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Dali Museum and Dali House In One Day

We are traveling by car from Begur, Spain and would like to visit the Dali Museum and Dali House in one day and return to Begur that evening. Is there a recommended order and if we have the time, which of the two towns (Figueres and Cadaques) should we spend more time in? Thanks

Posted by
2165 posts

That's going to be a long day. We loved Cadaques and if you can possibly swing it, spend the night there.

Posted by
26829 posts

In Figueres there's the jewelry collection that's covered by the same ticket as the Dali Theatre-Museum. It's in a separate building but quite close to the museum. I was told in 2019 that one can visit the jewelry collection prior to the entry time on the museum ticket. That could provide some flexibility if you arrive well before your museum entry time. It took me about 30 minutes to see the jewelry collection, I believe. It is not large, but it is fabulous. You could go through it faster if (unlike me) you weren't trying to take photos.

Of course, it's possible museum-entry procedures have changed with COVID-19. In any case, you should buy your tickets online before arriving in Figures. I don't think the museum usually sells out far in advance (again--it could be different now if they've had to reduce capacity), but it's quite possible to show up and find the next few entry times unavailable, which would be a shame. There's not a lot else to do in Figueres, at least not that I uncovered. I walked around a bit, but the town just isn't as attractive as many others in Spain.

Cadaques, on the other hand, is a very pretty white-cube town built on the side of a hill. Lots of bougainvillea. It was discovered by tourists quite some time ago, so it has the expected shops (including a couple selling ceramics) and restaurants. You'll need to do some map-checking ahead of time to figure out where you can park your car town; I think there may be parking up near the bus station. Some of the "streets" I walked up and down would not be drivable. If you like cute small towns and aren't bothered by the hilliness, you could probably spend a couple of hours strolling around. Add extra time if you want to eat lunch there or do serious shopping.

I haven't been out to Port Lligat, but it's mandatory to buy the ticket for the Dali house ahead of time, and you might need to get that one sooner than the ticket for the Theatre-Museum.

Posted by
2922 posts

Total driving time will take 3h. Dali’s house is in Port Ligat, located just outside of Cadaques. You should make a reservation for the Dalí Theater-Museum in Figueres so I would go there first. I preferred the museum over the house, but I liked Cadaques more than Figueres. It's a 1h drive between the museum and house.

Posted by
371 posts

This would be a long day. I would go to Dali house in Port Ligat then work your way back with the visit to the museum in Cadaques. The road to the coast is is slow winding mountain road. Not to be driven when tired. Probably less traffic to get stuck behind midday. We visited both site in one day from Barcelona and spent the night in Figueres. Enjoyed a walk through town and along the bay front. The house and garden tour was relaxing and the museum very hectic. We finally got to see Dali’s sites on our third visit since we had a car. Definitely worth the time and effort. Go to the Dali museum in St Petersburg, FL if nearby.

Posted by
7277 posts

Back in October 2013, we saw both on one day, having checked out of our room in Girona. Once parked in the parking garage in Figueres, we toured the museum (and jewelry exhibit), which took quite some time.

Driving on to the Port Lligat house before the sun went down, it capped a long but fantastic day. The days were surprisingly short that time of year, and we got a place to stay in Cadaques before it got totally dark. But we were staying there for the night, not trying to drive further south in the dark. If you had the time, I’d pick Cadaques over Figueres for extra exploring, but having that extra time would surprise me, especially if you intended to return to Begur for the night. That would truly be a surreal day!

Posted by
371 posts

Oops! I reversed the Dali towns in my posting above. Cadeques is on the coast where Dali’s house is and we spent the night. Figueres is the inland town where the museum is located. There was a paid parking lot behind the museum. Sorry about the mix up.

Posted by
271 posts

May I suggest slowing down (add an overnight stay if possible), and add one more "must see" site on your Dali adventure - Gala's Castle in Pubol. While much smaller than the home in Cadaques, it's an unbelievably beautiful work of art that was his wife's residence for several decades. And, a lovely village to walk about, too. Not to far from Girona for an overnight stay or over to the coast to Calella de Palafrugell.