Who better to design and build the perfect monument to his genius than the eccentric Surrealist Salvador Dalí himself. That he did - the Teatre-Museu Dalí, in Figueres. That otherwise largely undistinguished town was his birthplace, about 120 miles northeast of Barcelona in the far northeast corner of Spain. He put it on the cultural map - his museum is said to be the second-most popular in the country, after the Prado, in Madrid.

You’ll know it when you see it. A former theater, it now looks like a brick-red castle, with adornments. The round tower at the corner has giant eggs perched precariously on its roof. Dalí lived in an apartment up there during the last years of his life. He died in 1989, and his tomb is also on site. Approaching closer, the thousands of yellow protuberances that stud the walls prove to be puffy pumpkin-sized ceramic objects, no two exactly alike. They look like shiny little Pillsbury Doughboys.

Rounding a corner into the entry plazas, visitors come upon assemblages of truck tires stacked twenty feet high, with life-sized representations of mythic figures. More statues stand on a balcony above the front doors.

All that is mere preamble. Pass through into a vast circular atrium. Looming above is a nude warrior woman (or earth mother) of heroic anatonomical proportions, her arms apart in a welcoming (or forbidding) embrace. On the floor behind her is a vintage American car. There are mannequins inside. They are damp, because periodically it rains in there. More statues fill wall niches. Up a few stairs, on what amounts to a stage, are large murals and entrances to the staircases that lead to three more floors of galleries.

Facing the atrium, gaze upon the large painting on the right. It depicts a row of Venuses without arms. Unremarkable, you might think, but Dalí loved tricks and magic and illusions. Hidden in the painting is a partial portrait of the celebrated matador Manolete. Squint, and look very closely: The crease in the belly of the second Venus forms his mouth, below that, his chin. Her right breast is his nose.

Upstairs, Dalí continues to amuse and titilate. One room, devoted to Mae West, has a lip-shaped sofa and a chimney that is also a nose. Look for the chest of drawers in the shape of a woman’s body and the many paintings of his wife, model, and muse, Gala. He made room for works by his artist friends, including the like-minded Duchamp and Fortuny.

The two other points of the triangle dalinià, while hardly as mindblowing as the museum, certainly serve up their unique revelations of the artist’s caprices and devilty.

He bought a 12th Century castle for Gala in rugged country about 15 miles east of Girona, now known as the Castell de Púbol, and filled it with oddments and jokes. A stuffed horse stands in one room; the cover on two radiators is painted with a picture of the real radiators behind it. When Dalí presented the castle (a.k.a. Casa-Museu Castell Gala Dalí) to his enamorata, he provided another gift, promising never to show up without her specific invitation, in writing. This thoughtfully permitted her to accept visits from a stream of young lovers from the village, a practice she continued well into her senior years.

Dalí also purchased a seaside cottage in Port Lligat, near the village of Cadaqués, about 30 miles east of Figueres. It was rescued some years ago from decades of neglect, and still only small groups are permitted to enter at a time. There is a giant egg marking the place, a rearing polar bear near the entrance, an electrically powered easel in the studio, and a reflecting pool in the rear patio in the shape of a very large phallus. The artist had a rich fantasy life.

While there are local bus connections to these outlying sites, a rental car would be preferable. Make arrangements ahead of time. While the Figueres museum is open all year (except Mondays), Gala’s castle is closed from November to mid-March, the Port Lligat house from early January to mid-March.

A relatively easy daytrip can be arranged from Barcelona to Girona (see below for a description of that city) to Figueres and back through Catalunya Bus Turistic (www.barcelona-on-line.es). They’re the same people who conduct the worthwhile step-on, step-off tours in Barcelona itself. The buses used are comfortable enough, the guides don’t chatter endlessly, and the schedule permits substantial time for independent exploration in both cities. They leave from Plaça de Catalunya in central Barcelona at 8:30am and return around 8:00pm. The fare is 69€ (a little over $100) per person.