Things to do in Girona
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Girona
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Early spring, cycling season begins, cooler and quieter before the main shoulder season.
Spring sweet spot, roughly 15 to 25C, green countryside and peak cycling and golf. May brings Temps de Flors.
Hot, regularly around 30C, coast most crowded and some local restaurants close in August. Sightsee early and late.
Best overall alongside May, harvest, sea swimmable into early October, best cycling and golf, Fires in late October.
Quiet, cheap locals' Girona, crisp days around 8 to 14C, empty museums but short days and weather dependent excursions.
What's on
- Temps de Flors 9-17 May
Old town courtyards and monuments open with floral installations. Busiest and most beautiful week, book hotels months ahead.
- Fires de Sant Narcís around 29 October, about 10 days
City festa major with Devesa funfair, free concerts, castells, correfoc, giants and closing fireworks.
- Sant Jordi 23 April
Catalonia's books and roses day, with stalls along the Rambla and squares and authors signing.
- Sea Otter Europe late September
Bike festival in Girona. Book bikes and beds early if dates are flexible.
Best things to do in Girona
Girona Cathedral
Widest Gothic nave in the world, reached by 90 steps, with a Romanesque cloister and Tapestry of Creation.
El Call
One of Europe's best preserved medieval Jewish quarters, a steep labyrinth of lanes to wander free.
Museu d'Història dels Jueus
Former synagogue complex giving El Call its history, with ritual baths, tombstones and medieval scholars.
Passeig de la Muralla
Free walk along the medieval walls and towers, with cathedral rooftops one way and Pyrenees foothills the other.
Banys Àrabs
Small 12th century Romanesque bathhouse with a cool columned room and rooftop view, seen in 30 minutes.
Basílica de Sant Feliu
Girona's first cathedral, built over Roman era martyrs' tombs, quieter than the cathedral itself.
Monestir de Sant Pere de Galligants
Romanesque monastery turned archaeology museum in a green hollow below the city walls.
Cases de l'Onyar
Tall ochre, pink and rust river houses, Girona's postcard view, best at dawn and dusk when reflections settle.
Where to stay in Girona
Barri Vell / Ciutat Vella
first trip, all-round base
Cathedral, El Call, baths, best restaurants and cycling cafes all within a ten minute walk.
Eixample / Plaça de la Independència and Rambla
trains, value and an easier stay
Flatter, larger hotels with lifts and parking, 12 to 15 minutes to the station and across the bridges from the old town.
Devesa / station side
one-night logistics and families wanting space
Flat, green and calm around Parc de la Devesa, still 15 to 20 minutes on foot to the cathedral.
Think twice about
- Salt
Separate residential municipality with no visitor sights, sometimes marketed as Girona while putting you a bus ride from everything.
- Highway and airport corridor hotels
Car dependent and characterless around the airport, motorways and retail parks, stranding you away from evening Girona.
- Noisiest old-town bar lanes on festival weekends
Not unsafe, just loud until late during Temps de Flors and Fires. Ask for a courtyard or interior room if you sleep lightly.
Best restaurants in Girona
El Celler de Can Roca
Three star Roca brothers restaurant, twice voted world's best, with bookings opening 11 months ahead.
Restaurant Massana
One star family run restaurant since 1986, rooted in Girona land and sea, far easier to book than Can Roca.
Divinum
Newer wave starred dining room in the old town, with creative territory first tasting menus and cheaper lunch menus.
Esperit Roca
Roca brothers estate restaurant serving a greatest hits route through El Celler classics at about half the bill.
Normal
Roca brothers' unfancy old town restaurant, three star discipline without tasting menu theatre.
Terram
Design conscious tasting menus from local ingredients, small and seasonal, where lunch is the insider move.
Nu
Contemporary Catalan sharing plates with a strong local following, good for groups and a second night dinner.
Occi
Traditional Catalan cooking in a medieval street off the main lanes, recommended in particular for duck.
Best coffee in Girona
La Fábrica
Cyclists' cafe run by an ex pro, for brunch, good coffee, banana bread and watching very expensive bikes.
Espresso Mafia
La Fabrica's sibling for serious coffee, with beans roasted in house and supplied across the region.
