El Far de Sant Sebastià: The Complete Guide to a Lighthouse Wedding on the Costa Brava
Written by Jordi Dalmau, Spain destination wedding photographer. Last update October 2026
El Far de Sant Sebastià is a nine-room hotel and restaurant on the cape above Llafranc, on the Costa Brava, set beside a working lighthouse about 170 meters above the sea, and it closes to the public for your wedding, for 40 to 186 guests.
I have photographed two weddings here, in May and June 2025, and this is the guide I would want before booking it: what is actually on the cape, every space, the real numbers, how your guests get up the hill, and the one thing nobody tells you about this venue, which is where the light goes at the end of the day.
Still comparing venues? I keep a guide to the best wedding venues on the Costa Brava, with El Far among them.
Where Is El Far de Sant Sebastià and What Makes It So Special?
El Far de Sant Sebastià sits on the Muntanya de Sant Sebastià, the headland above Llafranc in the town of Palafrugell, in the province of Girona. Llafranc beach is about five minutes away by car, Calella de Palafrugell about eight, Tamariu about six, and Girona airport about an hour.
What makes it special is what shares the cape with it. This is a protected heritage site, the Conjunt Monumental de Sant Sebastià de la Guarda, run by the town of Palafrugell:
- The lighthouse, lit on 1 October 1857 and described in Catalonia’s heritage inventory as the most powerful light on the mainland Spanish Mediterranean coast (inventory card 4191).
- The watchtower, a lookout tower built from 1445, and today protected as a Cultural Asset of National Interest.
- The Ermita de Sant Sebastià, a Baroque chapel begun in 1707 after the plague of 1650, with its old pilgrims’ inn alongside.
- An Iberian settlement from the centuries before Rome, on the same hilltop.
The hotel itself is built over that 18th-century inn, which is why the courtyard at its heart feels so old. You can read the town’s own account on the Palafrugell heritage page, and the hotel’s wedding details on its own website.
What Wedding Spaces Does El Far de Sant Sebastià Offer?
El Far de Sant Sebastià gives you an 18th-century cobbled courtyard for the ceremony and the party, a terrace hanging over the sea for the cocktail hour, a restaurant with sea-view windows for dinner, the town’s chapel next door for a religious ceremony, and nine rooms for getting ready.
It is a small venue, and that is its character: everything happens within a few steps, on top of a cliff, with the whole hotel closed to everyone but your guests. Here is how each space works.
The 18th-Century Courtyard: Where You Say I Do
Most ceremonies at El Far happen in the courtyard, a cobbled 18th-century patio with stone arches and stone staircases, the oldest part of the building. The June wedding I photographed held its ceremony there.
It is a beautiful, intimate setting, with the stairs as a natural backdrop for the two of you. The one thing to know is that the light comes in from above. Timed well, it is soft and even. Timed badly, the sun lands on one of you and not the other, which is one of the hardest light situations there is for photos. I explain how to avoid it in the tips below. Civil ceremonies are held here: the town of Palafrugell allows the mayor or a councillor to officiate at hotels in the municipality.
The Ermita de Sant Sebastià Next Door
For a religious ceremony, the option is the Ermita de Sant Sebastià, the Baroque chapel right next to the hotel. It belongs to the town of Palafrugell, not to the hotel, and it holds around 60 to 70 people.
A religious wedding there goes through the parish of Palafrugell, which, according to the town’s own wedding portal, has to approve the florists, musicians, planners and photographers in advance. Florists must be local, and decorations have to be removed straight after the ceremony. The town charges a small fee to authorize the use of the chapel. If you want a church ceremony at El Far, start this paperwork early, and tell your photographer so they can be approved in time.
The Terrace Above the Sea
The terrace is the picture everyone books El Far for: a long white terrace with wrought-iron railings, about 170 meters straight above the Mediterranean, with the lighthouse at one end and the coast toward Tamariu and Llafranc spread out below.
This is where the cocktail hour happens, and it is spectacular in daylight. It is also on the east side of the cape, facing the open sea, which matters later in the evening: by the golden hour the terrace is already in shade. That is not a reason to avoid it, it is a reason to plan around it, and I come back to it in the tips.
The Restaurant and the Rain Plan
Dinner is served in the hotel’s restaurant, a white room with big sea-view windows, which keeps the meal itself independent from the weather and the wind.
For the cocktail hour, the hotel’s rain plan is two covered areas next to the dining room. At the June wedding I photographed, dinner was inside the restaurant as the sun went down behind the cape, and the party moved back to the courtyard afterward, under lights, until late.
The Nine Rooms
El Far has nine rooms: one suite, four doubles with a terrace and sea view, and four rooms looking over the garden. For the wedding, the hotel requires all nine to be booked, so the building is entirely yours for the night.
Both of you can get ready in the hotel, which keeps the morning simple. The rooms are lovely but small, and the sea-view ones open onto the sea through a French window with a little terrace that does not light the whole room. At one of my weddings here, the groom got ready in a room with a larger sea-view terrace, and it was wonderful. My advice: choose the room for the getting-ready photos when you book, not on the day.
