SALVADOR DALÍ HOUSE MUSEUM
WEBSITE: WWW.SALVADOR-DALI.ORG
LOCATION: PORT LLIGAT, 17488 CADAQUÉS, GIRONA
NEAREST AIRPORTS: GIRONA AIRPORT, 1 HOUR 25 MINUTES DRIVE
Salvador Dalí was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, known for his surreal imagery, showmanship, and deep commitment to living as he created. He claimed he was born from an egg. To understand him, you must visit the place where he lived and worked for more than fifty years: the Salvador Dalí House Museum in Portlligat.
Highly attuned to his own image, everything Dalí did was steeped in drama. Ostentation. Flamboyance. His portraits are instantly recognisable, not only because of the moustache but also the theatrical outfits and a stare to rival any YouTube lemur. Strip away some of the bravado, however, and a more complex figure emerges: a man who was undoubtedly brilliant, but also a devoted and loving husband, and someone who lived as he worked, with honesty and a deep affection for his country. You may not see this side of him in his camembert inspired melting clocks, but you will if you visit Casa Dalí.
Wandering through the house is a wonderful way to understand how Dalí lived. It is easy to imagine attending one of his parties, sipping cocktails and swimming in the sea. Each morning, Dalí would sit on the beach and boast that he was the Spaniard to receive the first rays of sunlight each day, claiming the most eastern point of Spain. This is not quite true, but we will not hold it against him.
Dalí was not born in Cadaqués, but in Figueres, a forty five minute drive away. Before his death, the industrious mayor of Figueres approached its most famous citizen to ask whether he might donate a single work. Dalí replied that he would not give one work, but an entire museum. In doing so, he placed Figueres firmly on Spain’s cultural map. Today, with almost two million visitors each year, the Dalí Theatre Museum is the third most visited museum in the country after the Prado and the Reina Sofia. Considering both are in Madrid, a city of nearly seven million people, while Figueres has fewer than fifty thousand inhabitants, this is a remarkable achievement.
Now that is surreal.
Just beyond the hills of Cadaqués lies the private bay of Portlligat, where Dalí first bought a small fisherman’s house. Over time, he acquired the neighbouring properties and joined them together to create what is now known as Casa Dalí. He renovated and decorated the house with the intention of living life fully and entertaining guests in true surreal fashion. The house remains almost exactly as he left it.
After fifty three years of marriage, Dalí’s beloved wife Gala died. He loved her so deeply that he could not bear to remain in the house without her, and he simply never returned.
It is touching to think that he had constructed an entire existence filled with art, carefully assembled objects, libraries, circular rooms, orchards, and swimming pools, all of which suddenly became meaningless without her. He even abandoned his studio, which he had ingeniously designed so that when working on large canvases he could lower the frame below the floor and continue painting at eye level, without the need for a ladder.
Cadaqués, where Casa Dalí is located, is a small and isolated town on the Costa Brava, secluded by the mountainous landscape that surrounds it. Reaching Cadaqués is something of a pilgrimage in itself, yet when you arrive, you are rewarded with a sophisticated, bohemian town known for excellent restaurants and a lively intellectual atmosphere. It was a place favoured by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Marcel Duchamp, and Richard Hamilton. Cadaqués is also mentioned in Tramontana, a story by Gabriel García Márquez.