Places you must visit at least once in your lifetime in Girona

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What to see in Girona

Girona is the perfect destination if you like to visit places that still preserve a strong medieval flavor. Both province and city wise, Girona has a lot to offer. It is obvious that Girona offers a whole lot of interesting places to see and the possibilities are almost unlimited. We managed to create the following selection so that people who want to hire a vehicle in Girona and are thinking about planning on a road trip through both Girona city and province.

Girona Province

There are numerous routes and littls hidden gems to discover and see in Girona.

Either you like being close to the sea or to the mountain, in Girona you will find in the perfect spot to spend your next vacation.

Costa Brava villages

On the road with the vehicle through Girona, you do not want to miss the emblematic coastal villages, the likes of Tossa del Mar, Calella de Palafrugell, Tamariu, Begur or Cadaques.

Mountain villages

Many of the medieval villages from Girona are characterized by a strong medieval esthetics and for being surrounded by a splendid natural landscape. In our recommendation of villages to see in Girona province, just like we described in our posts Villages with charm in Girona and Villages with charm of Spain, we stand out Castellfollit de la Roca, located in the heart of the Natural Park of the Garrocha volcanic area. Also, Besalu and its spectacular castle-fortress—a popular destination among tourists who decide to visit Girona. Peratallada, a bucolic village with a lot of history on its old part of the town’s wall, can guarantee an amazing medieval experience in 2017. Of course, you can also consider, as part of the road trip, to visit the Pyrenees in order to discover the villages that are close to the French border, namely Camprodon, Puigcerda or Beget. These are villages of great beauty and charm that offer a great deal attractiveness due to its privileged location.

Natural Parks

If you are looking for a route to be in touch with nature, visiting Girona is a hell of an idea, since they it offers as many as 8 natural parks that can be visited in this area. Every park has its own features and characteristics that make them unique; therefore you might as well visit them all if you do have enough time. If you really have to pick only a few, we would strongly suggest you to visit the following: at the region of l’Alt Emporda, covering more than half of the surface of the village of Castello d’Empuries, you find the Natural Park of the Marismas de l’Emporda. Going eastbound, we also find the Natural Park of Cap de Creus, where you can find Cadaques and Roses. Also, a mandatory visit would be the Volcanic Area of the Garrocha (Garrotxa in Catalan language)—which we have mentioned earlier in this post, at the mountain villages section. Last but not least, we would suggest the Natural Park of the Montseny, a little more to the south—we truly recommend this specially if you are looking for ideas to do family tourism in Girona.

Girona city

After driving around the whole province, it is time to walk around the capital, isn’t it?

If we had to make a list of places to visit Girona city; we cannot miss the old part of town, where we can find the Girona Cathedral, known for having the world’s largest Gothic nave. This cathedral is mainly of Gothic style but still preserves some part with a clear Romanesque style.

Near the cathedral, we also find the Basilica of Sant Feliu that also combines Gothic and Romanesque with a Baroque façade, since its construction lasted until the 17^th century. The Basilica de Sant Feliu has an impressive exterior and austere interior and, one of its great attractions are the sarcophagi inside. Also very interesting are the works of art that decorate the walls.

If we keep strolling about the Barri Vello or old part of town of Girona, we will find the Arab Baths. Also of Romanesque style, its construction is inspired on the baths in the Roman period. Needless to say that Girona would not be Girona if it wasn’t for the Onyar River, the magnificent bridges that cross the city and its colorful hanging houses that accompany them all throughout the channel—simply an icon of the city.

Another way to enjoy the city of Girona is ‘from the heights’. It is possible to see have a bird’s eye view of the city while walking by the walls of the city. These walls are of Roman origin and later expanded in the Middle Ages. The walls and its towers went from having a defensive origin to become viewpoints from where the visitor can enjoy the city in a whole different fashion.

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