Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
Battle of the Ebro & Catalonia sites
The Battle of the Ebro was the longest battle of the Spanish Civil War. On 25 July 1938 the Republican army crossed the river and advanced into the Terra Alta, but it was stopped at Gandesa and pushed back across the Ebro by mid-November after months of fighting in the hills.
Catalonia also keeps the memory of the bombing of Barcelona, with its shelters and anti-aircraft batteries, and of the exile of early 1939, when hundreds of thousands crossed into France. Below are the places from our free Spanish Civil War guide in Catalonia and the Ebro, told fairly from both sides.
Catalonia & the Ebro
Barcelona Cathedral – the religious persecution of 1936
Repression & memory site · Jul–Dec 1936 · allow 20 min
In the first months after the military rising was defeated in Barcelona on 19–20 July 1936, a wave of revolutionary violence swept the Republican zone.
Bunquers de Martinet (Línea P)
Trenches & fortifications · 1944–1950s · allow 1 h 30 min
These are not Civil War works but its aftermath. After the Republican guerrilla incursion into the Val d'Aran in October 1944, and fearing an Allied or exile invasion, the Franco regime secretly built the 'Línea P' (Pirineos)…
Camp d'Aviació de la Sénia
Museum · 1937–1939 · allow 1 h
The Republican Army built this airfield in 1936–37 with Soviet machinery. After the Nationalist drive to the sea in April 1938 cut the Republic in two, it was captured and used by Nationalist squadrons and the German Condor…
Camp de la Bóta memorial (Fraternitat)
Repression & memory site · 1939–1952 · allow 20 min
The Camp de la Bóta, an old military ground on the shore at the edge of Barcelona, was the main execution site of Francoist repression in the city.
Castell de Miravet – Ebro crossing viewpoint
Interpretation centre · 24–25 Jul 1938 · allow 1 h 15 min
The Templar castle of Miravet stands above one of the stretches where the Army of the Ebro crossed the river by boat and footbridge in the early hours of 25 July 1938. It took the Nationalists by surprise.
Castell de Montjuïc
Repression & memory site · Aug 1936; 15 Oct 1940 · allow 1 h
The fortress above the port was a prison and execution ground for whichever side held Barcelona.
Castell de Móra d'Ebre
Interpretation centre · Jul–Nov 1938 · allow 45 min
Móra d'Ebre, with its road bridge and the pontoon bridges thrown across the river after 25 July 1938, was the main supply artery of the Republican bridgehead.
Castell de Sant Ferran, Figueres (last Cortes)
City site · 1 Feb 1939 · allow 1 h 30 min
As Catalonia collapsed, the Republican government withdrew to Figueres. On 1 February 1939 Prime Minister Juan Negrín held the last session of the Republican Cortes on Spanish soil in the stables of this huge 18th-century…
Coll del Moro – Franco's observation post, Gandesa
Battlefield · Jul–Nov 1938 · allow 45 min
From this 470 m hill west of Gandesa, on top of an Iberian settlement and necropolis, the Nationalist command watched the Battle of the Ebro. Franco himself came here, as did senior commanders and foreign military observers.
Crypt of the Tercio de Montserrat, Montserrat
Cemetery · 1937–1938 · allow 30 min
The Tercio de Requetés de Nuestra Señora de Montserrat was a unit of Catalan Carlist volunteers who fought on the Nationalist side, many of them having escaped from Republican Catalonia.
Els Monjos airfield – Refugi del Serral
Air-raid shelter · 1937–Jan 1939 · allow 45 min
The Republican air force had a military airfield near Els Monjos in the Penedès, part of a network of Catalan fields that sheltered fighters and bombers from 1937.
Fossar de la Pedrera, Montjuïc
Repression & memory site · 1939–1952 · allow 45 min
This old quarry in Montjuïc cemetery was used as a common grave for people executed by the Franco regime after Barcelona fell on 26 January 1939, most of them shot at the Camp de la Bóta.
La Vajol & Coll de Lli – exile crossing
Memorial · 5 Feb 1939 · allow 1 h
In the last days of the Republic in Catalonia, the tiny border village of La Vajol and its surroundings sheltered members of the government and treasures evacuated from Barcelona.
Les Devees trenches, La Fatarella
Trenches & fortifications · Jul–Nov 1938 · allow 45 min
The Serra de la Fatarella was the northern shoulder of the Republican Ebro bridgehead and its last stronghold. Les Devees was a rear position guarding the approach to La Fatarella.
Memorial de les Camposines
Memorial · Jul–Nov 1938 (memorial 2009) · allow 30 min
The Camposines crossroads, on the road from the Ebro crossings at Ascó and Flix towards Gandesa, was a key junction behind the Republican front and was fought over in the final weeks of the battle.
Mont de Conques – Pallars front strongholds
Trenches & fortifications · Apr–Dec 1938 · allow 1 h
After the Nationalist Aragon offensive of spring 1938 the front in western Catalonia settled along the Segre and Noguera Pallaresa rivers. The Nationalists held bridgeheads at Tremp, Balaguer and Seròs.
