Where to stay on the Costa Brava: the best resorts and areas

Lloret de Mar is the Costa Brava's party town, and it wears the badge proudly. A wide sandy beach curves in front of a town packed with bars, clubs and late-night restaurants, and in high summer the streets behind the seafront throb until dawn. Groups of friends have been coming for decades.

But step away from the centre and Lloret calms down considerably. There are pine-fringed coves to either side, a family aparthotel with its own water park in 25,000 square metres of grounds, a peaceful hotel with a spa near the beach, a Meliá with two pools in landscaped gardens, and a five-star with a spa and tennis courts. Up in the hills, a 19-room hideaway offers mountain views and total calm.

Tossa de Mar is the Costa Brava as it looks on the posters. A sweep of golden sand curves round a bay of clear water, and on the headland above it the Vila Vella, a walled medieval town of towers and cobbled lanes, catches the evening light. It is one of the most beautiful villages on the whole coast, and it knows it.

The town is small and walkable, lively in summer without tipping into Lloret-style mayhem. Stay in a renovated five-star on the waterfront, a hotel with direct access to the main beach 300 metres from the old town, a central four-star with a rooftop restaurant and cocktail bar, or a family hotel with two pools and minigolf. Girona airport is about 20 km away.

Begur is where the Costa Brava gets beautiful. The village itself perches on a hill under a ruined castle, its lanes lined with colonial-style mansions built by locals who made their fortunes in Cuba. Below, the coast splinters into tiny coves, Aiguablava, Fornells, Sa Tuna and Platja Fonda among them, with water so clear it looks unreal.

There are no high-rises here, just smart, small hotels in spectacular spots: an adults-only beachfront hotel in the exclusive bay of Aiguablava, a parador on a rocky headland with a spa and sea views, a hotel between the pebble beaches of Fornells and Aiguablava with a saltwater pool and sunset balconies, and a renovated boutique hotel looking out to the Medes Islands. Bring a car and walking shoes.

Platja d'Aro is the Costa Brava's smart, sociable all-rounder. A long, wide beach of golden sand is backed by a promenade and a main street of shops and restaurants that stays busy well into the evening, with bars and clubs for later. Just along the coast, elegant S'Agaró has one of the loveliest stretches of clifftop path on the coast.

Hotels suit couples and families alike: a seafront four-star where every room looks at the sea, a hotel right on the little beach of Cala Rovira a short walk from the centre, a central hotel a few metres from the sand, and an adults-only five-star beach retreat for those who want peace with their pool.

Roses sits on one of the biggest, most sheltered bays on the Costa Brava, a long curve of sand and shallow water that's ideal for children. It is wedged between two natural parks: the rugged Cap de Creus headland to the north, and the Empordà wetlands to the south. The pretty whitewashed town of Cadaqués is over the hill, and the Dalí Museum in Figueres is an easy day out.

There's a beachfront five-star with views across the bay, a hotel on a promontory above a little beach with two pools and a children's swimming area, a sporty family hotel with a 33-metre infinity pool, and a beach hotel 150 metres from the sand. The town has a 16th-century citadel and plenty of seafood restaurants.

L'Estartit is a down-to-earth resort with a long sandy beach, a busy little harbour and the Medes Islands just offshore. The islands are a protected marine reserve and one of the best diving and snorkelling spots in the western Mediterranean, and glass-bottomed boats run out to them all summer. Behind the resort, the cliffs of the Montgrí massif make for terrific walking.

The hotels here are simple, friendly three-stars with seasonal pools, rather than glossy resorts, which keeps prices gentle. Choose a hotel with a small spa, one with two restaurants, a central hotel 250 metres from the tourist centre, or one with massages on site.

Blanes is the gateway to the Costa Brava: the rock of Sa Palomera, jutting out from its beach, officially marks where the coast begins. It's a working fishing town as much as a resort, with a daily fish auction, a long sandy beach and two famous botanical gardens clinging to the cliffs above the sea.

It's calmer and better value than Lloret next door. Stay in a modern hotel across from the sea behind a pine wood, a family hotel a stone's throw from the beach, an adults-only hotel 150 metres from S'Abanell beach, or a small boutique hotel.

Strictly speaking these three resorts sit on the Maresme coast, just south of the Costa Brava proper, but they're usually sold together. What they offer is long, straight beaches of coarse golden sand, a railway line running along the seafront and an easy hour or so into central Barcelona, which makes them a favourite for combining beach days with city trips.

Calella is the biggest and liveliest, with a spa hotel 100 metres from the beach and a garden hotel close to the centre. Santa Susanna next door has big resort hotels, including a five-star with a kids' club. Malgrat de Mar is quieter, with adults-only hotels right on the main beach.