TOSSA DE MAR · COSTA BRAVA
Mar Menuda holds one of Tossa de Mar’s most beautiful scenes: history, landscape and a December sunrise framed by rocks over a calm Mediterranean.
Mar Menuda is the other face of Tossa’s bay.
Less monumental than the view of Vila Vella, but closer to rock and water, it offers a more intimate relationship with the Mediterranean landscape.
Visitors to Tossa de Mar usually look first toward the walls of Vila Vella and the broad Platja Gran. At the opposite end of the bay, however, lies Mar Menuda, an urban beach with a different character. Here the rocks come closer to the water, the horizon is shaped by the coast and small sheltered corners make the landscape feel more enclosed.
01 · WHERE IT IS
Mar Menuda, at the northern end of Tossa Bay
An urban beach close to the centre, yet closely tied to the rocky relief of the Costa Brava.
Mar Menuda lies at the northern end of the bay of Tossa de Mar, in Girona. It sits opposite Vila Vella from Platja Gran and is connected to the town centre by the seafront promenade. From Platja Gran, simply follow the waterfront north until the bay begins to close again between rocky formations.
Getting there easily
If you are already in central Tossa de Mar, walking from Platja Gran along the promenade is the simplest option. The sea stays in view and the route shows how the shape of the bay changes before reaching the rockier end.
02 · THE LANDSCAPE
A beach that feels smaller than it looks
Sand, rock and small inlets that completely change the sense of space.
Golden light between the rocks · Mar Menuda, Tossa de Mar · View the photograph →
What makes Mar Menuda especially interesting is how close the rocks are to the beach. Stone outcrops interrupt the line of sand and create sheltered corners, pockets of calmer water and viewpoints where the horizon appears between two rocky masses.
This mixture of sand and rocky seabed also makes the area appealing for swimming and snorkelling on calm days, when the underwater relief is easier to see. With swell, the same coast feels much more rugged.
03 · THE LEGEND OF SA BANYERA DE SES DONES
The “women’s bath”, a corner with a memory of its own
A small rocky pool whose name has survived through local tradition.
At one end of Mar Menuda is a small natural space among the rocks known as Sa Banyera de Ses Dones, literally “the women’s bath”. The shape of the coast shelters the spot, and that geography gave rise to a story passed down through generations in Tossa de Mar.
Tradition says that, at a time when men and women did not bathe together as naturally as they do today, this sheltered corner allowed women to enter the water with greater privacy, screened by the rocks. The small natural pool became associated with women’s bathing and kept its popular name.
04 · WHAT TO DO
More than a beach for laying down a towel
Because it is close to the centre, Mar Menuda works for a short visit, but it rewards more time. You can walk the edge of the beach, approach the rocky sections, watch how the water changes with depth or continue along Tossa’s waterfront.
It is also a good place to compare two sides of Tossa de Mar: the urban bay and Vila Vella in one direction, and the rockier Costa Brava coastline beginning again in the other.
05 · MY DECEMBER SUNRISE
Cold, silence and the sun appearing between the rocks
I went to Mar Menuda in December specifically to photograph the sunrise. The cold is noticeable when you are standing still beside the sea, but it is also part of the experience: the beach is quieter, the sound of the water dominates and the landscape slowly reveals itself as the sky changes colour.
What I was looking for was the winter position of the sun. In December, sunrise is shifted farther southeast than in summer. From the right point on Mar Menuda, that makes it possible to see the light emerge between the rock formations. That is exactly the moment shown in this photograph.
Is it worth getting up early in December?
For me, yes. It is cold and warm clothing helps, but this season can create a particularly beautiful alignment between the sunrise and the rocks, while the almost empty beach completely changes the experience.
MAR MENUDA AT A GLANCE
The essentials before you visit
Location: northern end of Tossa de Mar bay, connected to Platja Gran and the centre by the promenade.
Emblematic corner: Sa Banyera de Ses Dones.
A special moment: a December sunrise, when the sun can appear between the rocks from certain viewpoints.
Why Mar Menuda deserves a stop
Mar Menuda’s appeal is intimate: close contact with rock and water, the memory of Sa Banyera de Ses Dones and a setting that moves quickly from urban promenade to unmistakably Mediterranean coast.
BRING THIS LIGHT HOME
This photograph is available to decorate your walls.
You can view the photograph and discover the story behind it before exploring its wall-art options.