Sant Celoni

A Thursday That Starts in the Square

Thursday begins early in the plaça de la Vila. At that hour, the paving stones still hold a trace of damp and wooden crates are opened one after another. Lorries unload fruit while someone sweeps up wet sawdust beside the stalls. In Sant Celoni, tourism often starts right here, in the market, in the dry thud of boxes being stacked and the smell of vegetables just pulled from the soil.

A man stretches out a blue tarpaulin. Turnips still dusted with earth land on the table, alongside calçots tied with rough string and sacks of mongeta del Ganxet that rustle as they are moved. Nothing feels arranged for show. This is the weekly market as it has always been, and the town moves around it.

A Place Shaped by the Road

Sant Celoni has long existed in between. The road and the railway make that clear. Barcelona lies in one direction, Girona in the other, while the Montseny looks down from above.

The market was already active centuries ago, when hides, herbs from Montseny and textiles passed through. Today, produce from the Vallès sits alongside goods that arrived later, though the pace remains unhurried. Voices are rarely raised. People know each other, and conversations take their time.

Now and then, a farmer cuts a leaf from a cabbage and offers it to taste. It snaps when bitten. If it rains, people gather under the arcades of the town hall. If the sun comes out, the plane trees in the square cast long shadows across the stone.

Nearby, the smell of freshly baked bread often drifts out from a bakery in the centre. On cold days, it carries halfway down the street.

The Narrow Streets of the Força

Two streets away from the market, the Força district appears. The streets suddenly narrow and the ground shifts to uneven stone. The layout still follows, more or less, the line of the old medieval walls.

Some doorways retain their original arches, though not always intact. One was split when the building was adapted into a garage. This kind of overlap happens often in Sant Celoni, where layers of centuries sit alongside everyday life.

The church of Sant Martí stands at the end of a short incline. Its stone changes colour depending on the time of day. By afternoon, it turns warmer, almost orange. The sgrafitto decoration on the façade has worn over time, but shapes and outlines can still be made out.

Inside, there is a scent of wax and aged wood. Light enters at an angle through the stained glass and falls across the pews. During winter services, many people leave their coats folded over the backrests.

Tracks, Workshops and Change

When the railway arrived in the 19th century, the town began to grow towards the station. Textile factories appeared, along with workshops linked to cork. Some of these industrial buildings are still standing.

Today, several have taken on new uses: municipal facilities, sports spaces or workshops. On hot days, there can still be a faint acidic smell in the air, a reminder of the industrial dyes used here for decades.

The station remains one of the busiest points in the municipality. Many people live in Sant Celoni and travel daily to work in Barcelona or Girona.

Walking Out Towards the Mountains

Behind the cemetery, a track leads gradually into the landscape of the Montseny. In less than half an hour, the noise of the town fades away.

Beech and oak woods mix together. In autumn, the ground crunches underfoot. Some leaves remain on the branches, while others form a dark brown layer that smells of damp earth.

Near the font de l’Ermita, water falls into a granite basin covered in moss. Cyclists often stop here to refill their bottles. Dogs drink, then lie down in the shade.

Climb a little further and the town comes into view below, a cluster of red roofs set between two mountain ranges: Montseny on one side, Montnegre on the other. On very clear days, there is even a faint glimmer of the sea in the distance.

Something Sweet, and Time to Sit

In the centre of Sant Celoni, several bakeries prepare a sweet known as a celoní. It has a triangular shape that echoes the outline of the surrounding mountains. The base is biscuit, topped with almond cream and finished with a thin layer of chocolate.

It is not something to eat in a hurry while walking. The usual approach is to sit on a bench in the square or at a quiet table, letting the chocolate soften slightly before the first bite.

In autumn, dishes featuring mushrooms from the Montseny begin to appear more frequently on local menus. It is the season when the connection between the town and the mountain becomes most visible.

When the Town Shows Its Pace

A Thursday morning reveals Sant Celoni at its most typical. The market is full, and the streets in the centre move without rush.

August shifts the atmosphere. More people pass through on their way to the coast or up into the Montseny, and finding a place to park near the centre can take longer.

On mornings when fog rolls in, it is worth heading towards the Pont Trencat. The river Tordera disappears beneath a white layer that slowly rises along the valley. From there, Sant Celoni begins to emerge as the mist lifts.