Tossa de Mar, on the Girona coast, halfway between the city of Barcelona and the French frontier, is an old fishing village with a long history, which has been an emblematic tourist destination on the Costa Brava for just over half a century.
It became internationally known in the mid-20th century partly thanks to a Hollywood film Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, starring Ava Gardner and James Mason.
Tossa de Mar has always been popular among artists: Marc Chagall, who was attracted by the blue of the sky and the sea in Tossa, and who baptised it “The Blue Paradise”; Picasso, who often came to visit his good friend Dr. Carreras who had a summer home here. It was here, that Carreras and his wife Natalia Granados joined Marc Chagall, Lola Beck and Rafael Benet, artists and friends of the period, to enjoy the beautiful views of the bay and of the delightful walled village from the terrace.
Natalia's father, the composer Enrique Granados, was known in around 1915 as one of the greatest composers in the world. He was even invited to the White House, where he gave a private concert for President Woodrow Wilson. On the way back to Spain, his boat was torpedoed by a German submarine. The composer Enrique Granados and his wife were among the victims.
When their daughter Natalia moved with her family, some years later, to a summer home in Tossa de Mar, she honoured her parents by calling her home Casa Granados. This very same house, with a terrace and beautiful views, which the artists enjoyed so much, is now the heart of the Gastronomic Hotel Casa Granados.
