Salou | |
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 Monument toJaume I | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Salou Location of Salou in Spain Show map of Catalonia Salou Salou (Spain) Show map of Spain | |
| Coordinates:41°04′37″N1°08′38″E / 41.077°N 1.144°E /41.077; 1.144 | |
| Country |  Spain |
| Community |  Catalonia |
| Province | Tarragona |
| Comarca | Tarragonès |
| Municipality | 30 October 1989 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor–council |
| • Body | Ajuntament de Salou |
| • Mayor | Pere Granados Carrillo (2015)[1] (Formació Unitat Per Salou (FUPS)) |
| Area | |
• Total | 15.1 km2 (5.8 sq mi) |
| Elevation (AMSL) | 5 m (16 ft) |
| Population (2024-01-01)[3] | |
• Total | 30,810 |
| • Density | 2,040/km2 (5,280/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | Salouean salouenc,salouenca salouense |
| Postal code | 43840 |
| Area code | +34 (Spain) 977 (Province) |
| Website | salou |
Salou (Catalan pronunciation:[səˈlɔw]) is a resort town and municipality of thecomarca ofTarragonès, in the province ofTarragona, inCatalonia, Spain. It has a population of 30,810 (register office, 2024) 
. The city is approximately 10 km fromTarragona andReus on theCosta Daurada and 112 km fromBarcelona.
Founded by the Greeks in the 6th century B.C., the coastal town was a notable commercial port during medieval and modern ages. Throughout the 20th century, Salou became an important European tourist attraction.
Aside from its string of beaches interrupted by rocky coves, and its landscaped promenade, one of its main attractions is thePortAventura World resort. The Dutch movieCosta! and the television series with the same title were both filmed in Salou.
Used as a port byGreeks (who named itSalanrio) andRomans (who named it afterSalauris), it appeared again in an important historic event, when in 1229 the fleet ofJames I of Aragon departed from the port of Salou to conquer theBalearic Islands, thus creating theKingdom of Majorca.
In 1286Alfons III of Aragon also departed from this port to conquerMenorca, the lastMoorish territory of theBalearic Islands.
Later, Salou became a nest ofpirates. After that it was considered an unsafe place, so in 1530 Archbishop ofTarragona decided to erect a new defence tower, now calledTorre Vella.
In 1865 the railway station began to operate, opening a new development time, that led one hundred years later to a tourist boom that has brought prosperity to the town. Salou was separated from the adjacent municipality ofVila-seca on 30 October 1989 by a decision of theSupreme Court of Spain.[4]
In the summer of 2001, Salou suffered a terrorist attack byETA, through a car bomb near a hotel. 13 people were injured, including twocivil guards.
PortAventura World is a growing theme park resort on theCosta Daurada. The resort includes luxury four-star accommodation, two theme parks (PortAventura Park andFerrari Land),PortAventura Caribe Aquatic Park, a convention centre and aRV park. The PortAventura Park's main attractions are theDragon Khan, a massiveB&Mmega-looper;Furius Baco, which is one of the fastest roller coasters in Europe; andHurakan Condor, a tall falling-tower ride which is 100 metres tall. In 2012 a new roller coaster calledShambhala opened adjacent to theDragon Khan. The park also has a grand multi-media show, called theFiestaAventura, every night between the end of June and the end of August which features fireworks, fountains and parade floats.Ferrari Land, with the highest and fastest vertical accelerator in Europe, opened in 2017, and will also include the world's first Ferrari hotel.
Salou is also home to the Lumine Golf Club (formerly known as PortAventura golf). There are three courses, labeled as north, south, and central. North and central were designed byGreg Norman and the south course was designed by "Green Project".[1] The facilities consist of two clubhouses, a beach club, Lumine restaurant, Hoyo 19 restaurant, a pro shop, rental services and a golf school. In the future[when?] the area surrounding the golf course will be developed into a community with six residential areas and services that include two five-star hotels, a sports area and the International School of Salou that will cater for up to 1200 students as part of the Lumine community.[5]
The Auditorium Theatre of Salou (Teatre Auditori de Salou orTAS to shorten) is an important part of the local community in terms of cultural and leisure in the municipality. The theatre plays local events such as political, school and cultural events and has also welcomed famous musicians to the area such asSergio Dalma.
Salou's main promenade is the Passeig Jaume I, which runs along the coast adjacent to the Llevant Beach, the longest beach in the town. Other beaches include Platja de Ponent, Platja dels Capellans, Platja Llarga and Platja Cala Crancs. Salou has 34Blue Flag beaches. Water-sports, rentals and trips can be arranged on the Llevant Beach.
