Girona is a beautiful province of Catalonia famous for its mesmerizing sights, beautiful beaches of costa brava, vivid natural parks and its lovely capital. It is bordered on the north by France, the northwest by Lleida, on the southwest by Barcelona, and on the east by the Mediterranean Sea.
Before the arrival of tourism, many of the towns in the coastal region were small fishing villages. Its people, its traditions and the region’s natural beauty attracted artists and writers such as Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Santiago Rusiñol and Salvador DalÃ.
I’d like to start by telling you about the charming Capital of Girona of the same name. Girona is a popular destination for tourists thanks to its Instagram worthy spots, movie locations, and medieval environment. It is also well-connected with transport. It has its own Girona airport which is one of Ryanair European hubs and it is used as an alternative airport for Barcelona as well. Girona also has its train and bus stations. The train journey from Barcelona Sants to Girona takes approximately forty minutes on express trains.
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| Girona's colourful houses |
The old town of Girona stands on the Capuchins hill, to the east of the river Onyar. Protected by the ancient stone walls originally built by the Romans, the powerful fortress Força Vella was the first enclosure of the city. These walls were later expanded throughout different historical periods. You can walk freely on top of the walls and overlook the rooftops of the Barri Vell which is the old quarter of the city. Much of Barri Vell has been preserved and looks just like in the Middle Ages
While you are in Força Vella on your way you will see the Jewish Quarter called Call, the alleys of which were home to Jewish people from the 9th to the 15th centuries. Still maintaining much of its medieval atmosphere, it is one of the best-preserved Jewish Quarters in the world and it signifies the importance of the culture in Girona. In this area you can also visit the Museum of Jewish History. Here you'll find an interesting collection of pieces belonging to the Jewish community which settled here from the medieval times until they were expelled in the 15th century.
Between the 11th and 15th centuries the quarters Sant Feliu and Sant Pere were built to the north of the Força Vella
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| Girona church |
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| Girona Game of Thrones |
Game of thrones Jamie Lannister(sept of baelor)
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| Basilica of Sant Feliu |
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| 12th- century Lioness |
Another important cathedral is the Basilica of Sant Feliu, which was Girona's first cathedral until the 10th century and is one of its most representative Gothic buildings. Outside the church in Plaça Sant, Feliu sits a famous statue of a 12th- century Lioness of which the saying goes:
No pot se veà de Girona
qui no faci un petó al cul de la lleona...
Sounds beautiful, doesn't it? It means
"You can’t live in Girona Until you’ve kissed the lioness’s butt".
In the street of Ferran el Católic you can find the 12th-century Banys Àrabs or “the Arabic baths” actually built by the Christians in 1194. They were modeled after the stylish Islamic baths of that time. They also served as one of the locations in Game of Thrones for Aria Stark’s storyline in Braavos.
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| red iron bridge Pont Palanques Vermelles |
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| red iron bridge Pont Palanques Vermelles |
Over time the city extended towards the river Onyar. there you can see Girona’s famous Instagram worthy colorful houses on each side of the river, connected by its 11 bridges. One of the bridges, the red iron bridge Pont Palanques Vermelles built in 1877 by The Eiffel Company (before the construction of the famous Eiffel tower in Paris) , Another bridge (pont d’en Gomez) appears in a 2012 Spanish movie “Tengo ganas de ti” with Mario Casas
In Girona you can visit several museums Museu d’Historia de la Ciutat (To get to know the history of the city better), Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya-Gironais that contains materials found during archaeological excavations in the province of Girona and the Museu de Cinema dedicated to the world of film and moving images.
In addition to its cultural and architectural wealth, Girona is also surrounded by beautiful natural scenery. Thanks to its location at the confluence of four rivers Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell, the local topography also accommodates a diverse range of sporting activities such as hiking and biking, canyoning, and kayaking via the Ter River.
While you're visiting Girona you should also take advantage of its proximity to other places of interest. Heading an hour towards Costa Brava will land you on the beautiful and unique beaches of Cadaques and Portlligat, the latter of which was the scene of inspiration for the surreal work of Salvador Dali.
Costa Brava is the name given to the coastal area of Girona, which starts in Blanes and ends at the border with France at Portbou. The name "Costa Brava" was given to the Girona coast in the years of the maximum splendor of the tourism and was made official in 1965.
While parts of the Costa Brava lent itself to tourist developments, other parts have retained a more traditional look. Small towns such as Cadaqués, which is close to the French border and close to the foothills of the Pyrenees, have attracted artists, such as Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, and Salvador DalÃ.
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| Figueres |
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| Dali Museum |
A little less than 40 minutes north of Girona Capital, you can visit The Dalà Theatre and Museum in Figueres, it is one of the most important and visited museums in Catalonia.
I want my museum to be a single block, a labyrinth, a great surrealist object. It will be [a] totally theatrical museum. The people who come to see it will leave with the sensation of having had a theatrical dream. Salvador DalÃ
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| Gala Museum |
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It is also a place where the artist was buried. You can also visit DalÃ's House-Museum in Port Lligat, near Cadaqués and the Gala-Dalà Castle Museum in Pubol.