How Many Guests Can El Far de Sant Sebastià Host?
El Far de Sant Sebastià hosts a minimum of 40 adults and a maximum of 186, according to the hotel’s own wedding page. It hosts one wedding at a time, with all nine rooms booked for your group.
Here is what is published:
- Maximum: 186 guests (hotel); some listings say 180 or 200
- Minimum: 40 adults
- Ermita de Sant Sebastià: around 60 to 70 people, for a religious ceremony
- Rooms on site: 9, all booked for the wedding night
- Exclusivity: one wedding a day, with the hotel closed to the public
Where these figures come from: the minimum, maximum and room count are from the hotel’s wedding page in 2026; the chapel capacity is from the town of Palafrugell. Other listings disagree on the maximum (180 on bodas.net and the town’s wedding portal, 200 on one directory), so confirm the seated number for your layout with the hotel.
What Is the Catering Like at El Far de Sant Sebastià?
Catering at El Far is in-house only: the hotel’s own kitchen cooks for your wedding, and you cannot bring an outside caterer. Its restaurant is known for Mediterranean cooking, rice dishes, fish and shellfish.
The hotel includes a tasting at least three months before the wedding, for the two of you plus four guests if you are over 100 adults. If you want to bring your own wedding cake, the hotel’s bodas.net listing mentions a fee of 6 euros per guest. With a single kitchen, the tasting is where you shape the menu, so treat it as a real working session rather than a formality.
What Is Included in an El Far de Sant Sebastià Wedding?
An El Far wedding is an exclusive hire of a small hotel: the courtyard, the terrace, the restaurant and all nine rooms, with the hotel’s Director coordinating the day and the kitchen cooking your menu.
- The whole hotel, closed to the public, one wedding a day
- All nine rooms, booked for the wedding night
- Ceremony in the courtyard, or in the town’s chapel next door for a religious wedding
- In-house catering, with a tasting included
- Coordination on the day by the hotel’s Director
- Drones allowed with a license
Price: the hotel’s listing on bodas.net shows menus from 159 to 204 euros per guest, including the welcome aperitif, the dinner and an open bar. The hotel recommends booking 12 to 18 months ahead.
Where these figures come from: the menu prices are the ones published on the hotel’s bodas.net listing (the year is not shown), and the town’s 2018 wedding portal lists 90 to 128 euros, which is clearly out of date. The hotel’s own website does not publish prices. Ask for a current quote, and get three things in writing: the latest time for music, whether coaches can drive up for your date, and whether your date is open at all, since the town’s portal does not list group events in August.
What Are My Insider Tips for an El Far de Sant Sebastià Wedding?
My biggest tip for El Far is about the light: the sun sets on the opposite side of the cape from where your guests spend the evening. Plan the day around that and it is a beautiful venue; ignore it and you lose the golden hour.
Know where the sun goes. The terrace faces the open sea, to the east. In the wedding season the sun sets over the land, behind the hotel, toward the west and northwest. That means that during the cocktail hour your guests are in the shade, looking at a sea that is already losing its light. For reference, the sun sets around 8:45 pm in early May, 9:25 pm in late June and about 8 pm in mid September.
The best evening light is where the cars park. The open area at the top that is used for parking is exactly where the late light falls, and I have never seen a wedding set up there. The catch is the cars: photograph people there and they end up in the background. We took the couple portraits in that light, and then walked to the mirador for the view over Llafranc and the sunset light. Ask the hotel whether that area can be kept clear for twenty minutes of portraits.
Time the ceremony to the courtyard light. The light falls into the courtyard from above. With the wrong start time, one of you can be in full sun and the other in shade, which is about the worst light you can give a photographer. Ask your photographer to check the sun for your date and set the time when the courtyard is evenly lit.
Pick the getting-ready room on purpose. The rooms are small and the French windows do not light them all the way in. Reserve one of the sea-view rooms with a terrace for the getting-ready photos, ideally the one with the larger terrace.
Book a coach for your guests. There is a single car park below, and with a large group the cars rarely all fit. On top of that, since 2021 a camera controls the last stretch of road from June to September: according to the local press, only hotel guests, staff and residents can drive up, and everyone else parks below and walks. Plan a shuttle from Llafranc or Palafrugell, and confirm with the hotel how the rule applies to your guests and where a coach can stop.
Plan the religious paperwork early. If you marry in the chapel, the parish approves your florist, musicians and photographer in advance, so start that process months before.
Where Do Wedding Guests Stay at El Far de Sant Sebastià?
El Far’s nine rooms are booked for your group on the wedding night, so the two of you and your closest people sleep on the cape, and everyone else stays down in Llafranc, Calella de Palafrugell or Tamariu, each five to ten minutes away by car.