Salou has been used since 2005 as the base forRally Catalunya, part of theWorld Rally Championship.[6] Salou has also held volleyball championships, football tournaments, a triathlon[7] and many other competitive sports.
Saloufest is the University sports festival which takes place on two separate occasions in April on an annual basis. The festival includes DJs and parties at the neighbouring resort's nightclub calledPacha.
In the future, the local government is expected to position Salou as a sport tourism destination and therefore will promote different projects that include first class facilities to provide the city with the necessary resources to become a tourist destination that attractsvisitors of reference[clarification needed], especially in low season. They have announced a project that will feature swimming pools, football fields and tennis courts.[8]In April 2012 the Mayor of Salou inaugurated the facilities that have been built, which are six football fields (four artificial and 2 natural) including changing rooms, bar, waiting rooms and rooms for training sessions the second phase includes a further 6 more open fields, billiards room and shop selling merchandise.[9][10]
Salou is the sub-site for the2018 Mediterranean Games for sports such assailing.[11]
Salou has aMediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification:Csa) characterized by mild winters and hot summers. The rainiest season is autumn, and the driest season is the summer. Salou receives above 2,500 hours of sunshine annually.
| Climate data for Salou | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 14.1 (57.4) | 15.2 (59.4) | 16.7 (62.1) | 19.1 (66.4) | 23.2 (73.8) | 26.3 (79.3) | 29.0 (84.2) | 29.3 (84.7) | 26.2 (79.2) | 23.1 (73.6) | 18.1 (64.6) | 15.2 (59.4) | 21.3 (70.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 9.8 (49.6) | 10.5 (50.9) | 12.1 (53.8) | 15.1 (59.2) | 18.7 (65.7) | 22.4 (72.3) | 24.6 (76.3) | 24.8 (76.6) | 22.2 (72.0) | 19.1 (66.4) | 14.1 (57.4) | 10.2 (50.4) | 17.1 (62.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 5.9 (42.6) | 6.2 (43.2) | 8.1 (46.6) | 11.1 (52.0) | 14.2 (57.6) | 18.5 (65.3) | 20.1 (68.2) | 20.3 (68.5) | 18.4 (65.1) | 15.0 (59.0) | 10.1 (50.2) | 5.8 (42.4) | 12.9 (55.2) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 38 (1.5) | 23 (0.9) | 35 (1.4) | 40 (1.6) | 60 (2.4) | 38 (1.5) | 15 (0.6) | 51 (2.0) | 77 (3.0) | 65 (2.6) | 49 (1.9) | 40 (1.6) | 504 (19.8) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1 mm) | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 51 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 160 | 164 | 199 | 223 | 243 | 264 | 308 | 264 | 201 | 184 | 160 | 138 | 2,509 |
| Source:Agencia Estatal de Meteorología[12] | |||||||||||||
Salou's closest airport isReus (which it is connected to by a regular bus service) followed byBarcelona. Reus Airport is mainly served by the low cost airlineRyanair. The majorcharter airlines fromBritain use Reus throughout the summer as a gateway to theCosta Daurada. The airport mainly serves British and Irish destinations, but domestic and other European destinations are also served.
The formerSalou Station [es], located in downtown Salou near Plaça del Carrilet, once served destinations such asTarragona andBarcelona inCatalonia, as well asValencia to the south of Salou. The station and the section of the rail line it served were closed in January 2020 after a new line between Tarragona and Amposta was built. The station building was opened in 1865, closed in 2019 and demolished in 2024.[13]
Someregional trains now terminate at the stationSalou - Port Aventura to the north east of the city centre, which opened in 1996 soon after the inauguration of PortAventura. The station is served byline R17 (connecting to Tarragona and Barcelona) andRT2. By 2025, a new station building was built after 3 years of construction. The new station building has 1,000 square metres of area containing washrooms, a waiting area, a café and rooms for railway operators. There is also a technical building with 225 square metres of area. There are 210 parking spaces, including 10 for people with reduced mobility and some spots with electric charging. The platforms were extended to 240 metres in length to handle trains up to 200 metres long. The platforms allow access to both sides of a train.TramCamp, a future regional tram line, is planned to have a stop at the station.[14]
There are plenty oftaxi services throughout the area including taxi ranks in locations such as opposite the Font lluminosa, Cap Salou and Reus Airport.
Thebus company that serves the area is called Plana Bus, the destinations includeCambrils, La Pineda,PortAventura,Reus andTarragona.
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Media related toSalou at Wikimedia Commons
Places adjacent to Salou | |
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Municipalities ofTarragonès | ||
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