Argentona is a small town in the Maresme comarca, 33 km northeast of Barcelona and just 4 km inland from the coastal town of Mataró. It is a quiet, leafy place that makes a good escape from the city — close enough for a day trip, but with the unhurried feel of a Catalan country town.
The town has a notable collection of Modernista architecture, including the Casa Garriga i Nogués and several other early 20th-century summer villas by Josep Puig i Cadafalch. The Font Picant mineral spring has drawn visitors since the 19th century, and the Museu del Càntir — a whole museum given over to the Catalan ceramic water jug — is the unmissable curiosity. The surrounding Serralada Litoral hills offer pleasant walks through pine forest and Mediterranean scrub, with views down to the coast.