---
title: "Top 10 Things To Do in Girona, Spain | Wimup"
description: "The 10 best things to do in Girona, ranked: the cathedral and its record Gothic nave, the Call, the medieval walls and El Celler de Can Roca."
url: https://wimup.com/city/girona
type: City guide
updated: 2026-09-07
publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com)
---

# Top 10 Things To Do in Girona

Girona, Spain · Europe · By Wimup Editorial, 14 min read

Girona is a small city with a long memory: a Roman road town that became a Catalan cathedral seat, walled, besieged twice by Napoleon, and left with one of the best preserved medieval quarters in Europe. The Onyar splits it, the old stone climbs the east bank, and everything worth seeing sits inside a twenty-minute walk.

## Quick answer

Two days is the honest answer. Give the first to the Barri Vell: the cathedral at the top of its staircase, the Call, the Arab Baths, then a lap of the walls for the rooftop view. Give the second to the Onyar houses, a museum or two and a long lunch. Add a third for Figueres and the Dalí museum, under an hour north by train.

## Quick facts

- **Best months:** May · Jun · Sep
- **Ideal length:** 2 to 3 days
- **Budget per day:** $90–170
- **Language:** Catalan and Spanish, both official
- **Getting around:** On foot in the old town, buses and a bike for everywhere else
- **Tourism board:** [Official site](https://www.girona.cat/turisme/eng/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## The 10 best things to do in Girona

### 1. Climb to the cathedral and stand under the widest Gothic nave in the world

Landmark · Plaça de la Catedral, 17004 Girona

Romanesque cloister, Gothic nave, Baroque facade, all of it stacked at the top of one long staircase. The single span overhead is the widest Gothic vault ever built, which is why the inside reads as a hall rather than a church. Season six of Game of Thrones used those steps as the Great Sept of Baelor.

- **Time:** 1.5 hrs
- **Cost:** €12 combined with Sant Feliu and the Art Museum, audio guide included
- **Best at:** Late afternoon, when the west front holds the sun
- **Tip:** The same ticket covers the Basilica of Sant Feliu two minutes downhill, so do the pair in one visit

Links: [Website](https://catedraldegirona.cat/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 2. Walk the Call, the best preserved Jewish quarter in Europe

Neighborhood · Carrer de la Força, 17004 Girona

Jews lived on this hillside from the ninth century until the expulsion of 1492, and the lanes off Carrer de la Força are still narrow enough to touch both walls at once. The Museum of Jewish History sits in the middle of it, holding the tombstones and the documents the community left behind.

- **Time:** 1 hr
- **Cost:** Free to walk, €4 for the museum
- **Best at:** Early morning, before the day trips arrive
- **Tip:** The museum closes at 2pm on Sundays, Mondays and public holidays

Links: [Website](https://www.girona.cat/call/cat/museu.php?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 3. Do a lap of the walls for the only view that shows the whole city

Free · Passeig de la Muralla, 17004 Girona

Close to three kilometres of Carolingian and medieval rampart, reopened as a walkway above the rooftops. Towers punctuate the route and each one is a different angle: the cathedral from behind, the plane trees of the Devesa, the hills the city was built to watch.

- **Time:** 1.5 hrs for the full circuit
- **Cost:** Free
- **Best at:** The hour before sunset
- **Tip:** Steps are steep and unrailed in places; the easiest ways up are the Jardins de la Muralla and Plaça de Catalunya

Links: [Website](https://www.girona.cat/turisme/eng/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 4. Photograph the Onyar houses from the bridge Eiffel's company built

Landmark · Pont de les Peixateries Velles, 17004 Girona

The red and ochre facades hanging over the river are the city's postcard, and the best angle on them is the iron footbridge Gustave Eiffel's company put up in 1877, eleven years before the tower in Paris. Cross at dusk, when the windows start to light.

- **Time:** 20 min
- **Cost:** Free
- **Best at:** Dusk, or first light for the reflections
- **Tip:** Casa Masó is the one house in the row you can go inside

Links: [Website](https://www.girona.cat/turisme/eng/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 5. Book El Celler de Can Roca far enough ahead to actually eat there

Restaurant · Can Sunyer 48, 17007 Girona

Three Michelin stars since 2009 and twice ranked the best restaurant in the world. Joan cooks, Josep runs the cellar, Jordi does the desserts, and the room takes its own bookings rather than selling seats through a platform. 2026 is its fortieth year.

