Empuriabrava is an unusual town on the coast of Girona, the Costa Brava in Spain. It is one of the largest residential marina in the world with more than 40 km of navigable canals, 5,000 boat moorings and home to 7,800 local residents, which swells to 80,000 at the height of the summer season. Empuriabrava is often called the Venice of Spain.

Empuriabrava was originally built on a swamp, and was transformed into a touristic community during the 1970s. The place is a major, upmarket tourist destination for the rich and the privileged. It is particularly popular with Germans and the French, and to a much lesser extent, Dutch and British visitors as well. Most of the city is made up of pretty private homes built in classic Mediterranean style. Nightlife is vibrant with bars, discos, and a range of restaurants catering to foreigners eager to enjoy familiar food. Many tourists and day-trippers rent sailboats or motorized boats, or at the very least take a canal boat tour.

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