky headlands and large seaside resorts. Blanes, Tossa de Mar and Lloret de Mar became centres of holiday development, giving the southern coast a different character from the exposed Cap de Creus peninsula.
The full story
Journalist Ferran Agulló used the name Costa Brava in a September 1908 article in La Veu de Catalunya. Writing about the rugged Mediterranean shore, he paired costa, meaning coast, with brava, meaning rugged or wild. The name began as a description of the landscape before becoming a way to promote the region. Tourism changed the coast on a much larger scale from the 1950s. Summer weather, beaches and relatively affordable holidays drew visitors from northern Europe, particularly Britain and France. Hotels and apartments multiplied in Blanes, Tossa de Mar and Lloret de Mar, and tourism overtook fishing as the main business. The name received official recognition and promotion in the 1960s. That history explains why the Costa Brava contains both substantial holiday towns and stretches where rock, small coves and fishing harbours remain the strongest impression. Its identity comes from both the physical coastline and the different ways its towns developed.