Outdoor things to do in Girona
Rocacorba
The pros' test climb near Banyoles, about 10km at 7 percent to a sanctuary summit, for experienced climbers only.
Santuari dels Àngels
Friendlier benchmark climb, about 11km at under 4 percent, usually looped with Santa Pellaia for 50 to 60km.
Via Verda Carrilet II
Traffic free former railway path running about 40km gently down from Girona to the coast at Sant Feliu.
Via Verda Carrilet I
Traffic free greenway running about 57km inland from Girona to Olot through Garrotxa volcanic countryside.
Eat Sleep Cycle
Guided day rides and supported multi day Costa Brava cycling tours with luggage transfer and GPX routes.
Camiral Golf & Wellness
Spain's headline golf resort, with the tournament Stadium Course and the more forgiving Tour Course.
Empordà Golf
Two contrasting Robert von Hagge courses, a dunes and lakes Links and a pine framed Forest, below Camiral prices.
Golf de Pals
One of Spain's oldest courses, laid through mature pines a short walk from the sea, flat and walkable.
Best hotels in Girona
Hotel Palau Fugit
18th century palace turned design boutique hotel in the old town, with courtyard, small pool and spa.
Hotel Casa Cacao
Roca brothers' boutique hotel above the Casa Cacao chocolate workshop, with rooftop terrace over the old town.
Hotel Camiral
Five star on resort hotel at Camiral golf, with spa focus and walk to tee convenience for golfers.
Hotel Nord 1901
Small family run old town hotel with a garden pool, spacious rooms and apartments, used by cycling tours.
Hotel Ciutat de Girona
Modern four star by the river, minutes from the cathedral, with easier access, lifts and parking than old town hotels.
Hotel Museu Llegendes de Girona
Themed boutique hotel by Sant Feliu, praised for location and staff, with room types worth confirming carefully.
Apartaments Catedral
Serviced apartments by the cathedral giving families and cyclists a kitchen, laundry and more space.
Hotel Peninsular
Simple central budget stalwart by the old town bridges, used by cycling tours for cleanliness and bike friendliness.
Is Girona expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €70 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €130 a person |
| Splurge | €350 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Eat Sleep Cycle: weeks ahead
- Camiral Golf & Wellness: weeks ahead
- Teatre-Museu Dalí: weeks ahead
- Casa Salvador Dalí - Portlligat: weeks ahead
- Casa Cundaro: weeks ahead
- Bells Oficis: weeks ahead
- El Celler de Can Roca: months ahead
- Restaurant Massana: weeks ahead
- El Celler de Can Roca opens bookings 11 months ahead and prime dates go in minutes.
- Book hotels months ahead for Temps de Flors in May and Fires de Sant Narcis in late October.
- Dali Theatre-Museum and Portlligat House need timed tickets weeks ahead in season.
- Starred restaurants and Normal need days to a couple of weeks, especially Friday and Saturday.
Is Girona safe?
- Girona is a safe, orderly small city. Keep usual awareness for pickpockets in festival crowds and on busy trains.
- Steep uneven cobbles and staircases in Barri Vell are a genuine barrier. Base in flat Eixample for mobility needs.
- Heed weather alerts after autumn storms and stay off riverbanks and rural fords in heavy rain. Emergency number 112.
Girona travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Doing Girona as a Barcelona day trip misses the evening city, walls at sunset and every excursion.
- Tourist facing terraces on the Rambla and by the cathedral steps. Streets one block in eat better for less.
- Large Game of Thrones tours bought from touts. The locations are free and self explanatory with a map.
- Expecting a beach city. Girona is inland, swim at Banyoles lake or Costa Brava coves.
Getting around Girona: public transport and more
- Walk the city. The old town to the station is about 1km, 12 to 15 minutes on foot.
- High speed trains from Barcelona Sants take about 38 minutes. The airport bus takes about 25 minutes.
- Rent a car only for excursions like Garrotxa, the Dali Triangle or golf and coast combinations.
- Regional buses run the Besalu, Olot, Banyoles and Costa Brava routes. Check return times, evening services thin out.
Who Girona suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Girona your trip
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