Those three villages are among the prettiest on the Costa Brava, with plenty of small hotels and rentals, so your guests get a holiday out of it too. Book early for summer dates, and plan a shuttle up and down the hill: parking is limited, and in summer most cars cannot drive up to the top at all.
What Is a Wedding Day at El Far de Sant Sebastià Like?
A wedding at El Far is compact and vertical: everything happens within a few steps, on top of a cliff, with the sea below and the lighthouse above.
At the June 2025 wedding I photographed here, the couple asked everyone to wear white. The ceremony was in the courtyard in the late afternoon, the cocktail hour on the terrace over the sea, the portraits in the warm light on the land side and at the mirador over Llafranc, dinner in the restaurant as the sun went down behind the cape, and then the party back in the courtyard under the lights until late.
The May 2025 wedding followed the same rhythm, with the ceremony chairs set out in the courtyard and the drinks on the terrace. What both had in common is what makes El Far special: a small hotel that becomes entirely yours, with one of the great views of the Costa Brava.
What Should Your El Far de Sant Sebastià Photographer Know?
A photographer at El Far plans around one fact: the sea and the sunset are on opposite sides of the cape. The terrace and its view over the open sea are at their best in the afternoon, and the warm evening light falls on the land side and the mirador over Llafranc.
That shapes the whole timeline: the ceremony timed so the courtyard is evenly lit, the terrace photographed while it still has light, and twenty minutes set aside before dinner for portraits on the land side and at the mirador. Inside, the courtyard is dramatic at night, and the stone staircase works in every light. If you plan a religious ceremony in the chapel, your photographer also needs to be approved by the parish in advance. Drones are allowed with a license.
This is the kind of venue where a photographer who already knows where the light falls, and where it does not, makes a real difference. If you want to see how I work on the Costa Brava, here is my page as a Costa Brava wedding photographer.
Frequently Asked Questions About El Far de Sant Sebastià Weddings
Where is El Far de Sant Sebastià? On the Sant Sebastià headland above Llafranc, in the town of Palafrugell, on the Costa Brava in the province of Girona. Llafranc beach is about five minutes away by car and Girona airport about an hour.
How many guests can El Far de Sant Sebastià host? A minimum of 40 adults and a maximum of 186, according to the hotel. It hosts one wedding a day, with all nine rooms booked for the wedding party.
How much does a wedding at El Far de Sant Sebastià cost? The hotel’s listing on bodas.net shows menus from 159 to 204 euros per guest, including the aperitif, dinner and an open bar, and all nine rooms must be booked for the wedding night. The hotel’s website does not publish prices, so ask for a current quote.
Can you have a religious ceremony at El Far de Sant Sebastià? Yes, in the Ermita de Sant Sebastià next door, a Baroque chapel owned by the town of Palafrugell that holds around 60 to 70 people. It goes through the parish, which approves florists, musicians and photographers in advance. Civil ceremonies are held in the hotel’s courtyard.
Can guests drive up to El Far de Sant Sebastià? From June to September a camera controls the last stretch of road, and according to the local press only hotel guests, staff and residents can drive up; everyone else parks below and walks. Parking is limited, so plan a coach or shuttle and confirm with the hotel how the rule applies to your guests.
Can you bring your own caterer to El Far de Sant Sebastià? No. Catering is in-house only, from the hotel’s own kitchen, with a tasting included. Its bodas.net listing mentions a fee of 6 euros per guest if you bring your own cake.
Does El Far de Sant Sebastià host weddings in August? The town of Palafrugell’s wedding portal lists group events from mid-February to the end of July and from September to late December, with no August dates. Confirm with the hotel for your year.
Is El Far de Sant Sebastià the same as Far Nomo? No. Far Nomo is a separate Japanese restaurant on the same headland. El Far de Sant Sebastià is the nine-room hotel and restaurant next to the lighthouse, and it is the one that hosts weddings.
Is El Far de Sant Sebastià Right for Your Wedding?
El Far de Sant Sebastià is right for couples who want a small, exclusive hotel on a cliff above the sea, one of the best views on the Costa Brava, and a venue that runs the food and the day for them.
It works best for weddings of 40 to around 180 guests who are happy with in-house catering and a ceremony in the courtyard or the chapel next door. If you need a sunset over the sea, your own caterer, or a guest list well over 180, it is a different kind of place.
Consider El Far de Sant Sebastià if you want:
- A lighthouse, a 15th-century watchtower and an 18th-century courtyard for your wedding
- A terrace 170 meters above the sea for the cocktail hour
- The whole hotel to yourselves, with nine rooms for your closest people
- A kitchen and a Director who run the day for you
Comparing options? You will find it alongside my picks in the guide to the best wedding venues on the Costa Brava. Or just say hi and I will check your date.
About the Author:
I’m Jordi Dalmau, a wedding photographer specializing in destination weddings in Spain, and I have photographed two weddings at El Far de Sant Sebastià, in May and June 2025. This guide combines what I saw on those days with the hotel’s and the town’s own figures to help you plan yours.
