L’Atelier de Besalú

Today, 10:30 to 19:00

The recipe, one ingredient at a time

  1. One bridge, a thousand years old
  2. One river running through the Garrotxa
  3. Green walnuts, picked on Midsummer’s Day
  4. A handful of herbs from the field edge and the garden
  5. Forty days a sol i serena: sun by day, dew by night
  6. One stone house on Carrer del Pont Vell

Hours and address

Order ratafia

Our own ratafia, and a shop · Carrer del Pont Vell, 13

Ratafia made in Besalú, by the old bridge

Homemade walnut liqueur, ceramics and keepsakes from the village. Open daily 10:30 to 19:00.

Order ratafia Get directions

A recipe for ratafia from Besalú

Every house has its own recipe. This is the village’s, one ingredient at a time:

  1. Onebridge, a thousand years old
  2. Oneriver running through the Garrotxa
  3. Greenwalnuts, picked on Midsummer’s Day
  4. A handfulof herbs from the field edge and the garden
  5. Forty daysa sol i serena: sun by day, dew by night
  6. Onestone house on Carrer del Pont Vell

Served cool. If you are already far away, email us and we will tell you how to get some. Order ratafia

4.9 out of 5 on Google, from 10 reviews

A bridge a thousand years old

Besalú was the capital of a county that covered almost all of today’s Garrotxa. In 977 Count Miró Bonfill founded the monastery of Sant Pere, and around the monastery and the bridge over the Fluvià a stone town grew, with its Jewish quarter and its mikveh.

The Knights Templar of the commandery of Castelló d’Empúries held property here. The bridge zigzags because it grips the rock of the riverbed, and the fortified tower in the middle guarded the crossing. In 1966 the village was declared a historic site.

A river running through the Garrotxa

Besalú sits at the gateway to the Garrotxa, in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Upriver lies the volcanic zone, with some forty volcanoes and beech woods that turn copper in autumn.

In winter, down in the valley, morning fog and frost are common. And in the late afternoon, when the day trips leave, Besalú is a village of 2,500 people again.

When to come

  • Late November or early December: the Ratafia Fair, held since 1993.
  • In June, on the eve of Sant Pere: HerBesalú, the herb festival.

Green walnuts and herbs from the Garrotxa

Catalan ratafia is made with tender walnuts, before their shells form, and herbs from field edges and gardens.

Walnut branch with two green walnuts and one walnut cut in half.
Green walnut
Botanical name
Juglans regia
Where it grows
Walnut trees in the valley
When
Picked at Midsummer
Three sprigs of rosemary with small flowers.
Rosemary
Botanical name
Rosmarinus officinalis
Where it grows
Dry field edges
When
All year
A thyme bush in flower.
Thyme
Botanical name
Thymus vulgaris
Where it grows
Scrubland
When
Flowers in spring
Lemon verbena stem with long leaves in threes.
Lemon verbena
Botanical name
Aloysia citrodora
Where it grows
Kitchen gardens
When
In leaf in summer
Fennel with thread-fine leaves and its umbrella of flowers.
Fennel
Botanical name
Foeniculum vulgare
Where it grows
Roadsides
When
Flowers in summer
St John’s wort with five-petalled flowers.
St John’s wort
Botanical name
Hypericum perforatum
Where it grows
Meadows and banks
When
Flowers at Midsummer

Which ones and how much, every house decides for itself. We keep our recipe to ourselves.

And now, we wait.

Forty days a sol i serena

The walnuts and herbs steep in spirit, in the sun by day and in the night dew, the serena. Each night the ratafia grows a little darker.

Drag the sun, or scroll, to let the days go by.

Day 40. It is ratafia now: next it is strained and rests in the bottle.

A stone house on Carrer del Pont Vell

In the shop you will find our ratafia and ratafia cream, ceramic plates, bowls, mugs and jars, sketchbooks and keepsakes from the village.

It has stone walls and wooden shelves, and the door opens onto the street that leads to the bridge. On a hot day we may well pour you a cool glass.

Engraving of the shop inside: stone wall, wooden shelves with plates, bowls, mugs, jars and bottles, and a counter with sketchbooks.

Hours and address

Carrer del Pont Vell, 1317850 Besalú (Girona), Spain

Today, 10:30 to 19:00

Monday10:30 to 19:00
Tuesday10:30 to 19:00
Wednesday10:30 to 19:00
Thursday10:30 to 19:00
Friday10:30 to 19:00
Saturday10:30 to 19:00
Sunday10:30 to 19:00
Get directions

Email: atelierbesalu@gmail.com

What people say

4.9 out of 5 on Google, from 10 reviews · Read them on Google

La millor ratafia que he provat sense dubtar-ho. Atenció meravellosa.

The best ratafia I have ever tried, no doubt about it. Wonderful service.

Meritxell N.

La dueña simpatiquísima nos ofreció un licor de ratafía muy fresquito… fuera hacía mucho calor.

The lovely owner offered us a nicely chilled ratafia… it was very hot outside.

Lola V.

Mi nueva libreta para dibujar y, no podía faltar, la crema de ratafía.

My new sketchbook and, of course, the ratafia cream.

Josfin

La mejor ratafia que hemos probado. Elaboración propia, trato amable y atento.

The best ratafia we have tried. Made in house, kind and attentive service.

Ruth A.

Buenísima la ratafia de elaboración propia, ojalá trabajen con alguna distribuidora para poder comprarla aunque no estés en Besalú.

Their own ratafia is excellent. I wish they worked with a distributor so you could buy it even when you are not in Besalú.

Regina P.

When the bottle runs out, email us

Lots of people taste it in the shop and then ask us how to get more. Send us an email with what you would like and where you are, and we will tell you how to get it.

Order ratafiaatelierbesalu@gmail.com

Your email opens with the message ready. We reply ourselves. 4.9 out of 5 on Google, from 10 reviews

Served cool, in a small glass.