For French tourists who came from Pau, the village has an irresistible appeal. Each, in their own way, preserves the traditions so that Cadaqués welcomes visitors while retaining its authenticity.
Cadaqués owes its preserved appearance to its isolation in the Cap de Creus natural park. One can still see the ramparts that defended against corsairs, as well as the palaces of the wealthy merchants, the indianos, who traded with Latin America.
Among restaurateurs, the menu varies according to the day's catch. A chef that day prepares pig's trotters seared on the plancha, paired with sea cucumbers.
The exceptional place inspired his work. Behind the tourist success, the Catalan village also preserves its customs, between olive groves, cuisine mixing land and sea, and artisanal fishing.
The painter, one of the greatest of the 20th century, settles at the time on a beach, in former fishermen's huts that he renovates, enlarges and decorates with his wife Gala.
The village thus combines built heritage, geographic isolation and sea trades. The olive groves and land-sea cuisine remain pillars of the local Catalan identity.
This local rule is called the llei de Cadaqués, or the llei verdal. It frames an activity still anchored in the daily life of the port.
In Catalan cuisine, there are more than 200 recipes with sea and mountain dishes, according to a testimony gathered on site. Adding a good sauce to the meat, the union of products of the land and the sea is, it seems, unique in the world.