Mataró is a coastal city about 30 km northeast of Barcelona, the capital of the Maresme comarca. It was the terminus of Spain's first railway line, opened in 1848, and today the Cercanías train still makes it an easy day trip from Barcelona.
The old town has a pleasant pedestrianised centre with the Basílica de Santa Maria and the Roman Villa of Can Llauder, whose well-preserved mosaic floors are among the finest in Catalonia. The beaches are wide and sandy, less crowded than Barcelona's, and the seafront promenade is good for a walk. Mataró is also known for its modernist architecture — the Nau Gaudí, an early industrial building by a young Antoni Gaudí, is the only surviving industrial work by the architect anywhere in the world.