Girona Travel Guide

97km (60 miles) NE of Barcelona, 90km (56 miles) S of Perpignan, France

With its medieval walls and churches, and its photogenic pastel-painted houses lining the river, the provincial capital of Girona is a delight to stroll around. Slower-paced and more compact than Barcelona, this nonetheless sophisticated Catalan city offers plenty to look at—and many delicious things to eat.

Founded by the Romans as Gerunda on a hill above the Riu Onyar, the old city’s shape remains much as it was 2,000 years ago. The river crossing here was so strategically important that Girona became known as the “city of a thousand sieges.” It has been besieged some 25 times over the centuries, famously by Charlemagne who briefly dislodged Muslim forces in 785, and devastatingly by Napoleon in 1809, when he starved the population into submission. Fortunately, he couldn’t destroy the city’s robust architecture or its independent Catalan spirit.

Split by the Onyar River, this sleepy medieval city attracts crowds of tourists darting inland from the Costa Brava for the day. For orientation purposes, go to the ancient stone footbridge across the Onyar. From here, you'll have the finest view. Bring good walking shoes, as the only way to discover the particular charm of this medieval city is on foot. You can wander for hours through the Call, the labyrinthine old quarter, with its narrow, steep alleyways and lanes and its ancient stone houses, which form a rampart chain along the Onyar.

Girona’s old city is compact and, while steep in places, very walkable. Working up an appetite is a good idea because, like Barcelona, this is a city with a passionate local food culture.