MUME – Museu Memorial de l'Exili, La Jonquera
Museum · Jan–Feb 1939 · allow 1 h 15 min
As Nationalist forces overran Catalonia after the fall of Barcelona on 26 January 1939, a huge mass of civilians and defeated soldiers fled north to the French border: the Retirada.
Museu Memorial de la Batalla de l'Ebre (CEBE), Gandesa
Museum · 25 Jul–16 Nov 1938 · allow 1 h 15 min
Gandesa was the prize the Republican offensive never took: after crossing the Ebro on 25 July 1938, Republican units reached the outskirts within days but were stopped by Nationalist reinforcements, and the town became the pivot…
Plaça de Sant Felip Neri (bombing of 30 January 1938)
City site · 30 Jan 1938 · allow 20 min
On 30 January 1938 Italian aircraft from Mallorca bombed the old city of Barcelona.
Poble Vell de Corbera d'Ebre
Ruined village · Jul–Nov 1938 · allow 1 h 30 min
The old hilltop village of Corbera d'Ebre lay on the road junction between Gandesa and the Ebro crossings.
Portbou – Walter Benjamin memorial 'Passatges'
Memorial · 26 Sep 1940 · allow 30 min
Portbou, the railway frontier town, was one of the main crossing points of the Retirada in February 1939. Eighteen months later the flow ran the other way: refugees from Nazi-occupied France tried to reach Spain and Portugal.
Quatre Camins – Cota 427 cross, Vilalba dels Arcs
Memorial · 19 Aug 1938 · allow 30 min
At the Quatre Camins crossroads (Cota 427), south of Vilalba, the Catalan Carlist volunteers of the Tercio de Requetés de Nuestra Señora de Montserrat held a Nationalist position facing the Republican 31st Mixed Brigade on Punta…
Refugi 307, Poble-sec (MUHBA)
Air-raid shelter · 1937–Jan 1939 · allow 1 h
Barcelona was bombed around 200 times during the war, mostly by Italian aircraft of the Aviazione Legionaria flying from Mallorca, with German participation.
Refugi antiaeri de Flix
Air-raid shelter · 1937–1938 · allow 45 min
Flix had a large chemical factory and a river crossing, and was bombed repeatedly. Its inhabitants dug this shelter under the old town.
Serra de Pàndols – Cota 705 memorial
Battlefield · Aug 1938 · allow 1 h 30 min
The bare limestone ridge of Pàndols, rising to Punta Alta (Cota 705), was the southern bastion of the Ebro bridgehead.
Teatre Poliorama, La Rambla (Orwell's rooftop)
City site · 3–8 May 1937 · allow 15 min
George Orwell, on leave from the POUM militia on the Aragon front, spent the May Days of 1937 on the roof of the Poliorama cinema (Rambla 115) guarding the POUM executive building across the Rambla, as he describes in 'Homage to…
Telefónica building & Plaça de Catalunya (May Days 1937)
City site · 3–8 May 1937 · allow 20 min
On 3 May 1937 Catalan police under Eusebio Rodríguez Salas tried to take the Telefónica exchange from the CNT workers' committee that had run it since July 1936.
Turó de la Rovira anti-aircraft battery (Bunkers del Carmel)
Trenches & fortifications · 1937–Jan 1939 · allow 1 h
The Republican anti-aircraft defence (DECA) built its main battery on this 262 m hill because it commanded the city.
Vilalba dels Arcs: Els Barrancs trenches & Mirador del Bassot
Trenches & fortifications · 25 Jul–Nov 1938 · allow 1 h
Vilalba dels Arcs lay on the northern edge of the Republican advance of 25 July 1938. Republican attacks failed to take the village and its hills.
Questions
How many places are there to visit?
This page lists 29 places from the free The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 guide, each with its story, what you can see today, how to visit and GPS directions.
How much time do I need?
Allowing the suggested time at each place adds up to about 25 hours on site, plus driving between them. Plan on about 5 days to see everything, or pick the places that matter most to you. The guide's tour planner puts any selection in driving order.
Do I need to book?
Most places can be visited without booking. 7 of them need booking or can only be seen on a guided visit; they are marked “Booking needed” below. For 17 places we checked opening times and prices on official websites in September 2026; open each place to see them. Opening times change, so check before you travel.
Can I visit every site?
Some places, especially open fields, are on private land: view them from the road or a public path. Cemeteries and memorials are places of remembrance first.
Is the guide free, and does it work without signal?
Yes. The The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 guide is free and works on your phone with no signal once it has been opened, with maps, stories and a tour planner. There is nothing to install from an app store.
More trip ideas
- Spanish Civil War sites in MadridCiudad Universitaria, Jarama, Brunete
- Spanish Civil War sites in AragonBelchite, Teruel, the Orwell route
- Spanish Civil War sites in the Basque Country & the NorthGernika, Bilbao's Iron Belt, Asturias
- Band of Brothers sites in NormandyDrop zones, Brécourt Manor, Carentan
- Band of Brothers sites in HollandSon, Eindhoven, Hell's Highway, the Island
- Bastogne & Battle of the Bulge sites to visitBois Jacques foxholes, Foy, Bastogne
All 158 sites in Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 →
The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
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