Peralada Castle stands at the heart of the small Alt Empordà village of the same name, its towers and gardens visible for miles across the flat Empordà plain. What appears at first glance to be a French Renaissance château is in fact a medieval fortress with a history stretching back to the 13th century — the current neo-Gothic facade was added in the 1870s by the Rocabertí family, who transformed the medieval keep into one of Catalonia’s most refined stately homes.
The castle’s origins date to 1285, when it was besieged by French troops during the Aragonese Crusade. Over the following centuries it served as the seat of the powerful Counts of Peralada, passing through several noble families before the Rocabertís undertook the sweeping 19th-century renovation. The result is a building that blends genuine medieval towers and cloisters with romantic historicist additions — a Spanish counterpart to the Loire valley châteaux.
Today the castle houses an extraordinary complex of collections. The Museum of Glass holds over 4,000 pieces spanning Roman vessels to modern Catalan glasswork. The Museum of Playing Cards is one of the world’s finest, with rare decks dating to the 15th century. The castle library holds some 80,000 volumes, including over 1,000 editions of Don Quixote — one of the largest such collections anywhere.
The surrounding gardens, with their ornamental lake and ancient trees, host the celebrated Festival Internacional de Música de Peralada every July and August — one of Spain’s most prestigious classical and opera events, attracting internationally renowned performers to an open-air setting within the castle walls.
The castle also produces cava and wine under the Peralada label, with vineyards that have been worked continuously since the 14th century.