BANYOLES

The capital of the Pia de l'Estany county makes a pleasant place to while away a summer afternoon. The main square, Playa Major, is a perfect example of the genre, with three and four storey houses climbing above the ground floor arcades. Just outside Banyoles is a lake, fed by an underground spring, where the 1992 Olympic rowing contests and the 2004 World Championships were held. This is where the locals come to have fun in summer you can swim, fish, rent a rowing boat or walk the 8km around the lake's shore. The jawbone of a pre-Neanderthal man, at least 100,000 years old, was discovered in 1887. A copy is kept in the Museu Arqueologic, housed in the 14^th century almshouses in the centre of town.