Earliest history has it that , in 1236, a preaching Friar (Ramon de Penyafort) arrived at Tossa de Mar and legend says that the rocks opened so that he could land on the beach.

I couldn't find the date the castle walls and towers were begun. The fortifications were put in place as a response to raiders from North Africa. A sharp lookout was kept and signals sent out in the event of a raid ...whereupon the townsfolk would gather inside the walls.. Local fisherman paid "tribute"  (known as "castellatge of peix") to the owner of the castle and thus ensured their defence.

The defences were improved in 1387 by the Abbot Ramón Dezcatlar. And the castle also saw action during the 19th Century and the War of Independence against France. A brief history, I'll grant you, but translated from two Spanish historical references online!

As far I know the above panorama of the town inside the walls, is the only one of its kind on the Internet. The two additional shots (right) were taken from the battlements and they are my humble attempt to bring something of the atmosphere of the place, to your computer screen.

Leaning through the castellation I managed this shot (below) of the bay.

Tossa de Mar has managed to escape the worst end of the tourist market and it possess a refreshing atmosphere of class that is so obviously missing in nearby Lloret de Mar, Blanes and Malgrat de Mar. The town avoided the blight of the coastal railway line that forges its way along the beachfront of all coastal towns from Barcelona to Blanes. If Benidorm (shudder) or Salou (cringe) are more your scene then I would definitely avoid Tossa de Mar. You have to go as far south as Sitges to find a place that has applied the same taste and thought to its development as a holiday destination!