- **Time:** 4 hrs
- **Cost:** Tasting menus, booked direct with the restaurant
- **Best at:** Dinner
- **Tip:** Tables are released months ahead and go the same day, so set a reminder rather than trying your luck

Links: [Michelin Guide](https://guide.michelin.com/en/catalunya/girona/restaurant/el-celler-de-can-roca?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 6. See the Arab Baths, which are neither Arab nor baths any more

Landmark · Carrer de Ferran el Catòlic, 17004 Girona

Twelfth century and late Romanesque, built to the plan of a Muslim bathhouse by Christian Girona, which is the whole trick of the place. The octagonal pool room under its lantern is what you came for, and it stood in for Arya Stark hiding from the waif in Game of Thrones.

- **Time:** 30 min
- **Cost:** €3, €2 over 65, free under 8
- **Best at:** Midday, when the light drops straight through the lantern
- **Tip:** It closes at 2pm on Sundays and public holidays, so go in the morning

Links: [Website](https://www.banysarabs.cat/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 7. Give the Cinema Museum an hour of tricks that predate film

Museum · Carrer Sèquia 1, 17001 Girona

Tomàs Mallol spent decades collecting magic lanterns, shadow puppets and optical toys, and the city built a museum around them in 1998, the first of its kind in Spain. It runs in order, so the Lumière brothers arrive as a punchline rather than a beginning.

- **Time:** 1 hr
- **Cost:** €2.50 reduced, free under 14
- **Best at:** A rainy afternoon
- **Tip:** Free on the first Sunday of the month, and last admission is 45 minutes before closing

Links: [Website](https://museudelcinema.girona.cat/eng/museu_info.php?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 8. Cross the river to Sant Pere de Galligants for Romanesque and archaeology

Museum · Plaça de Santa Llúcia, 17007 Girona

A twelfth-century Benedictine monastery whose cloister capitals would be worth the ticket on their own, now holding the Girona wing of Catalonia's archaeology museum. It is also the quiet end of the walls, five minutes from the cathedral crowds.

- **Time:** 1 hr
- **Cost:** €7, €5 reduced
- **Best at:** Morning
- **Tip:** Closed Mondays, and it shuts at 2pm on Sundays and public holidays

Links: [Website](https://www.girona.cat/turisme/eng/museus_mac.php?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 9. Stop at Sant Feliu for the sarcophagi nobody queues to see

Landmark · Pujada de Sant Feliu, 17004 Girona

Girona's main church before the cathedral took the title: Romanesque below, a Gothic nave above, a Baroque front. Eight Roman and early Christian sarcophagi are set into the sanctuary walls, and the Gothic tomb of Sant Narcís, the city's patron, is here too.

- **Time:** 30 min
- **Cost:** Covered by the cathedral's combined ticket
- **Best at:** After the cathedral, walking downhill
- **Tip:** It sits at the foot of the cathedral steps, so pair the two rather than making a second trip

Links: [Website](https://www.girona.cat/turisme/eng/monuments_santfeliu.php?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 10. Book ahead for Casa Masó, the only Onyar house open to visitors

Museum · Carrer de les Ballesteries 29, 17004 Girona

Rafael Masó was born here in 1880 and rebuilt the house as his own argument, a precursor of Noucentisme working against the grain of Barcelona modernisme. It is the one house in the riverfront row you can enter, still furnished as the family kept it.

- **Time:** 1 hr
- **Cost:** €10 adults, free under 16 with an adult
- **Best at:** Tuesday to Saturday, by appointment
- **Tip:** Guided visits only, in groups of eight, so reserve ahead by phone or email

Links: [Website](https://rafaelmaso.girona.cat/eng/casa.php?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## Best restaurants in Girona

Six kitchens beyond the three-star one, from Basque pintxos to the daily catch on ice.

1. **Casa Marieta** (Traditional Catalan · Plaça de la Independència): One of the oldest dining rooms in the city, doing Catalan standards under the arcades. [Website](https://www.girona.cat/turisme/eng/restaurants.php?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Txalaka** (Pintxos and tapas · Carrer Bonastruc de Porta): A tavern that runs Basque pintxos and Catalan plates off the same counter.
3. **Arròs i Peix** (Seafood and rice · Plaça del Vi): Pick your fish off the ice at the door and say how you want it cooked.
4. **Divinum** (Contemporary Catalan · Barri Vell): Seasonal cooking in the basement of the old casino, and the city's usual answer for a long dinner.
5. **Vadevins** (Wine bar · Barri Vell): A wine bar with a deep local list, cured meat, cheese and tapas that take some risks.
6. **Tasca del Call** (Tapas · El Call): Traditional tapas in the Jewish quarter, on a lane most visitors only photograph.