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| Calella de Palafrugell |
The coast between Roses and Tossa de Mar has many lovely small coastal towns, such as Pals, Begur, Tamariu, S'Agaró, Empuriabrava, Llafranc, L'Estartit, Aigua Blava, Fornells, Calella de Palafrugell, Calonge, Palamós and Sant Feliu de GuÃxols.
Girona is also a host of a variety of festivals such as Temps de Flor, cap Roig in Cálella de Palafrugell , festa major and many more. Check on the web site of Girona city hall and Timeout for more information.
Girona was used as a filming location of the 2006 movie Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. Various mountain landscapes, forests and caves were captured around the Girona area. The Castle de San Fernando of Figueres also served as a set for the movie.
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| Besalú |
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| Besalú |
The best medieval town in Girona in my opinion is Besalu. Besalu gives you a feeling of the actual time travel, this town is completely frozen in time and it is absolutely magical. Its 12th century bridge crosses the Fluvia River and offers a unique view of the surrounding area. Besalu also served as one of the locations of HBO’s TV show WestWorld.
In 2016, a beautiful and small medieval town named Monells became a set of various scenes for the sequel of popular Spanish comedy "Spanish affair." or “Ocho apellidos catalanes” directed by Emilio Martinez-Lazaro. It is located in Baix Empordà and has the most picturesque squares and bridges.
22 km east of Girona there is a town called Peratallada It is known for its beautiful old stone buildings, rutted stone streets and passageways. Its proximity to the beaches of the Costa Brava and its numerous restaurants, small boutique hotels and artists' galleries make it a popular destination. The 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was partly filmed on location here.
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| Tossa de Mar |
One of my favorite places in all of Girona is Tossa de mar. Its medieval castle looks stunning, contrasting with the dark blue waters of the sea.
One of the sights of Tossa is a life-size bronze statue of a beautiful actress Ave Gardner located on the observation deck in Vila Vella de Tossa. To pay her a tribute for her role in the 1950 film Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, filmed in the city with James Mason and the bullfighter Mario Cabre.
Tossa was in a 1970s movie, La noche de las gaviotas, a Spanish horror film written and directed by Amando de Ossorio in 1975
Another beautiful town served as a location for the famous 1959 movie "Suddenly, Last Summer" with Elisabeth Taylor.
One of the mythical films filmed in the Cap de Creus, was The Light at the Edge of the World (1970), a film adaptation of Jules Verne's novel as interpreted by Kirk Douglas, Yule Brynner and Samantha Eggar among others.
Another interesting city of Costa Brava is Lloret de Mar. It is a city with more than a thousand-year old history and it is a party town now with a 100 nightclubs and bars, making the city a more attractive place mainly for many young people from all over the world. Lloret also has an aquatic park called water world and a theme park called Gnomo park.
One of the sites of Lloret is Sant Juan, a medieval fortress from the early 11th century located on the hills, which separates Lloret's beach from the one in Fenals. However, only the foundations and the tower are preserved. The castle was expanded to a museum, to present the Catalan culture in the Middle Ages.
Lloret also has a green zone called Santa Clotilde gardens: Gardens designed in an Italian Renaissance style by Nicolau Rubió i Tuduri. Situated on top of a cliff offering impressive views over the sea.
Another great town of Costa Brava is platja d’aro, its resort is considered as one of the best in Spain. There are no bus tours, only individual tourists come here. It's clean, fashionable, beautiful. It is 90 km away from Barcelona. And 110 km from France. It has a variety of shops and luxury brands. There are about 200 restaurants in the city of all cuisines. The seaside town of Platja d'Aro is famous for its golden sandy beaches. They have been receiving a blue flag award for the cleanness and eco friendliness of its beaches
One of the best places in Costa Brava to take an Instagram pic is at the castle of San Joan in Blanes. It also has its botanical gardens Marimurtra Botanical Garden and Jardi botà nic tropical Pinya de Rosa
In 1992, Ridley Scott directed the 1492 blockbuster: The Conquest of Paradise with Gerard Depardieu, Sigourney Weaver, Armand Assante, Fernando Rey and Angela Molina, where we can see some scenes filmed in the city of Blanes.
In 2013 in the Hostal Empúries in Escala by the beautiful beach of Portixol was filmed a romantic comedy called “Menú degustació” directed by Roger Gual , which shows a natural setting that becomes another part of this fun choral comedy, which also tackles the theme of Michelin-starred great chefs.
I hope you enjoyed my quick review of this beautiful province. Have a great day and take care. I’ll see you in the next one.
I que vagi be. Adeu siau
Useful websites:
Website of ajuntament de girona (Girona City Hall)
Timeout girona (Things to do in Girona)
Michelin restaurants
https://www.timeout.com/girona/restaurants/michelin-starred-restaurants-in-girona
https://www.viamichelin.es/web/Restaurantes/Restaurantes-Girona-17001-Girona-Espana
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