The Penedès is wine country, and the landscape around Vilafranca del Penedès is a patchwork of vineyards rolling away toward the Montserrat massif in the north and the limestone hills of the Garraf in the south. Abric de Can Castellví is a small rock shelter in this landscape, one of the many sites of Levantine and schematic rock art scattered across Catalonia and included in the UNESCO serial site of the rock art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula. Like many such sites, it is modest in appearance, a hollow in the rock where faint painted figures have survived thousands of years, and access is often limited to protect the art.
Vilafranca is the capital of the Penedès, a lively town with a medieval core, a fine Gothic basilica, and the wine museum, Vinseum, which tells the story of winemaking in the region. The town is also famous for its castellers, the teams who build human towers several storeys high, a tradition inscribed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage. The Festa Major at the end of August, when the castellers perform in the main square, is spectacular. Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, just to the north, is the capital of cava, the Catalan sparkling wine, with dozens of cellars open for visits.
The riding around Vilafranca is enjoyable, with quiet roads winding through the vineyards and hills, good surfaces and light traffic on weekdays. The roads south through the Garraf massif toward Sitges and the coast are particularly good, with tight bends, steep climbs and views of the sea. North toward Montserrat, the roads climb dramatically to the mountain monastery, with hairpins and stunning views of the strange rock formations. Weekend traffic around Barcelona can be heavy, and summer heat is intense.
Vilafranca, about four kilometres away, is a town of nearly forty thousand people with pumps, coffee, proper meals and shops. Try local dishes such as xató, a salad of endive, salt cod and anchovies with a romesco-like sauce, and of course a glass of local wine or cava, but only when the riding is done. Visit the Vinseum, stroll the old town, and take a quiet ride through the vineyards. The rock shelter is a reminder that people have been living in this landscape for thousands of years.