## Best bars & cafes in Girona

Where the city drinks, plus the two cafes that turned Girona into a coffee town.

1. **Sunset Jazz Club** (Live jazz · Barri Vell): Red velvet, low light and live sets at weekends. The best room in town after dark.
2. **La Fàbrica** (Coffee and brunch · Carrer de la Llebre): A carpenter's workshop turned cycling cafe, opened by the pro rider Christian Meier and his wife Amber. [Website](https://www.lafabricagirona.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
3. **Espresso Mafia** (Speciality coffee · Carrer de la Cort Reial): The roastery behind La Fàbrica, two minutes away and the better bet for a straight espresso.
4. **Federal Café** (All-day cafe · Barri Vell): An old-town building rebuilt as an all-day cafe, part owned by a professional cyclist.
5. **Vermuteria Lola** (Vermouth · Barri Vell): Local vermouth and something salty to go with it, which is how the weekend starts here.

## Best cycling in Girona

The professional peloton winters here. The shops, the cafes and the two climbs it trains on.

1. **Eat Sleep Cycle** (Rental and tours · Girona): Rentals, tours, a workshop and a cafe under one roof, running since 2015. [Website](https://www.eatsleepcycle.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **The Service Course** (Bike shop · Barri Vell): The shop Christian Meier retired from racing to open, and the one riders send you to.
3. **Rocacorba** (12 km climb · Canet d'Adri): The benchmark climb: 12 km at about 6.5 per cent, and a dead end at the top.
4. **Els Àngels** (11 km climb · Gironès): The gentler classic, 11 km at about 3.3 per cent to a monastery with a terrace and a coffee.
5. **Ruta del Carrilet** (Greenway, 41 km · Girona to the coast): A flat rail trail on a narrow-gauge trackbed: 41 km east to the beach at Sant Feliu de Guíxols. [Website](https://www.viesverdes.cat/en/cycling-routes/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## Best museums in Girona

Three more, once the cinema and the archaeology museums are behind you.

1. **Museu d'Art de Girona** (Art · Next to the cathedral): The diocesan collection in the old bishops' palace, Romanesque panels through to Noucentisme. [Website](https://museuart.cat/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Museu d'Història de Girona** (City history · Carrer de la Força): The city told in order, from Roman Gerunda to the Napoleonic sieges. [Website](https://www.girona.cat/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
3. **Museu d'Història dels Jueus** (Jewish history · El Call): Tombstones, ritual objects and the paperwork of six centuries in the Call. [Website](https://www.girona.cat/call/cat/museu.php?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## Best walks & viewpoints in Girona

Three places to walk off the old town, all of them within reach on foot.

1. **Parc de la Devesa** (40 hectares · West bank): The largest urban park in Catalonia: 40 hectares under plane trees planted around 1850.
2. **Jardins dels Alemanys** (Free · On the walls): The ruined barracks garden behind the cathedral, and the shadiest stop on the walls.
3. **Vall de Sant Daniel** (20 min walk · North-east of the walls): A wooded valley beyond the walls with an eleventh-century nunnery at the end of it.

## Best neighborhoods in Girona

Five districts and what each one is actually like to sleep in.

1. **Barri Vell** (Old town · East bank): The postcard: cathedral, Call, walls and steps, and the least quiet place to sleep.
2. **Mercadal** (Central · West bank): Pedestrianised, cheaper, and a two-minute bridge from the old town. The Cinema Museum is here.
3. **Pedret** (Riverside · North): Just north of the walls, with a river walk on the Ter and restaurants locals actually book.
4. **Sant Narcís** (Residential · West): Built as workers' housing in the Franco years and still its own village, low and quiet.
5. **Santa Eugènia** (Residential · Far west): A separate town until 1963, now the far west of the city, with market gardens along the Güell.

## Best day trips in Girona

Girona is the base for the Empordà, and the trains and country buses make most of it easy.

