Empuriabrava is hosting a new edition of its Oktoberfest this week, with four days of German food, music and entertainment in Plaça de les Palmeres. The event runs from Thursday 24 September to Sunday 27 September, and entry is free.
The festival is modelled on the traditional Bavarian celebration held every autumn in Munich. Organisers describe it as a mix of German cuisine, a festive atmosphere, live music and activities for all ages.
Opening times
The programme began on Thursday 24 September, with activities from 8pm until midnight. On Friday 25 September, the square is open from 6pm to midnight.
The Mossos d'Esquadra, Catalonia's regional police force, arrested the owner of a travel agency in L'Escala on Wednesday. She is under investigation for fraud, and police believe the scheme is worth more than €2 million.
Officers say close to 400 people were affected. Some paid for holidays that never existed. Others learned partway through their trip that their stay had not been fully paid for and that they still owed money.
Jordi Casanovas is a deputy inspector and head of the central economic crime area of the Mossos' criminal investigation division. He said the woman had no civil liability insurance and used the money she took from customers to pay off debts.
Two men were injured, one of them critically, after a gas explosion at a rural hotel in Peralada in the early hours of the morning.
The blast happened at Can Carbó, a traditional Catalan farmhouse, or masia, that has been converted into visitor accommodation. The building has a ground floor and two upper storeys and lies within the municipality of Peralada, a few kilometres inland from Castelló d'Empúries.
Tank explosion and fire
Emergency services received the call at 2.18am. A gas tank outside the hotel exploded and the blast immediately started a fire.
The Bombers, Catalonia's fire and rescue service, sent nine ground units. On arrival, firefighters rescued two people. According to the Sistema d'Emergències Mèdiques (SEM), the regional emergency medical service, the first was a 47-year-old man in critical condition. He was taken to Vall d'Hebron hospital in Barcelona. The second, a 74-year-old man, had minor injuries and was taken to Hospital Josep Trueta in Girona.
Owners of tractors and mopeds in Castelló d'Empúries will be able to have their vehicles inspected without leaving the municipality next week.
The mobile unit of the ITV, the Inspecció Tècnica de Vehicles, will visit the town on Wednesday, 30 September 2026. It will carry out inspections from 8am to 12 noon.
The ITV is Spain's compulsory roadworthiness test, similar to the MOT in the United Kingdom or the TÜV check in Germany. Vehicles must pass it regularly to remain legally on the road. Normally, owners have to take their vehicles to a fixed inspection station. The mobile unit saves them that trip.
Families in Castelló d'Empúries have until Wednesday, September 30, to apply for the town council's grant towards school textbooks and materials for the 2026-2027 academic year.
The grant is worth up to €50 per pupil. It is open to children who are registered as residents in the municipality and enrolled at a school in Castelló d'Empúries. Pupils from the first year of primary school up to the fourth year of ESO, the final year of compulsory secondary education in Spain, are eligible.
Residency here means being on the padró, the municipal register of inhabitants. Enrolment at a local school is not enough on its own. The pupil must also appear on the town's register.
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