Winter is coming. If you’re in need of a long weekend of warmth in a delightful city, Girona might be the place for you. This beautiful and historic city is home to just over 100,000 people. It’s an hour’s drive to France in the north, and a 40-minute train journey to Barcelona in the southeast. You may have even been in its airport before, while en route to Barcelona, but Girona is a destination in its own right.
A Saturday morning stroll in the gorgeous old town is a joyful reminder of the gentle pace of life here. Maybe this slowness has something to do with the still river Onyar, which divides old and new(er) into east and west. There are a few bridges to choose from but perhaps this river’s most famous overpass is the Pont de Eiffel or The Iron Bridge, built by Gustave Eiffel’s company in 1876 before they started work on the Eiffel Tower.
The vibrant red of this bridge creates a contrasting viewpoint of Girona’s famous riverside architecture, and a little glimpse into the art nouveau influence of local architecture hero Rafael Masó. From the bridge you get a clear view of the gothic steeple of the Church of Sant Feliu and the dominating bell tower of Girona Cathedral.
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Cross the river and amble towards the Arab Baths, where the first mention of a public bath on this site can be traced back to 1194, and keep walking towards the Benedectine Monastery Sant Pere de Galligants, which has been home to the Archaeology Museum of Catalonia since 1857. The €6 entrance fee to this higgledy-piggledy museum is worth it, even if just for the questions arising from a look at the gilded portrait of Our Lady of the Milk between St Bernard and St Benedict, which shows milk spurting from the Virgin Mary’s right breast. Instagram would never with this portrait.
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If you start thinking to yourself that this old town is serving up Cersei Lannister vibes, you’d be spot on. Girona may be better known to Game of Thrones fans as Braavos and King’s Landing. There are a number of Game of Thrones walking tours to choose from but if you’re short on time, a sassy stomp up the steps of Girona Cathedral might help you unleash your inner Arya Stark, never a bad thing.
It’s fun to get a little lost in these laneways, particularly in the Jewish quarter, El Call, which was restored only after the fall of Franco in 1975. It’s very easy to find yourself back at the river Onyar, and if you wander, you’ll come across gems such as Plaça del Correau Vell, or, on the west side of the river, Plaça de la Independència, and Plaça Santa Susanna, where you’ll find the city’s Cinema Museum.
Girona is a city of dog lovers and their “gossos simpàtics”. Cute little bichons wear scarves as they sit by outdoor cafe tables. Old dachshunds cause a ruckus by getting cross with a Schnauzer cross on a cobbled square. A greyhound trots next to her owner as they amble the streets in the late morning sun. It’s a dog’s life in Girona, and the living is easy.
The yellow and red flag of this Catalan province waves from shop windows, balconies and flagpoles. Hello, thank you, and goodbye are the same in Catalan as in Spanish, but don’t make the mistake of assuming that Catalonia is the same as Spain. It’s an autonomous region, though not independent and, even though the differences may be subtle to outsiders, some locals feel strongly about this heritage and may correct you if you ask them for help using what you’ve learned in your Spanish classes.
If you find yourself googling, “can I eat xuixo for breakfast” please remember that, hello, you’re on holiday, of course you can have this deep-fried sugar-coated viennoiserie pastry, a Girona speciality stuffed with crema catalana, if you so wish. Casa del Xuixo, near the Church of Sant Feliu, is part of the classy Catalan bakery chain Casamoner. There is the classic xuixo for the die-hards, and also choices of chocolate-covered, raspberry-sprinkled and other flavours, which you must try in the name of research.
You can try a classic xuixo or get an ensaïmada to go from Antiga Casa Bellsolá, a bakery serving sweet treats and baked bread since 1892. An ensaïmada is a soft and sweet pastry from the Balearic islands that genuinely melts in the mouth – it’s not suitable for vegetarians if it’s made the traditional way using saïm, a type of pork lard, to form the pastry. Seriously delicious.
For a savoury brunch, try coffee spot Idle Hands, which specialises in coffee, wine, food and vinyl. Right next to the beautiful terrazzo-style marble countertop (the barista tells me it’s from Mallorca), there’s a hole in the floor, covered by thick glass, so you can look straight down deep into an old well – this spot has had many past lives, one most certainly as a bakery.
The menu is comfortingly familiar – Eggs Benny, muhammara on toast, and herby corn fritters all hit the spot and help us find our feet on our first morning in Girona. La Garrina, a natural wine bar and restaurant, is abuzz every time we walk past. Just around the corner from here, you’ll find Vimet, a natural wine and craft beer shop also selling beautiful pottery and gifts, for something to bring home.
Hiring a car from Rent A Car Costa Brava is not the cheapest on the market, but the ease of booking, collection and return, and the excellent customer service, made it worth the little bit extra. Girona is an easy city to drive in – although they do love their roundabouts.
Take a day trip to the sleepy seaside town of Tamariu, an hour in your rental car and two hours by bus from Girona. Park near the small horseshoe bay, speckled with an abundance of seafood restaurants with a lovely beach and boats moored in the harbour. Work up an appetite by walking the coastal trail of Camí de Ronda Tamariu. The start of the trail requires you to dip your feet in the ocean: it’s the only way around the rocks at the bottom of the beach where the trail starts.
The trail is straightforward but you’ll want proper walking shoes for a couple of steep parts, and your efforts will be rewarded when you reach the exquisitely quiet cove and stony beach of Cala Pedrosa. Have a snack and a snooze on the hot stones and a swim in the warm sea, before walking back to Tamariu – it’s about one hour each way – for a well-earned lunch at Bar Rodondo, which has been serving seafood since 1956.
Back in Girona, rest your head in the old town at the stunning Hotel Palau Fugit from around €200 per night. Hotel Nord 1901, west of the river, has rooms starting from about €175 per night. Girona is gently and understatedly design-led, and its Airbnb accommodation reflects that, and seems to be a better source of budget sleeps. Head for the hills, and relax in the private infinity pool at Carolina’s gorgeous guest house in Taialà, which sleeps four for €250 per night.
In the suburb of Taialà, you’ll have some famous neighbours, too. Can Roca Restaurant has been run by Chef Montserrat Fontané and her husband Josep Roca since 1967. It is open Monday to Friday only, and the menú diari (a set three-course menu) is typically about €16. Give them a call to make a reservation, or you can try for a takeout if you can’t get a table.
Fontané and Roca are already a big deal, but their three sons are famous in the culinary world, too. Their world-renowned three-Michelin-star restaurant, Cellar Can Roca, is around the corner from their parents’ place, and will be accepting reservations for September 2025 in October 2024. That gives you a bit of time to plan your getaway to Girona.
Ryanair flies to Barcelona Girona regularly from Dublin, Shannon, Cork, and Knock