1. **Figueres** (50 min · Alt Empordà): The Dalí Theatre-Museum, over 1,500 works in the theatre he was baptised beside. Book online. [Website](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/visit/dali-theatre-museum/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Cadaqués** (1 hr 15 by car · Cap de Creus): White houses on a rock bay, an hour and a quarter by road, and Dalí's own house at Portlligat.
3. **Besalú** (Bus from Girona · La Garrotxa): A fortified bridge, a mikveh and a medieval core that takes an afternoon. TEISA runs the bus.
4. **Banyoles** (Bus from Girona · Pla de l'Estany): The lake that hosted the 1992 Olympic rowing, with a flat path the whole way round it.
5. **Empúries** (Coast · L'Escala): Greek and Roman ruins on the beach at L'Escala, the point where Rome landed in Iberia.
6. **Barcelona** (40 min by train · Catalonia): About 40 minutes each way on the high-speed line, which makes the big city the easy day trip.

## Festivals & annual events in Girona (2026)

- **Black Music Festival** (Feb): Blues, soul, funk and hip hop across Girona and Salt, running from early February into late March.
- **Sant Jordi** (Apr): On 23 April the Rambla fills with book stalls, and a rose goes with every book sold.
- **Girona, Temps de Flors** (May): Nine days when more than a hundred courtyards, staircases and cloisters open as flower installations.
- **Revetlla de Sant Joan** (Jun): Bonfires, cava and coca on the night of 23 June, the shortest night of the Catalan year.
- **Sea Otter Europe** (Sep): Europe's largest cycling festival takes over the Fira for three days in September, free to walk into.
- **Diada de Catalunya** (Sep): Catalonia's national day on 11 September, marked with ceremonies and closed shops.
- **Fires de Sant Narcís** (Oct): The patron saint's fair: nearly two weeks of concerts, parades and fireworks from late October.
- **Girotrònica** (Nov): The city's technology and gaming fair, three days at the Fira de Girona in late November.

## Must-try dishes in Girona, Spain

- **Xuixo**: Deep fried, sugar coated, filled with crema catalana. Invented in Girona in the 1920s.
- **Pa amb tomàquet**: Bread rubbed with a cut tomato, then oil and salt. Nobody here slices the tomato on top.
- **Escudella i carn d'olla**: The winter stew, served as two courses: the broth and pasta first, the meats after.
- **Suquet de peix**: Fishermen's stew of white fish and potato, thickened with an almond picada.
- **Mar i muntanya**: The Empordà habit of putting sea and mountain on one plate: chicken with prawns.
- **Anxoves de l'Escala**: Salt-cured anchovies from the coast an hour east, eaten with bread and oil.
- **Botifarra amb mongetes**: Grilled Catalan sausage with white beans fried in the same pan. The everyday plate.
- **Crema catalana**: Custard under a burnt sugar crust, and the filling in every xuixo in town.

## Girona transport & airports

- **Girona-Costa Brava Airport** (GRO): Low-cost carriers, and no train station on site. Sagalés runs the bus into Girona, and on to Barcelona Nord in about an hour and a quarter. [Website](https://www.aena.es/en/index.html?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **High-speed rail** (Renfe): Girona station is a ten-minute walk from the old town. Barcelona Sants is about 40 minutes away, roughly hourly, and the same line runs north to Figueres and into France. [Website](https://www.renfe.com/es/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **Regional trains** (R11): The slow line down the coast route from Portbou to Barcelona, every 30 to 60 minutes. Cheaper than the high-speed train and the simplest way to Figueres. [Website](https://rodalies.gencat.cat/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **On foot and by bus** (City): The Barri Vell is walkable and largely stepped, so wheeled bags are the enemy. City buses cover the outer districts and TEISA runs the country routes to Banyoles and Besalú. [Website](https://www.girona.cat/turisme/eng/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## Girona at a glance

- **Country:** Spain
- **Region:** Catalonia, capital of the province of Girona, where the Onyar meets the Ter
- **Population:** 108,666 in the city (municipal register, 1 January 2025), about 156,000 across the Girona and Salt urban area
- **Founded:** Roman Gerunda, founded in the first century BC on the road north from Tarragona
- **Nickname:** The city of the four rivers, for the Onyar, Ter, Güell and Galligants
- **Language:** Catalan and Spanish, both official; Catalan is the everyday language here, and hospitality works in English
- **Currency:** Euro (EUR)
- **Time zone:** CET, UTC+1, and UTC+2 from late March to late October
- **Calling code:** +34, with local numbers starting 972
- **Airports:** Girona-Costa Brava (GRO) for low-cost routes, with Barcelona El Prat (BCN) about two hours away by road
- **Power:** 230V, 50Hz, plug types C and F
- **Emergency:** 112

