What's on in Portbou

Portbou is the last town on the Costa Brava before the French border, a small place built around a once-grand railway station where trains changed gauge between Spain and France. It sits in a tight horseshoe bay backed by the Pyrenees, with a pebble beach and a memorial to the philosopher Walter Benjamin, who died here in 1940. Steep, weathered and a touch melancholy, it's a town with a real sense of place.

Late July brings its Festa Major for the patron saint Sant Jaume, the village's main summer celebration. Here's what's on while you're here.