Sant Feliu De Llobregat

Part of the same urban sprawl as Barcelona, Sant Feliu is a modern industrial town of 36,000 people. The towns origins date back to before the 11th century, its name derives from the original 11th century parish church of Sant Feliu which was later replaced by the parish church of Sant Llorenç, a 15th century church.
The Can Cuyas Golf Club is at Sant Feliu.
There is a RENFE train station in the town and a tram service also connects it with Barcelona city. The main roads of Baix Llobregat converge at Sant Feliu.

The towns near to Sant Feliu are virtually indistinguishable from one another, all of them having been swallowed up by the city of Barcelona and considered suburbs of the city. It is difficult to see where one town ends and the next begins. An industrial and residential area, road and rail connections to the city are excellent, just watch out for the heavy traffic and road congestion. Sant Just Desvern is east of Sant Feliu with a population of 13,000. Sant Joan Despi is an industrial town, 7km south of Barcelona with a population of 30,000. All of these towns are very close to the airport and are rife with hotels and accommodation for passing tourists or business travelers.
Cornella De Llobregat is just south of Sant Joan with 82,000 inhabitants. Sant Boi De Llobregat (population 78,000) is an urban area on the outskirts of Barcelona, south of Sant Joan. The product of the chaotic growth of the 60’s and 70’s, the city council is interested in establishing Sant Boi’s individual character as a city.

El Prat de Llobregat
An important industrial suburb, El Prat’s importance comes primarily from the fact that Barcelona’s airport is situated here. It is one of the busiest airports in Europe, both for the vast number of tourists who come to visit the Mediterranean coast and other areas near Barcelona and for the numerous cargo flights that it handles. This means that the town, of 63,000 people, is one of the prime economic driving forces in the area, with useful connections to rail, sea and road transportation networks. There are several coastal lagoons near El Prat which are nature reserves.
Real Club de Golf El Prat is located here. El Prat is 12km from Barcelona.

Santa Coloma De Cervello 3358
Santa Coloma, 14km south of Sant Feliu and 20km from Barcelona City, is a town of 3400 people. Part of Barcelona’s outskirts, Santa Coloma is notable for Gaudí’s fantastic Güell Crypt. Intended to be the parish church of the Colònia Güell, a former workers’ housing complex designed by the architect Francesc Berenguer, the crypt was all that was actually built. The Güell Crypt is widely considered to be Gaudí’s masterpiece and is one of his boldest works. The architectural brilliance involved in the design of the crypt is evident in that inclined columns are used to support the building’s weight and the inclination of the individual columns is dependent on the weight that the column has to support. The result is a series of outlandish curved arches that look like an irregular open parasol. Constructed from different materials including stone, brick and iron, the crypt is decorated with beautiful mosaics and stained glass. The crypt has been declared a historical and artistic monument. Perhaps one of Gaudí’s least known works, it is his only work existing in Baix Llobregat. The Roc 3 Pitch and Putt 18-hole golf course is also located in Santa Coloma. Santa Coloma is 8km from El Prat airport.

Inland from Castelldefels, in the southwest area of Baix Llobregat, Gava is a town of 37,000 people. Its municipality stretches from the Garraf massif to the Costa Dorada and includes some of the Delta de Llobregat. There is a large municipal park in Gava and numerous sports and cultural activities. The ancient castle of Eramprunayà and the Romanesque church of Bruguers are located in Gava. Gava is part of the industrial belt of Barcelona, as is Viladecans, a town with 57,000 residents. An industrial city close to the sea and the mountains, Viladecans expanded in the 1960’s along with many of its neighbouring towns, to become the size it is today. The town has a well-known baseball team. The beaches of Gava and Viladecans are important tourist areas and there is an Olympic canoeing canal at Gava.

Begues
Situated on a hill at an altitude of 500 metres, Begues overlooks the suburban sprawl of southwest Baix Llobregat and Barcelona. It is still a fairly rural town of 3000 people that has not grown with the alarming rapidity of its neighbours.
Begues is 25km from Barcelona, in the southwest corner of Baix Llobregat.

To the west of Sant Feliu on the main N-340 road is Cervelló, a town of 7000 people with a ruined castle, the Romanesque churches of Santa Maria de Cervelló and Sant Ponç de Corbera. The Pitch and Putt Can Rafel, an 18-hole golf course is also located here. Along this same road are the larger towns of Sant Vicenc Dels Horts (22,000 people), well connected to Barcelona by road and rail, and Vallirana (8500 people).

North of Sant Feliu
The towns immediately north of Sant Feliu are also part of Barcelona’s metropolitan belt. The modern town of Molins De Rei, an urbanization of 19,000 people is just north of Sant Feliu on the main road and the town of Pallejà with 7000 people is adjacent to Molins. El Papiol (3500 people) is just north again, with a restored medieval castle.

Further north, the Baix Llobregat region follows the main N-11 road towards Igualada and accordingly is an urban area. The town of Sant Andreu De La Barca, with 18,500 people, is located along this road and Castellvi De Rosanes with 1000 people is just west of Sant Andreu. Martorell, 4km north of Sant Andreu, is a town of medieval origins. It has a Roman bridge known as “Devils’s Bridge”, and the Renaissance style tower of Santa Llúcia. There are 2 ceramic museums in the town. These towns have all been absorbed by Barcelona’s metropolitan area. Matorell is situated at a notorious junction of the main roads that approach Barcelona.

Further north of Matorell, away from the motorways, Sant Esteve Sesrovires is 17km from Sant Feliu and 28km from El Prat International airport. The town of 5000 people contains some modernist wine cellars and a neo-Gothic church. The Club de Golf Masia Bach is in Sant Esteve.

In the far north of Baix Llobregat, the expanding town of Abrera has 8000 inhabitants. It has grown from an agricultural town into an industrial one. Largely a dormitory town for the commuters of Barcelona wishing to live away from the city centre, Abrera is largely a Spanish speaking town rather than a Catalan one, reflecting the origins of its growth. There is a Romanesque church in the town.

Five kilometres north of Abrera is Olesa De Montserrat, a town of similar character to Abrera, with 16,000 inhabitants. The Club de Golf Port del Compte is located there.

On the border of Baix Llobregat, Collbató is situated at the foot of the holy mountain of Montserrat, one of the most spectacular natural sights in Spain, with its strange natural rock formations, its monastery and hermitages. 1500 people live in Collbató which is half an hour from Barcelona.