## Interesting facts

- The cathedral nave is the widest Gothic vault ever built, spanned in one go with no central row of columns.
- Gustave Eiffel's company put the iron footbridge over the Onyar in 1877, eleven years before the tower in Paris.
- Parc de la Devesa is the largest urban park in Catalonia: 40 hectares under plane trees planted around 1850.
- Season six of Game of Thrones filmed here in 2015, turning the cathedral steps into the Great Sept of Baelor.
- The xuixo was invented in a Carrer Cort Reial pastry shop in the 1920s and is now a protected Catalan product.

## Girona travel FAQ

### How many days do you need in Girona?

Two full days covers the old town without rushing: the cathedral, the Call, the walls and a museum on the first, the riverfront and a long lunch on the second. A third buys Figueres and the Dalí museum, or a stretch of the Costa Brava.

### Is Girona worth visiting from Barcelona?

Yes, and the high-speed train makes it about 40 minutes each way from Sants. A day trip works, but the old town is at its best in the evening once the coach groups have left, so a night here is the better version of the same idea.

### When is the best time to visit Girona?

Mid-May to mid-June and mid-September to mid-October, warm without the August heat. May also brings Temps de Flors, when the courtyards fill with flower installations and the city is at its busiest and its best looking at once.

### Do you need to speak Catalan in Girona?

No, but it is worth knowing that Catalan is the everyday language here and Spanish is the second one, not the first. Hotels, restaurants and museums all work in English, and a bon dia and a gràcies go further than they should.

### What is Girona famous for?

Its medieval old town: the best preserved Jewish quarter in Europe, close to three kilometres of walkable walls and a cathedral with the widest Gothic nave anywhere. Also for El Celler de Can Roca, and as the winter base of professional cycling.

## Nearby guides

- [Barcelona](https://wimup.com/city/barcelona.md): Day trip · 10 picks
- [Andorra la Vella](https://wimup.com/city/andorra-la-vella.md): Andorra · 10 picks
- [Avignon](https://wimup.com/city/avignon.md): France · 10 picks
- [All of Europe →](https://wimup.com/europe): 156 cities

Part of the [Spain guide](https://wimup.com/country/spain.md) · [Europe](https://wimup.com/europe.md)

## Sources

- [Girona tourism board](https://www.girona.cat/turisme/eng/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Climb to the cathedral and stand under the widest Gothic nave in the world (official site)](https://catedraldegirona.cat/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Walk the Call, the best preserved Jewish quarter in Europe (official site)](https://www.girona.cat/call/cat/museu.php?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Book El Celler de Can Roca far enough ahead to actually eat there: Michelin Guide](https://guide.michelin.com/en/catalunya/girona/restaurant/el-celler-de-can-roca?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [See the Arab Baths, which are neither Arab nor baths any more (official site)](https://www.banysarabs.cat/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Give the Cinema Museum an hour of tricks that predate film (official site)](https://museudelcinema.girona.cat/eng/museu_info.php?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Cross the river to Sant Pere de Galligants for Romanesque and archaeology (official site)](https://www.girona.cat/turisme/eng/museus_mac.php?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Stop at Sant Feliu for the sarcophagi nobody queues to see (official site)](https://www.girona.cat/turisme/eng/monuments_santfeliu.php?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Book ahead for Casa Masó, the only Onyar house open to visitors (official site)](https://rafaelmaso.girona.cat/eng/casa.php?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Casa Marieta (official site)](https://www.girona.cat/turisme/eng/restaurants.php?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [La Fàbrica (official site)](https://www.lafabricagirona.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Eat Sleep Cycle (official site)](https://www.eatsleepcycle.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Ruta del Carrilet (official site)](https://www.viesverdes.cat/en/cycling-routes/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Museu d'Art de Girona (official site)](https://museuart.cat/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Museu d'Història de Girona (official site)](https://www.girona.cat/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Figueres (official site)](https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/visit/dali-theatre-museum/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Girona-Costa Brava Airport (official site)](https://www.aena.es/en/index.html?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [High-speed rail (official site)](https://www.renfe.com/es/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Regional trains (official site)](https://rodalies.gencat.cat/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.