--- title: Costa Brava wedding castle at the heart of Catalonia description: >- A wedding castle with two pools and pristine views at the Costa Brava, right at the heart of Spain's sunny Catalonia. canonical: >- https://peachperfectweddings.com/costa-brava-wedding-castle-at-the-heart-of-catalonia date_updated: '2026-08-05' image: >- https://edculdonasdlqjrowlzt.supabase.co/storage/v1/render/image/public/cms/ppwcc35pnmmbb5n?height=1000&width=1000&resize=contain&quality=80 --- # Costa Brava wedding castle at the heart of Catalonia This castle from the 14th century lies at the sunny heart of Catalonia. The artist Salvador Dalí once wanted to buy it as a gift for his wife, but the owner refused. Today the Castell d'Emporda welcomes couples to celebrate their day on its historic grounds with all the added comforts of a luxury hotel. ## About this venue ### Highlights This 14th-century castle above the Empordà countryside pairs real history with the comforts of a hotel. It is one of our venues that can accommodate larger groups. You'll dine on La Pergola terrace under the open sky, then dance until late in La Cova del Drac, a natural stone cave turned dragon-themed lounge beneath the castle. Couples can get the whole 57-room hotel to themselves, so no other wedding shares the grounds that day. IExplore our [destination wedding packages in Spain](/spain) or create a bespoke one for this venue. ### History Records place Castell d'Empordà's origins at 1301, with the Margarit family taking ownership by marriage a century later. In the 1970s, Salvador Dalí tried to buy it for his wife Gala, offering his own artwork as payment, but the owner refused. The castle stood empty until 1999, when new owners bought it and spent two years restoring it, reopening as a hotel in 2001. That layered past - medieval stone, a near-miss with Dalí, a careful modern rebirth - gives couples a great story to tell. ### Location The castle sits on a hilltop in the Baix Empordà, just outside La Bisbal d'Empordà in Girona province. It's roughly midway between Barcelona and the French border, easy to reach for guests flying into either country. Costa Brava's beaches are about 20 minutes away by car, so couples can pair castle grandeur with a day by the sea. We rank it among the [unique wedding venues in Spain](/wedding-venues-in-spain) we recommend for couples who want countryside over coastline. ### Surroundings Twelve hectares of grounds, planted with olive and oak trees, roll out into open Empordà countryside beyond the castle walls. La Bisbal d'Empordà, known for its ceramics workshops, is minutes away, and the wider region is dotted with stone-built villages worth a wander. This is also Dalí country - the surrealist grew up and worked across this stretch of Girona, and his near-purchase of this very castle is one of the area's better-known stories. It's a setting that rewards couples who build a few extra days around the wedding. ### Excursions Guests who stay on can follow the Dalí Triangle: the museum in Figueres, his house in Portlligat, and Gala's castle in Púbol, the property Dalí bought after this one slipped away. Golf courses, hiking and cycling routes wind through the countryside, and Costa Brava's coves are a short drive for a beach day. For couples planning [a destination wedding in Spain](/destination-weddings-in-spain), it's an easy way to stretch one day into a proper long weekend for everyone who's traveled to be there. ### Accommodation The castle itself is a 57-room hotel, sleeping up to around 115 guests on-site. That matters when exclusive use means the whole property is booked out for the wedding weekend. Rooms sit within the historic building, so there's no shuttle to a separate block - everyone wakes up under the same castle roof. It's a practical answer to one of the biggest logistics questions for a destination wedding: where guests stay, and how far they have to travel each day. ### Ceremony Couples choose between two different backdrops: the Olive Grove Garden, exchanging vows beneath century-old olive trees with the castle behind them, or the Remei Chapel, a small stone chapel tucked into the grounds. Both sit within the same property, so there's no travel between getting ready and saying "I do." Having a covered option built in also means the day doesn't hinge entirely on Catalan weather - a real advantage for anyone marrying outside peak summer. ### Reception After the ceremony, dinner moves to La Pergola, a covered terrace that seats up to 200 guests under the open Empordà sky. It's built as the heart of the wedding weekend: long tables, castle views, and enough room that even a full celebration doesn't feel cramped. We like it for couples who want a proper sit-down dinner with space to breathe, rather than a marquee squeezed onto a lawn. ### Catering Weddings here run on exclusive in-house catering, prepared by the castle's own kitchen rather than an outside vendor. Day to day, the hotel runs three restaurants - Drac, Tres Margarit and the Da.Li sunset terrace - so the team is used to feeding a full house at scale. For couples, that means one point of contact for the whole menu, from welcome drinks through to the last course, without coordinating a separate catering company on top. ### Entertainment Once dinner winds down, the party moves underground to La Cova del Drac - Dragon's Cave - a natural stone cavern beneath the castle fitted out as a lounge and dance floor. It's unlike most spaces our [wedding planner based in Spain](/wedding-planner-in-spain) works with: the low stone ceiling and warm lighting make for a genuinely different late-night atmosphere than a standard marquee or ballroom. Couples planning a big dance-floor moment tend to remember this space long after the rest of the day.