Getaway to Vallès Oriental: From hot springs to the sky

Located in the Serralada Litoral Park, in the part that separates Maresme from Vallès Oriental, Can Parpers is an ideal restaurant for groups or families since it has a large garden where children can play before or after eating, allowing their parents to relax and chat over an aperitif or a coffee. Foodwise, expect Catalan market-style cuisine with grilled meat dishes as highlights.

Offering creative cuisine made with passion and top-quality ingredients, this restaurant in the Montnegre i Corredor Natural Park also takes care with the presentation of all of its dishes, from starters to desserts. You'll also find a good wine list, and concerts are staged here in the summer – all good reasons for coming to La Font de Can Moreu.

This pizzeria in Sant Celoni uses quality produce to make top-notch pizzas and pasta dishes at reasonable prices, along with home-made desserts to end your meal on a perfect note. A careful selection of raw materials and baking in a wood-fired oven ensure that few pizzerias can offer such as unforgettable experience as Ventidue.

Their use of local and seasonal produce, the mastery with which they cook and serve it, the warm atmosphere of the dining rooms, and the more than 300 wines in the cellar all make La Taverna d'en Grivé one of the top restaurants in Granollers and the wider region. The menu here is varied, but the people in charge point to eggs with foie gras and black truffles, crispy pig's trotters with shellfish, and rice with rabbit as standout dishes. And don’t miss the dishes featuring white 'ganxet' beans.

Home-made, traditional food is on offer at this country house on the outskirts of Llinars, where, among many other dishes, you can order cannelloni, paella, onion soup, grilled meat and traditional local desserts, including crema Catalana. Don’t come looking for sophisticated dishes, but the quality of the products and value for money here are unparalleled.

Practically a landmark in the town, due to its location facing the town hall of Sant Celoni and its long history, dating from 1920, this refurbished, three-star hotel is accessible for disabled guests and offers satellite TV, internet and en-suite rooms. Fans of retro styling should know that a number of rooms here maintain their classical decoration.

This hotel is strategically located near a motorway exit, a five-minutes drive from the Circuït de Barcelona–Catalunya racetrack, 15 minutes from La Roca Village shopping centre and only 20 minutes from Barcelona. All of its 101 rooms are soundproofed, and the hotel has meeting rooms and a restaurant, Transit, which specialises in Mediterranean cuisine. There is also a swimming pool and a solarium.

In the spa town of Caldes de Montbui it’s a good idea to stay in an establishment that offers spa and thermal treatments, and Vila de Caldes Balneari does all of that, and under medical supervision. Its recently refurbished rooms are all elegant and have views. If you want to dine on the premises, Burg & Gintònic is a contemporary-style lounge/burger restaurant.

This country house in the Montseny Natural Park is off-grid and uses only renewable energy and waste resources. With a capacity to sleep eight guests, this eco-friendly lodging is bookable as a unit, and if you decide to stay here we recommend that you give the car a rest and head into the woods, where the only sound is that of your walking boots.

This 18th-century country house is now a rural lodge surrounded by farmland with five en-suite double bedrooms that is bookable as a single unit. Here you’ll find a swimming pool and a restaurant that serves only the country house guests. And consider this if you’re getting married: Can Mateuet is specialised in holding open-air weddings.

Over the last decade, the old Roca Umbert textile factory has become the centre of cultural life in the capital of Vallès Oriental. The building contains different spaces including the municipal library, opened in 2005; the Centre Tecnològic i Universitari; the Espai d'Arts, which provides services and resources to the region’s artistic community with the aim of promoting contemporary creation; and cub, a space given over to rehearsals and musical production. Special mention must be made of La Troca, a unique space that hosts a dozen entities related to the world of popular and traditional culture.

Not many places can claim to have been wine- and cava-production facilities before becoming a theatre with a programme of dance and children’s and professional drama. The building is striking inside and out, and retains its original cellars. What was once the wine vat is now the sound and light booth. It's a space that offers added value when you're attending a show, and it's a good example of how to convert old buildings for other uses.

On the ground floor here you'll find the tourism office of Caldes de Montbui, an obligatory stop to find out everything you need to visit the town. You can also take advantage of your visit to see everything that Thermalia has to offer, from the history of the town’s spas to an important selection of works by the sculptor Manolo Hugue, who lived in the village for many years, and a number of pieces by his friend Pablo Picasso. The temporary exhibition room also features interesting works.

The museum’s collection covers various fields, including archeology, art, decorative arts, ethnography and numismatics. The natural sciences have also been studied here since 1987, when an extension was built. The museum is multidisciplinary, as you'll discover when you explore its permanent and temporary exhibitions that help you to learn more about past and present of Granollers and its surroundings. And for lovers of contemporary art, there's a good exhibition on the third floor of the building.

Opened in 2003, the theatre's building was designed by local architect Josep M. Botey and consists of two halls: the larger one with a capacity for 700 spectators and the smaller one for 221. The number of shows scheduled throughout the year is remarkable; they include music, theatre and dance. But if you just want to explore the building, the best way is to ask for a guided tour (for groups with a minimum of 15 people), during which you'll be able to walk around the stage, the dressing rooms and the stalls.

Head for Castelltercol to discover the house where Enric Prat de la Riba, one of the greatest 20th-century Catalan politicians, lived. Prat de la Riba was the creator and first president of the Mancomunitat (Commonwealth), and whether you agree with his politics or not, the house is worth a visit because it retains the decor and atmosphere of an early-20th-century townhouse. We particularly like the bedroom, with its 19th-century furniture, and the ambience of the office, which was transferred here from Barcelona.